Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) vs Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Feb 14, 2025 09:02 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Feb 10, 2025 03:15 PM
Unavailable
Missing store
TypeIn-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Variants
- AirPods Pro (2nd generation) (White)
- AirPods Pro (2nd generation) (USB‑C) (White)
- WH-1000XM5 (Black)
- WH-1000XM5 (Midnight Blue)
- WH-1000XM5 (Silver)
- WH-1000XM5 (Smoky Pink)
Our Verdict
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless
The Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) and the Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless are significantly different products. The Apple are in-ear monitors designed for use with other Apple products. They're more comfortable and stable than the Sony. Additionally, they feature an H2 chip, which brings Apple-exclusive functionality like seamless device switching. Meanwhile, the Sony are over-ear headphones that are less restrictive, allowing for ecosystem-agnostic multi-device pairing and sound customization on their Android and iOS compatible app.
Main Differences for
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.4
7.7
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
4.6
9.8
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
9.9
7.5
Passive Soundstage
0.8
4.1
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.4
7.8
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
In-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Truly Wireless
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.02 lbs
0.55 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs
0.8 lbs
Controls
8.2
7.6
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Good
Feedback
Great
Decent
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
Mute/Unmute
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
On/Off
On/Off
Talk-Through
On/Off
On/Off
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Breathability
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
Portability
9.6
6.0
Portability Picture
L
1.2" (3.0 cm)
8.1" (20.5 cm)
W
0.9" (2.3 cm)
6.9" (17.6 cm)
H
0.9" (2.3 cm)
1.8" (4.5 cm)
Volume
0.99 in³ (16.20 cm³)
99.08 in³ (1,623.60 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
9.0
8.0
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
1.8" (4.5 cm)
9.3" (23.6 cm)
W
2.4" (6.1 cm)
8.0" (20.2 cm)
H
0.9" (2.2 cm)
2.3" (5.9 cm)
Volume
3.67 in³ (60.10 cm³)
171.64 in³ (2,812.60 cm³)
Build Quality
8.0
7.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.5
7.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
600 Hz
1,350 Hz
Bass Amount
0.1 dB
5.3 dB
Treble Amount
-5.2 dB
0.2 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
9.3
8.0
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.15 dB
0.39 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
9.9
7.5
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
0.4 dB
5.4 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
20 Hz
Low Bass
0.23 dB
4.71 dB
Mid Bass
-0.55 dB
5.33 dB
High Bass
0.41 dB
6.32 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.4
7.8
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.56 dB
2.1 dB
Low Mid
1.04 dB
2.79 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.43 dB
-0.71 dB
High Mid
-2.26 dB
-0.4 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
4.6
9.8
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
5.4 dB
1.43 dB
Low Treble
-5.55 dB
0.49 dB
Mid Treble
-4.73 dB
-0.11 dB
High Treble
-8.22 dB
-5.56 dB
Peaks/Dips
8.5
8.1
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
0.93 dB
1 dB
Dips
1.04 dB
1.66 dB
Imaging
9.3
8.8
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.08
0.23
Weighted Phase Mismatch
1.65
3.61
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.44
0.5
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.03
1.56
Passive Soundstage
0.8
4.1
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
3.68 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
7.72 dB
PRTF Distance
N/A
6.74 dB
Openness
0.9
1.8
Acoustic Space Excitation
1.9
2.6
Virtual Soundstage
5.0
4.1
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
On/Off
No
Virtual Surround
Personalized Spatial Audio
360 Reality Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
8.1
7.9
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.224
0.285
WHD @ 100
0.086
0.099
Test Settings
Firmware
7B21
1.1.1
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.2
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
TP-Link BE9300 BT 5.4
EQ
Adaptive EQ
Off
ANC
On
On
Tip/Pad
Silicone (small)
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
9.1
9.4
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
Yes
Yes
Overall Attenuation
-24.48 dB
-25.81 dB
Bass
-20.83 dB
-17.63 dB
Mid
-26.68 dB
-28.25 dB
Treble
-26.47 dB
-33.04 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
9.6
9.1
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-23.48 dB
-21.43 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-21.63 dB
-19.38 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-25.52 dB
-24.28 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
ANC Wind Handling
ANC Wind Handling Graph
ANC Wind Noise
Leakage
8.3
7.7
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
31.85 dB
35.69 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
5.3
6.7
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
216.68 Hz
236.29 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
4.98 dB
3.43 dB
HFE
3,466.89 Hz
7,240.77 Hz
Weighted THD
57.033
N/A
Gain
-4.91 dB
-13.92 dB
Noise Handling
6.4
8.3
SpNR
10.15 dB
7.61 dB
Noise Gate
No
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.0
8.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
5.5
8.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
7.0
8.5
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
5.9 hrs
27 hrs
Additional Charges
4.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
29.5 hrs
27 hrs
Charge Time
0.9 hrs
3 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Standby mode
Auto-Off Timer
Audio While Charging
Yes
No
Passive Playback
No
Yes
Charging Port
Lightning
USB-C
App Support
6.5
8.0
App Picture
App Name
iOS Interface
Sony Sound Connect
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
No
Yes
macOS
Yes
No
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
No
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
On/Off
On/Off
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
Yes
Button Mapping
Yes
Yes
Surround Support
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
0.0
9.8
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
No
Yes
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
No
Yes
Length
N/A
4.04 ft (1.23 m)
Connector
No Wired Option
1/8" TRS
Latency - Analog
N/A
0.4 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
Recorded Latency Connection
No Wired Audio
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
8.0
8.7
Bluetooth Version
5.3+H2 chip
5.2
Multi-Device Pairing
Yes (Apple Ecosystem)
2 Devices
Quick Pair (Android)
No
Yes
Quick Pair (iOS)
Yes
No
Line Of Sight Range
334.65 ft (102.00 m)
330.71 ft (100.80 m)
Latency - SBC
160 ms
241 ms
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
233 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
SBC
AAC Support
Yes
Yes
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
No
Audio Only
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
No
Audio Only
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
No
Audio Only
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
No
Audio Only
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
2.2
0.0
Type
Charging Case
No Base/Dock
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
Yes
No
Power Supply
Lightning
No Base/Dock
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless
Comments
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) vs Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless: Main Discussion
What do you think of these products? Let us know below.
Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.