Following months of leaks/rumors, Sony has officially unveiled the WF-1000XM4. These are the company’s latest true wireless earbuds, and while they may not have the most eye-catching name, they’re shaping up to be one of the most impressive audio gadgets of the year.
The release of the WF-1000XM4 couldn’t come at a better time. It’s now been about two years since the WF-1000XM3 launched, and all this time later, they continue to be one of the industry leaders for noise-canceling earbuds. They still sound amazing, block out a ton of sound, and are loaded with premium features. That said, the bulky and uncomfortable design has kept them from being a complete smash hit. That aging design — combined with rumors of AirPods Pro 2 coming in 2022 — meant Sony had a perfect opportunity to take its earbud game to the next level. With the recently announced WF-1000XM4, that’s exactly what it did.
Without a doubt, the biggest upgrade is the design. The Sony WF-1000XM4 are considerably smaller and rounder than the 1000XM3 that came out before them, which will likely result in a much more comfortable fit. The entire backside of the earbuds also acts as a touch area for playback controls, which is another improvement over the previous model. The design upgrades continue to the charging case, which Sony says is 40 percent smaller than the XM3 case.
The WF-1000XM4 Improve ANC, Battery, And Charging
Another big area of focus is on audio quality. In addition to supporting LDAC for high-resolution music files, the 1000XM4 can also upscale non-LDAC files to make them sound better. Similarly, Sony has improved active noise cancellation thanks to the use of two microphones on either earbud. Even with those upgrades, battery life has actually gotten better compared to the XM3. For the 1000XM4, Sony promises 8 hours of continuous playback and 24 hours of total battery life when ANC is turned on. When ANC is turned off, those numbers go up to 12 hours and 36 hours, respectively.
Also new this time around is Qi wireless charging for the case, making the charging experience that much more convenient. Other improvements include Beam Forming Microphones for higher-quality phone calls, an IPX4 rating to protect against water, and a new ‘Speak to Chat’ feature. If someone is wearing the XM4 and starts talking, the earbuds will recognize that and automatically adjust volume and ANC so they can hear their conversation.
Sony put a lot of effort into making the 1000XM4 as good as possible. Unfortunately, all of those improvements do come at a cost. The Sony WF-1000XM4 feature a retail price of $280, which is $50 more than the WF-1000XM3. While cheaper gadgets are always better than more expensive ones, this seems to be a reasonable price increase given how much better the earbuds should be over their predecessor. They’re smaller, support higher-quality audio, have better ANC, longer battery life, and more charging options. That’s a lot for an extra $50, and it gives Apple something to worry about whenever AirPods Pro 2 hit the scene next year. For shoppers that are interested, the Sony WF-1000XM4 are available for purchase right now.
