In 2021, noise-canceling headphones will be a hot item after a year of living with screaming children and uncaring roommates. You would want one pair if you could use them for everything, including exercising, Zoom calls, working out, and listening to Taylor Swift's Cardigan.For the past year, the AirPods Pro (8/10), WIRED Recommends and Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro (9/10), WIRED Recommends have filled this gap very well. Sony, which makes many of our favorite noise-canceling headphones over-ear, has updated its WF-1000XM3 earbuds with the M4 (Mark 4).They are a complete redesign of the Mark 3 and sound better, cancel out noise better and pick up your voice more than the previous pair. They are exceptional. I would say they are the best for everyone, if not for one problem: They are too big for many ears.Fit and FinishSony has recently changed its design. The buds are compact and fit perfectly inside the ear.Although the new model is sleeker and looks more like buds from Samsung and Jabra, it also means that you have to be able to take all the bells and whistles in the buds into your ears. Sony's team didn't have the best shrink-ray. These in-ear buds are some of the most impressive I've ever seen.They were too small to fit into my medium-sized ears. They didn't cause me as much fatigue as they claimed. It took me longer to get them to seal properly in my ears than with other buds. Adrienne, a fellow product reviewer, couldn't get them to fit properly and neither could my fiancé. Many others may have similar problems.They are also heavier than the AirPods Pro, weighing in at almost 2 grams per bud. They are also twice as heavy as the AirPods Pro. This means they can last eight hours with noise cancelling on and 12 without it. The case also features Qi wireless charging, which can be charged via USB-C.The Sound of SilencePhoto by SonyMany of my criticisms won't apply to large or medium ears. I find them to be very inapplicable. After about 30 seconds of manipulating the foam ear tips, I am usually able to achieve a seal. This is a longer time than many competitors but it's not too annoying. If you have large ears and a larger ear canal, they are available in three sizes.
