Sony's WH-1000XM3 headphones are often praised as some of the best noise canceling headphones on the market. Today Sony announced the follow-up model with even better noise cancelation.
The WH-1000XM4 is Sony's newest pair of wireless over-ear headphones. While they share a similar design with the XM3, Sony has added a few improvements that make the XM4 even better than their popular predecessor.
First is improved noise cancelation. Sony says it's added a new Bluetooth Audio System on Chip that can sense music and noise at over 700 times per second. There are two microphones on each earcup that capture ambient noise and then pass that data to the HD Noise Canceling Processor QN1, which uses a new algorithm to apply nosie canceling processing in real time.
Sony is also touting a new feature called Speak-to-Chat. With it, the WH-1000XM4 is said to be able to detect when you're talking and automatically stop your music to let in ambient sound so that you can have a conversation, all without you having to actually do anything.
Also improved is the voice call quality. The WH-1000XM4 have a new Precise Voice Pickup tech that controls five microphones on the headphones and performs advanced audio signal processing to pick up your voice clearly for hands-free calling.
The other big new feature of Sony's WH-1000XM4 is support for multiple device pairing. You can now pair the headphones with two Bluetooth devices at the same time and can automatically switch when one device is ringing for an incoming call. You can also switch the headphones between two devices by touching a button.
Sony says the WH-1000XM4 will last for 30 hours on a single charge. If your battery is low and you're on your way out of the house, you can get five hours' worth of battery life in just 10 minutes of charging.
The WH-1000XM4 also come with touch panels on the sides of the earcups that let you do things like change the track, adjust the volume, or take and make phone calls by touching or swiping.
The Sony WH-1000XM4 is now available for pre-order for $349.99 at Amazon and Best Buy. It'll launch in mid-August.
