There are a lot of people who are in the Bose camp when it comes to noise cancelling headphones because they did such a great job with their older QuietComfort 15 and then 25 headphones. But, Sony really shook things up not long ago with their WH-1000XM3 and now they are getting ready to release the new Sony WH-1000XM4. Here is what we know.
The Sony WH-1000XM4 – Details
Sony WH-1000XM4 from Best Buy leak
The Sony WH-1000XM4 Announcement?
Thanks to some leaks earlier this year, we know some of the details about these new Sony noise cancelling headphones and we will know a lot more when they are announced August 6. That is just a week away and we will know all about them!
But, here are some things we know about them already. They will likely debut at the $349 price that the Sony WH-1000XM3 has occupied as retail price, great news since the Bose 700 had added $50 to the price of the QC 35II.
While Sony has not said that they will be announcing these headphones that day, they did allude to the idea that it will be about audio and this is around the same time that Sony revealed the WH-1000XM3 back in 2018.
Save the date 👉 8.6.2020 👈 Join Sony Electronics’ Live Stream event to watch the unveiling of our latest innovation. #ListenWithSony https://t.co/gLe9EF1hUC pic.twitter.com/9I6Q3DJiEg
— Sony Electronics (@SonyElectronics) July 30, 2020
What We Know So Far
We do know what it looks like, price that Best Buy and Walmart had listed it at, and some other changes that should make this much better in usability over the XM3. One of those is the ability to connect to multiple Bluetooth devices for easier switching – yes!
One of the features I like already is the ability to connect to two devices. That is huge for anyone that has a tablet/laptop and smartphone. Another one is that it appears they have worked on the design so it may sit more comfortably on the head and fit better on the ears.
They have also replaced the ambient button with a “custom” button which could be a nice way to let the user assign his/her favorite uses. The Sony app is very good with the level of customization it provides so this button customization could be a big help.
According to this site, the chip that is being used could offer up to an extra 10 hours of battery life over the previous model. The WH-1000XM3 already had some great battery life so this would be excellent!
As for everything else, they look quite similar but the small design changes could make it that much better. Here are some more photos from the Best Buy page before they had pulled it down.
Sony WH-1000XM4 from Best Buy leak
We could also see a surprise feature brought to the table as well, which would definitely be nice!
We also could see an update to the one-year old Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds. I really, really liked these noise cancelling earbuds (review here) but there are some ways that Sony could improve on those. If they are keeping the similar nomenclature, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them announced as well.
Biggest problem with these is that the headband is much too flimsy and breaks very easily. Anybody else had that problem? I’m hoping they’ve fixed that.
Looks nice! I have the xm3s and they sound great. Multiple BT connections and better call quality would be the 2 most important features IMAO.