Sony WF-1000XM4 vs NuraTrue: which noise-cancelling wireless earbuds should you buy?

If you’re on the hunt for a pair of true wireless earbuds that sound great, fit comfortably, and offer active noise cancellation, you’ve probably come across the Sony WF-1000XM4 .

They’re our pick for the best wireless earbuds you can buy today, and haven’t been beaten since they launched in 2021 thanks to their full-bodied and eloquent sound, strong noise cancellation, and impressive call quality.

However, some brands have come close to swiping Sony’s status as the best earbuds manufacturer on the planet - and one of those brands is Nura.

Nura’s NuraTrue are the Australian company’s first true wireless earbuds , and they’re among the most customizable in-ear headphones we’ve ever tested. And, like the WF-1000XM4, they offer an excellent audio performance, ANC, and a great design.

While it’s great to have two very good options to choose from, it doesn’t make picking a pair of wireless earbuds any easier. Happily, we’ve tested both the Sony WF-1000XM4 and the NuraTrue extensively, so we can give you a comprehensive comparison between the two models - and hopefully give you a better idea of what you should be looking for from your new pair of earbuds.

Both the Sony WF-1000XM4 and the NuraTrue launched in 2021, and are still available to buy today.

The Sony earbuds will set you back $279.99 / £250 / AU$449.95, unless you can find them with a discount; deals are sometimes available, but you’re more likely to find a good deal on their predecessors, the Sony WF-1000XM3 .

The NuraTrue are the cheaper of the two models, coming in at $199 / £199 / AU$299; that makes them the clear winner for anyone who’s on a strict budget. There are cheaper wireless earbuds on the market; models like the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus and the Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 offer excellent audio performances for less than $100 / £100. However, budget wireless earbuds like these won’t offer the same level of customization, or as many extra features as the Sony and NuraTrue buds.

The Sony WF-1000XM4 and the NuraTrue are both true wireless in-ear headphones that feature silicone eartips that create a seal between your ear canal and the outside world. Unlike the popular Apple AirPods , neither model features protruding stems.

Coming in black and silver, Sony’s earbuds sport round housings with trendy copper accents and come with a slim charging case that’s 40% smaller than that of their predecessors, the WF-1000XM3.

The NuraTrue also come with round housings, but they’re much flatter and wider than the Sony WF-1000XM4; nevertheless, both models are equally comfortable, and feel secure in your ears. The NuraTrue only come in a black color option.

Both earbuds feature touch controls, allowing you to adjust your music playback, answer calls, and choose the level of noise cancellation - and these controls can be configured in the earbuds’ respective apps (in the case of the NuraTrue, you’ll need to do this as part of the setup process anyway).

The Sony WF-1000XM4 controls work flawlessly. And while the NuraTrue controls aren’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, we did experience a slight lag between a tap and the resulting action on occasion.

One of the reasons that we picked the Sony WF-1000XM4 as the best wireless earbuds you can buy today is their excellent specs and features. You get a lot for your money with these buds, and the accompanying Sony Headphones app makes it easy to customize the WF-1000XM4.

They come with active noise cancellation that can adapt to your environment - and we found the earbuds to be effective in blocking out environmental sound, if not as effective as the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds .

There’s also support for Speak-to-Chat, which pauses your music when the earbuds detect your voice, and DSEE upscaling to bring lossy music streams closer to hi-res quality. We’re not totally convinced by DSEE, but it does give you a little more detail from low quality tracks.

You can also enable Sony’s 360 Reality Audio technology in the Headphones Connect app, which requires you to take a photo of each ear. The app then analyzes your ear shape for an immersive sound that’s tailored to you - though you will need to use a compatible streaming service to take advantage of this feature.

The NuraTrue earbuds also come with active noise cancellation, and while it doesn’t automatically adjust the amount of sound being blocked out based on your surroundings, we still found it to be pretty effective. There’s also a Social mode, which feeds in the sound of your environment, as well as turning your music down – you can assign this mode to one of the touch controls if you want to be able to chat to someone quickly without removing your earbuds.

The app that comes with the NuraTrue is probably the most exciting aspect of using the earbuds - and that’s not meant in a disparaging way. This is where Nura sets itself apart from the competition by offering a truly personalized listening experience.

First, the app runs you through a fit test, to ensure you’re wearing the right-sized eartips and fins for your ears. Then you’ll be put through some hearing tests, during which you’ll hear a multitude of beeps and boops that span the entire frequency range. This supposedly allows the buds’ soundstage to be tuned to your ears - and unlike the Sony earbuds, this feature isn’t limited to spatial audio tracks, and can be used with any music.

To give you a sense of the difference this makes, the Nura app lets you hear music without this personalized sound profile applied, allowing you to toggle between Neutral and Personalized settings with an in-app switch. We found the Personalized setting to be much more immersive and dynamic, so it’s definitely worth doing.

The app also allows you to turn on the earbuds’ Immersion mode, which Nura claims replicates the sound of live music. Using a slider, you can adjust how strongly you’d like the Immersion mode to be applied to your music. We were skeptical, but it does make a noticeable difference, creating a wider soundstage and thunderous bass - however, this isn’t a replacement for the virtual surround sound afforded by Sony’s 360 Reality Audio feature that makes it feel as though sound is coming at you from every angle.

If you’re looking for a fantastic audio performance, you can’t go wrong with either of these wireless earbuds.

The Sony WF-1000XM4 deliver a balanced, driving, poised and convincing sound, with great dynamic and rhythmic ability. You’ll get plenty of detail from your music with these buds, and there is support for hi-res audio thanks to Sony’s LDAC codec (though you’ll need a compatible source to take advantage).

The NuraTrue wireless earbuds’ audio performance is also outstanding – and, despite sounding excellent out of the box, it’s all those customizable audio settings that make these in-ear headphones so special.

Of the two, we’d say the NuraTrue sound slightly more immersive, especially if you’re using their Immersion mode; however, the Sony buds win when it comes to detail and rhythmic accuracy.

Like the Sony WF-1000XM4, the NuraTrue can handle hi-res audio streams thanks to aptX Adaptive support.

You get the same battery life with the Sony WF-1000XM4 and the NuraTrue, but it’s distributed between the earbuds and their charging cases a little differently.

With the Sony earbuds, you get 24 hours in total, with 8-12 hours of playback provided by the earbuds themselves. If you have active noise cancellation turned on, you can expect a shorter battery life.

The NuraTrue, on the other hand, offer 6 hours from the buds themselves, with a further 18 hours provided by the charging case.

Neither of these models come with class-leading battery lives, like the 45 hours provided by the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus, but both will get you through a week’s worth of commuting. However, the Sony WF-1000XM4 have an extra trick up their sleeves in the form of wireless charging, which means you can simply pop them on a charging pad to top them up. The NuraTrue can only be charged via a USB-C cable, which is included in the box.

Whether you buy the Sony WF-1000XM4 or the NuraTrue earbuds, you can be sure that you’re getting some of the best wireless earbuds available today. Both models sound fantastic, feel comfortable to wear, support hi-res audio and noise cancellation, and come with easy-to-use touch controls.

If your decision comes down to money, the NuraTrue are the obvious choice, costing $80 / £50 / AU$150 less than the Sony earbuds. However, if you want to experience virtual surround sound, the Sony WF-1000XM4 are the best choice for you, thanks to support for 360 Reality Audio. Sony’s buds are also a little more discreet-looking, so they’re ideal if you prefer a subtle style and don’t like the wide housings of the NuraTrue.

If you want a pair of earbuds that you can really personalize, the NuraTrue are the better choice here. The accompanying app takes you through all the steps you need to ensure that you’re getting the best sound possible for your ears, and it’s really fun to hear the difference between a personalized sound and a more generic tuning.

Of course, it might be that neither of these earbuds are right for you. If that’s the case, check out our guide to the best true wireless earbuds for a wider selection of in-ear headphones that we’ve selected for sound quality, value for money, and specs. Alternatively, if you’re not ready to ditch the cable, read our guides to the best earbuds for a variety of neckbuds and wired in-ear headphones at a range of prices.

The Batman is coming to HBO Max earlier than we thought

The Batman has received its official HBO Max release date – and, surprisingly, it's coming to the streaming service earlier than anticipated.

In a press release, WarnerMedia confirmed that The Batman will launch on its streaming platform on Monday, April 18 . That's a day earlier than the superhero film 's supposedly leaked release date, which was said to be April 19 .

Film aficionados who aren't subscribed to HBO Max will also be able to watch the Dark Knight's latest movie adaptation in April, too. The Batman will be broadcast on HBO as well, but those wishing to catch the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) flick will have to wait a few days to do so. The Batman won't air on HBO until Saturday, April 23 at 8pm EST / 5pm PST so, if you don't want to wait, you may have to sign up to HBO Max to see it earlier.

After numerous pandemic-induced delays, The Batman finally launched in theaters worldwide on March 4, 2022. The Caped Crusader's most recent film adaptation was met with critical acclaim from fans and journalists alike, with many praising its vibe and tone, cast performances, plot, and its leaning into the detective side of the character's make-up.

In our spoiler-free review , we said The Batman was "a stunningly meticulous and tension-filled DCEU movie that doesn't lose sight of the iconic vigilante's comic book roots [...] Its unique blend of detective noir, horror, psychological thriller, action, and drama delivers a sumptuous tale that's full of gritty style, while its all-star cast, cinematography, and pulsating score enhance the spectacle."

For more content concerning The Batman, check out our exclusive chats with director Matt Reeves and star Colin Farrell about the film's horror-esque influences and Penguin spin-off , respectively. And, once you've finished watching The Batman (or if you missed them the first time around), read our ending and post-credits scene explainer , as well as which "really cool" scene Reeves left out of the final cut .

Analysis: why was The Batman's HBO Max release date changed?

Well, there's no guarantee that it was. As we mentioned earlier, WarnerMedia was believed to have accidentally leaked The Batman's HBO Max release, with a technical hiccup on the official HBO website seemingly confirming as much.

It's possible, though, that The Batman's HBO Max webpage was simply a placeholder, and that WarnerMedia was still debating when to bring the critically-acclaimed movie to its streaming platform. We've seen plenty of online stores use placeholder dates for specific products in the past before they settle on a confirmed launch date. Maybe WarnerMedia was taking a page out of that strategy book, then.

It's that or, with a number of big HBO Max hitters – including The Flight Attendant season 2 and Barry season 3 – returning later this month , WarnerMedia decided to release The Batman earlier so its susbcriber base wasn't spoiled for choice over what to watch. Add in the prospect that one particular HBO Max show has been a major hit for the streamer over the past fortnight , and Max users are sure to be hit with a bout of 'choice paralysis' as April progresses.

Still, it's good that we've received official confirmation of The Batman's HBO Max release. At the time of writing, it's only one week from appearing on our screens at home, which makes a pleasing change from having to wait ages for newly released films to make their way to streaming services the world over.

We're sure that it'll make its way onto our best HBO Max movies list relatively soon, and it'll take a monumental effort from any potential sequels to overthrow it in our best Batman movies ranked article , too. Right now, there's only one Batman movie we consider to be superior to it, but you'll have to read that article to find out which one it is.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti vs RTX 3080

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti launched almost a year ago now, and while there's definitely been plenty of time for it to mature since then, the graphics card market has been in kind of a weird place.

If you've been paying attention at all, you've probably noticed that actually buying a graphics card has been next to impossible since the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 launched back in September 2020. But now that we're starting to see GPU prices fall a little bit , we figured it was time to start talking about which GPU is the best value for gamers once again. After all, if things continue the way they are, the average gamer might actually be able to afford a graphics card soon – might as well know which is the best for you.

With the RTX 3080 Ti and the RTX 3080, the names can be a little confusing. While the RTX 3080 is no doubt powerful, we found that in our testing the RTX 3080 Ti performs a lot like an RTX 3090 , just at a relatively lower MSRP. So, is that the card worth buying?

Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti vs RTX 3080: price

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti launched at $1,199 / £1,049 / AU$1,949 for Nvidia's Founders Edition. Prices obviously go up from there, especially these days, but you should probably expect to spend between $1,199 to $1,400 on an RTX 3080 Ti when prices finally normalize.

The RTX 3080, however, is much more affordable - at least it's supposed to be. At launch, Nvidia's flagship GPU was set at $699 (£649, about AU$950) for that Founders Edition. However, this is the graphics card that was hit hardest by recent price jumps, and it's still seeing very inflated prices. Right now on Amazon, we're seeing it between $1,200 and $1,600 in the US. That makes it about the same price as its big sibling.

In fact, even on Amazon at the time of writing, you can get the Gigabyte RTX 3080 Ti Gaming OC at $1,449 , which is basically the same price as an RTX 3080 right now. If it comes down to it, and you have to pick between an RTX 3080 and an RTX 3080 Ti that's even like $100 more, you should absolutely go for the RTX 3080 Ti. It's just so much faster.

Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti vs RTX 3080: specs

When you first hear the name "RTX 3080 Ti" you'd be forgiven for thinking it was just a minor mid-generation spec bump over the original RTX 3080. However, Nvidia really cranked up the dials for it.

The original Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 was launched with 10GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus. That memory was paired with 8,704 CUDA cores and a 1.71GHz boost clock. It was refreshed a little while ago with a 12GB option. That option also comes on a higher 384-bit memory bus, along with slightly more CUDA cores at 8,960.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, on the other hand, has significantly more CUDA cores, coming in at 10,240, with a boost clock of 1.67GHz. That means it's significantly more powerful than either version of the RTX 3080. It's actually closer to the RTX 3090, with its 10,496 CUDA cores. However, it has the same amount of RAM as the refreshed RTX 3080, with 12GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus.

That really drives home that the two cards are significantly different from one another. If you're looking to do 4K gaming, the RTX 3080 Ti is simply going to be better at it than the original RTX 3080. And that means less compromising on fancy graphics effects like ray tracing.

Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti vs RTX 3080: performance

Specs only mean so much, though. Who cares about a bunch of numbers on a sheet when what really matters is how these graphics cards handle the best PC games.

In 4K gaming, the RTX 3080 Ti breaks away from the RTX 3080, providing a nearly 10% performance difference. For instance, it is able to get 95 fps in Dirt 5 at 4K with all the settings maxed, where the original RTX 3080 gets 86 fps. Obviously, both cards excel at this resolution and 86 fps is nothing to shake a stick at - but you can't deny that an extra 10 fps helps.

However, if you're playing at a lower resolution, you're going to see diminishing returns, especially at 1080p. Both of these graphics cards will blow any current game away at that resolution, so paying more for an RTX 3080 Ti doesn't really make sense.

On the other hand, it's totally possible that future games will put the more powerful graphics to the test at this low resolution. And if you're buying this expensive of a graphics card for 1080p gaming, it's likely you're the type that wants to buy something that will last a long time anyway.

Either of these graphics cards will be excellent for 1080p gaming at a high frame rate, so pro esports players will likely find a lot to love. The RTX 3080 Ti can easily handle a game like Overwatch and hit above 244 fps, which is good news for anyone that relies on speed to enhance their reaction speed.