New Sony WF-1000XM4 ANC earbuds feature premium sound in a smaller size

The new Sony WF-1000XM4 launch with a smaller footprint and a big price tag.

What you need to know

• The new Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds have launched with a new design and improvements over their predecessor.
• The earbuds feature enhanced ANC and High-Resolution Audio Wireless with LDAC support thanks to Sony’s new V1 chip.
• The Sony WF-1000XM4 retail for $280 and can be ordered online now.

Roughly two years after the launch of its last flagship wireless earbuds, Sony has finally unveiled the new WF-1000XM4. The earbuds represent a major design change from the Sony WF-1000XM3 while improving many features.

The earbuds and included charging case feature a more compact design than the XM3s. Sony says the buds are 10% smaller, and the case is a whopping 40% smaller. But the size reduction doesn’t come at the expense of premium features or battery life, and that’s largely thanks to Sony’s new V1 Integrated Processor.

The WF-1000XM4 have improved ANC with dual microphones on either earbud to pick up and analyze sound. The XM4 also support LDAC for a boost in audio quality and can upscale digitally compressed audio files in real-time without sacrificing battery life. In fact, Sony claims the same 8 hours per charge and 24 total hours of music listening time as the XM3, which did not include LDAC support. That figure increases to an impressive 12/36 hours with ANC turned off, which rivals even the best wireless earbuds. The charging case also supports Qi wireless charging.

The WF-1000XM4 come with 360 Reality Audio for more immersive listening and will adjust the listening experience based on the environment thanks to Adaptive Audio control. With Precise Voice Pickup, users can enable Speak-to-Chat, automatically detecting when the user speaks and adjusting sound and ambient noise accordingly. This feature was previously found on the Sony WH-1000XM4, one of the best wireless headphones on the market.

Thanks to the new design, the Sony WF-1000XM4 are better equipped for exercising and feature IPX4 water and sweat resistance. And when you’re out and about, Sony claims says the XM4 will retain a better connection, even amid external Wi-Fi interference, thanks to V1-enhanced Bluetooth 5.0.

The XM4 support hand-free access to Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa and are also equipped with Google’s Fast Pair and Microsoft’s Swift Pair for a quick and easy connection to the best Android phones or Windows 10 computers, respectively.

Sony’s new flagship earbuds retail for $280 and are available to order today in either black or silver.

Small size, big promises

Sony WF-1000XM4

$280 at Amazon
$280 at Best Buy

Stepping it up

Sony’s latest flagship wireless earbuds give users a premium listening experience in a compact size. The WF-1000XM4 earbuds feature improved audio quality and ANC thanks to Sony’s V1 chip and can last up to 36 hours with the included charging case.