Beats Studio Buds vs Sony WF-1000XM4

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

Studio Buds compared with WF-1000XM4

	BeatsStudio Buds	SonyWF-1000XM4
Overview
Released
Released	June 2021	June 2021
Sound
Type
Type	In-ear	In-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	Yes
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	Yes
Spatial audio with head tracking
Spatial audio with head tracking	No	–
Driver size
Driver size	8.2 mm	6 mm
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC and AAC	SBC, AAC and LDAC
Chip
Chip	–	Integrated Processor V1
Drivers
Drivers	Dual-element diaphragm driver and two-chamber acoustic design (Beats launch release reproduced by 9to5Mac)	6 mm drivers with high-power neodymium magnets
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	Active Noise Cancelling and Transparency mode	Feedforward and feedback noise-sensing microphones on each earbud; Ambient Sound Mode, Quick Attention, Adaptive Sound Control and automatic wind noise reduction
Audio features
Audio features	Dolby Atmos playback in Apple Music; no head tracking; Bluetooth 5.2 and SBC/AAC codecs (SoundGuys)	DSEE Extreme upscaling; 360 Reality Audio with compatible services; Bluetooth frequency response of 20 Hz–20 kHz at 44.1 kHz sampling, or 20 Hz–40 kHz with LDAC at 96 kHz and 990 kbps
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 5 hours	Up to 8 hours
With the case
With the case	Up to 15 hours	Up to 24 hours
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	No	Yes
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 8 hours per charge and 24 hours including the case with noise cancelling off; up to 5 hours and 15 hours with it on	With DSEE Extreme off, the manual lists AAC playback up to 8 hours with noise cancelling or 12 hours off; SBC up to 7.5 hours on or 11 hours off; LDAC up to 5 hours on or 6 hours off. LDAC with DSEE Extreme set to AUTO and noise cancelling on is up to 3.5 hours. The launch release claims 24 hours with the case with noise cancelling, or 36 hours off; talk time up to 5.5 hours with noise cancelling and 6 hours off.
Charging case
Charging case	USB-C; no wireless charging (SoundGuys and TechRadar)	USB-C and Qi wireless charging; about 1.5 hours to charge the earbuds and 3 hours for the case
Fast charging
Fast charging	A 5-minute Fast Fuel charge gives up to 1 hour of playback (Beats launch release)	5 minutes of charging gives about 1 hour of playback
Design
Weight (each earbud)
Weight (each earbud)	5.1 g (better)	7.3 g
Water and sweat resistance
Water and sweat resistance	IPX4	IPX4
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.2	5.2
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	–	Yes
Controls
Controls	Multi-function button on each earbud for playback and calls; configurable press-and-hold controls; hands-free Siri on Apple devices	Touch controls for playback, volume and sound modes; Quick Attention lowers music volume while a finger is held on the left earbud; Speak-to-Chat pauses music and admits outside sound when speech is detected; wear detection pauses playback when an earbud is removed
Microphones
Microphones	Two noise-cancelling microphones and one voice microphone per earbud	Dual noise-sensing microphones per earbud; Precise Voice Pickup uses beamforming and a bone-conduction sensor for calls
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Silicone ear tips in three sizes; no automatic ear detection (SoundGuys)	Polyurethane foam Noise Isolation Earbud Tips in S, M and L; an app test checks the seal
Case weight
Case weight	–	About 41 g; the UK support specifications put this under an unqualified weight heading, while the manual distinguishes the case from each 7.3 g earbud with M tips fitted
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	IPX4 for the earbuds; the case has no sweat or water resistance	IPX4 for the earbuds only, excluding the sound outlets, ventilation holes and microphone holes; the charging case is not water resistant
Works with
Works with	One-touch pairing with Apple devices and Google Fast Pair on Android; Beats Android app for controls and updates; either earbud can be used independently	Bluetooth A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP; Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair; the current manual describes two-device multipoint, which Sony's firmware notes list as an added feature; LDAC needs a compatible source
Colours
Colours	Black, White and Beats Red at launch (Beats release)	Black, Silver; official press photo shows Silver
In the box
In the box	Earbuds, charging case, three sizes of silicone ear tips and USB-C cable (Beats launch release and SoundGuys); power adapter sold separately	Earbuds, charging case, Noise Isolation Earbud Tips in S, M and L, USB-A to USB-C charging cable