The new Sony WF-1000XM4 – the latest truly wireless model in the popular and acclaimed 1000X series – also shows a better focus from Sony in the fast-growing TWS category. The new design is made to fit every ear and offer a personalized experience that adjusts to every situation. Through the touch controls, users can easily activate Noise Cancellation, Ambient Sound, Quick Attention mode or simply skip, pause or play songs.
"Sony's 1000X series features the best noise canceling in the industry, and these headphones have raised that bar even higher," says Daisuke Kawaguchi, Vice President of Home Entertainment & Sound, Sony Electronics. "Sony has been revolutionizing the personal listening experience since pioneering the iconic Walkman in 1979 and introducing the world's first in-ear model back in 1982. Our talented team has studied and perfected sound, noise canceling performance and call quality over the last several decades, and the WF-1000XM4 headphones are a direct result of those extensive efforts."
Specially developed by Sony for the WF-1000XM4, the newly designed V1 Integrated Processor and Bluetooth 5.2 SoC takes the noise canceling performance of Sony's QN1e chip and goes even further. With two noise sensing microphones on the surface of each earbud – one feed-forward and one feed-back – the WF-1000XM4 analyzes ambient noise to provide highly accurate noise cancellation. Even on windy days, Automatic Wind Noise Reduction mode detects when it's windy and automatically compensates. A newly designed 6mm driver unit with a 20% increase in magnet volume and a high compliance diaphragm also provides improved performance in low frequencies and enhances noise canceling by generating a high-precision cancellation signal to the low frequency range.
More importantly, the WF-1000XM4 is able to combine improved noise canceling performance with a more efficient Bluetooth System-on-Chip that uses less power than its predecessor. And that is helped also by the efficiency of the custom designed drivers. The Integrated Processor V1 also enhances sound quality and reduces distortion, while enabling the Sony LDAC codec and DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) Extreme processing to improve the overall experience with high-resolution audio sources.
According to Sony, the WF-1000XM4 headphones now support High-Resolution Audio Wireless thanks to LDAC, Sony's audio coding technology that pushes the boundaries of Bluetooth transmission. LDAC transmits approximately three times more data (at the maximum transfer rate of 990 kbps) than conventional Bluetooth audio, allowing users to enjoy High-Resolution Audio content with exceptional quality, when used with another LDAC-enabled Bluetooth source device. And using Edge-AI, the new DSEE Extreme processing is able to upscale compressed digital music files in real time.
Combining precise voice pickup technology with microphones and a bone-conduction sensor, the WF-1000XM4 picks up voice clearly and accurately for hands-free calls. Beamforming microphones are calibrated to only pick up sounds from the user's mouth. With an improved signal-to-noise ratio, and the new bone-conduction sensor, the new design enables even clearer speech when making calls. Additionally, the earbuds' noise canceling allows making calls in noisy environments even easier.
And of course Sony did not forget to add support for its 360 Reality Audio immersive audio format, which can now be enjoyed on the WF-1000XM4 headphones when combined with an Android smartphone and iPhone that has a participating streaming services app installed. The 360 Reality Audio listening experience will offer an improved experience with immersive/spatial audio content, with a custom HRTF profile when using the WF-1000XM4 headphones with the Sony Headphones Connect app.
After receiving widespread praise when it was first introduced on the WH-1000XM4 headphones model, the Speak-to-Chat feature is now available also on the WF-1000XM4, enabling users to have short conversations without taking out the earbuds. Based on precise voice pickup technology, which combines four microphones and sensors with advanced audio signal processing, Speak-to-Chat recognizes and reacts to the user's voice. As soon as the user speaks to someone, Speak-to-Chat automatically pauses the music and lets in ambient sound. Once the chat is over, music starts playing again automatically. Users can also activate 'Quick Attention' mode by simply placing their finger over the left earbud to decrease the volume instantly and let in ambient sound.
Adaptive Sound Control is another smart feature that senses where users are and what they're doing, whether it be traveling, walking or seating, and then adjusts ambient sound settings for the ideal listening experience. Users can opt to have Adaptive Sound Control learn to recognize places they frequently visit, like the office, gym, or a favorite café, and tailor sound to suit the situation. And the earbuds come with instant pause and play for a seamless experience. A proximity sensor detects when the earbuds are being worn or removed.
The new WF-1000XM4 also improves with a new ergonomic surface design, with a shape that matches the ear cavity and offer a more stable fit. Using the Headphones Connect App, users can now take a few simple measurements to find the ideal size of noise isolation earbud tips to ensure maximum sound quality and minimum outside noise. The new earbud tips are made from a unique polyurethane foam material that is soft and elastic, which improves adhesion to the ear canal, eliminating gaps to insulate sound and reduce noise. The earbuds have an IPX4 water resistance rating and are also lighter and 10% smaller than their predecessor, with a 40% smaller charging case.
And certainly very appreciated, users will be able to enjoy up to 8 hours of use with ANC on, plus up to 16 hours of charging from the case. This means a full 24 hours of charge is available, while a 5-minute quick charge will give up to 60 minutes of play time. The Sony Headphones Connect app sends a notification when the charging case drops below 30%. The charging case also supports Qi wireless charging technology.
The improved Bluetooth SoC will contribute to a much improved experience from all users, including improved low latency audio sync when watching content on a screen, while the new V1 processor optimizes the transmission algorithm to establish a stable connection even in environments with more interference. Pairing and activating voice assistants is also now improved. The Sony earbuds will work with Google or Alexa voice assistants and now support Google Fast Pair for Android and Microsoft Swift Pair for Windows 10 devices.
Another important detail, Sony has also innovated with the use of environmentally conscious materials in the packaging using "Original Blended Material," a durable paper material developed by Sony. The new material, made from bamboo, sugarcane fibers, and post-consumer recycled paper, is suitable for a diverse range of packaging and has less of an environmental impact than plastics.
The WF-1000XM4 has a suggested retail price of $279.99 and is available now in black and silver at Sony Electronics, Amazon, Best Buy and other authorized dealers.
www.sony.com
