Sony makes some of the best headphones with active noise cancellation (ANC) including the WH-1000XM4 which was launched in 2020. Now it appears that the next generation Sony WH-1000XM5 model is just around the corner. If you’re bored with the same old headphone design which hasn’t changed much since the MDR-1000X from 2016, the new XM5 is finally getting an all-new design but retains the same awful product naming convention.
The folks at German tech site TechnikNews have obtained high-resolution press renders for Sony’s upcoming flagship over-ear headphones and their sources told them that the launch is imminent. The new headphones look much cleaner as the cups seem to be made from a single piece. Even the hinge that connects to the cup now comes in a single rounded piece instead of the current split design that wraps around the upper cup. This looks somewhat similar to the Bose 700 and Huawei FreeBuds Studio.
Similar to the current WH-1000XM4, the new headphones appear to retain the same black and silver option. It still gets a headphone jack for a wired connection as well as a USB-C port for charging. On the left cup, there’s also an NC/AMB button which is used to toggle between Noise Cancelling and Ambient mode, as well as a power button that also doubles for pairing mode.
Hardware-wise, TechnikNews believes that Sony will be using new drivers and there will be there two processors and three mics to handle ANC. The Sony WH-1000XM5 also connects wirelessly via Bluetooth 5.2.
One of the biggest improvements is said to be its battery life which is expected to last up to 40 hours on a single charge with ANC enabled. That’s 33% or 10 hours more than the current Sony WH-1000XM4. It seems that Sony has upgraded the battery capacity as charging the XM5 to 100% via USB-C is said to take 3.5 hours. As a comparison, the XM4 takes 3 hours to charge to full via USB-C.
At the moment, there are no pricing and availability details yet. If it does come to Malaysia, we expect it to be priced in around the RM1,599-RM1,799 range just like the WH-1000XM4 and WH-1000XM3. During online mega sales, you can find a pair of WH-1000XM4 going for less than RM1,000.
[ SOURCE, VIA, IMAGE SOURCE ]
