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The earbuds were able to substantially smother the low-end hum of a nearby air conditioner, effectively matching the performance of Apple’s AirPods Pro, the ANC of which we’ve commended in the past. #SONY AMBIENT SOUND CONTROL FULL#As usual, exact battery life will depend on how hard you push the volume.įurther Reading The Ars Technica ultimate buying guide for your home office setupAgain, this isn’t a full review, but after preliminary testing, my first impressions of the XM4’s noise-canceling performance are positive. If true, this would be an impressive figure for a noise-canceling pair with this form factor, though I haven’t been able to test the earbuds long enough to confirm Sony’s estimates. That’s up from the six- and eight-hour ratings, respectively, of the XM3. In general, Sony rates the XM4’s battery life at eight hours per charge with active noise cancellation and 12 hours per charge without. Sony says it will provide 16 hours of battery at full charge and that a five-minute charge can return about an hour of playback time. The case itself still charges over USB-C but now supports Qi wireless charging as well. ![]() It shouldn’t have much trouble fitting into most pockets, purses, or handbags. It’s still a bit fatter than the AirPods Pro’s case but only slightly larger lengthwise. There is no option for silicone tips as with the XM3, however.Īlso more convenient is the XM4’s charging case, which Sony says is 40 percent smaller than that of the XM3. This stability is aided by the foam ear tips that come included with the XM4 by default they are soft but sit snugly in the ear canal and create an impressively tight seal. Sony pegs the XM4 as 10 percent smaller than the XM3, and the better weight distribution has kept the earpieces more stable as I’ve moved around. While these aren't the smallest pair of true wireless earbuds I’ve used, my immediate impression is that they provide a more comfortable fit than the previous model. For one, they’re physically more compact, ditching the XM3’s elongated earpieces and glossy touch control panels for a more traditionally rounded design with touch control fields seamlessly baked in. That said, I’ve been able to test the XM4 for a couple days ahead of Tuesday’s announcement, and the earbuds do come with several notable upgrades over their predecessor. For reference, the XM3 launched for $230. #SONY AMBIENT SOUND CONTROL PRO#That puts them in line with competitors like the $279 Bose QuietComfort Earbuds but above other premium noise-canceling pairs like the $249 Apple AirPods Pro or $230 Jabra Elite 85t. Given that market, the XM4 is expensive: the earbuds are available to order today for $279.99. Like that pair, the XM4 is aimed squarely at the premium end of the burgeoning true wireless market, with a loaded feature set packed into their diminutive frame. I’ve also barely explored the 360-degree audio feature of the 1000XM4s since so few music services support the format.Further Reading Sony’s WF-1000XM3 bring noise cancellation to AirPods-style wireless earbudsThis is the follow-up to the also-awkwardly-named WF-1000XM3 earbuds that Sony launched in 2019. ![]() Honestly, it all sounds a little artificial to me, and I still leave this disabled. Sony also says it has improved the optional feature that upscales compressed music with the help of AI, which can now analyze music in real time and recognize instruments, music genres, and individual elements of songs. ![]() #SONY AMBIENT SOUND CONTROL FREE#I haven’t had the previous pair on hand to compare against, but my visits to the grocery store have been free of noisy distractions or chatter cutting through. The 1000XM3s were already great at hushing airplanes, buses, trains, and other constant sound, but according to Sony, the 1000XM4s have gotten modestly better at reducing mid-high frequency sounds - like voices and everyday ambient sound. #SONY AMBIENT SOUND CONTROL BLUETOOTH#The 1000XM4s use the same Q1N processor for noise canceling as the prior headphones, but Sony says there’s a new Bluetooth audio system on a chip that analyzes music and surrounding noise 700 times per second, and this data is used for the noise cancellation algorithm. ![]()
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