New leak reveals full details of Sony’s upcoming WH-1000XM4 headphones

You’ve got to love the internet. No matter how much companies try and keep certain announcements private until they can reveal it at the right time, information can often find a way of getting accidentally exposed somewhere along the way and then the internet scoops it up and exposes to an unsuspecting audience.

This time around we have new details on Sony’s upcoming WH-1000XM4 noise-cancelling headphones, that have come around thanks to a new listing on Walmart’s website that reveals basically everything there is to know about the refreshed headphones. This includes new AI features to enhance compressed music, the ability to connect to multiple devices at once, and a $348 (R5844) price tag (via Android Police)

The new M4’s appear to be very similar to the previous M3 model in terms of design, with many of the same features like noise-cancellation technology, USB-C fast charging, support for Sony’s LDAC transmission technology, and touchpad controls. There are also enough new features that make upgrading a worthwhile option, like the ability to connect to two Bluetooth devices instead of just one at the same time. The headphones also come with five built-in microphones combined with improved signal processing in a system the company calls “Precise Voice Pickup Technology,” which promises to offer far better voice quality than the previous models.

There is also a new Adaptive Sound Control feature that allows users to set custom settings profiles for different locations (like work or a coffee shop) through Sony’s companion app and a new version of Sony’s Digital Sound Enhancement Engine technology, DSEE Extreme (replacing the old DSEE HX technology), which promises to apply AI to “upscale compressed digital music files in real-time” in order to “restore the high-range sound lost in compression.”

For audiophiles, these are all many welcome improvements that might make spending that kind of money on these headphones justifiable. One improvement Sony appears to not be making is around battery life, with the 30 hours on offer consistent with the previous model. Sony has yet to formally announce the new model, but given the details advertised here its likely they will soon, and it could be yet another popular pair of headphones for the company.

Last Updated: June 5, 2020