Sony's WF-1000XM4 have ranked consistently as the best wireless earbuds money can buy since they launched in 2021. But now they're nearly two years old – in headphones terms, that's pretty ancient. Rumours abound that Sony has a new pair waiting in the wings, and we even have some leaked pictures to back these up.
So what can we expect from Sony's next wireless earbuds? How will they improve on the XM4? When will they launch and how much will they cost? We'll seek to answer all these and more as we run down everything we know about the Sony WF-1000XM5.
Sony WF-1000XM5 release date rumours
The Sony WF-1000XM4 launched in June 2021. Now, nearly two years on, rumours are building that a successor is nigh.
But not just rumours – we have some concrete details to go on, too. Sony recently filed a new pair of headphones with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) in the US. While they don't mention the model number WF-1000XM5, that seems the most likely model because of the timing.
The filing has to include a short-term confidentiality clause, and it must specify an end date, after which the details will become public knowledge. The listing specifies the end date as 22nd August 2023. That doesn't mean the headphones will launch then – firms often make this end date way later than the device's launch date, just in case of delays. The WH-1000XM5, for example, had a confidentiality end date of 8th August 2022, but were announced in May 2022.
So going on past form, we could see the WF-1000XM5 launch in the next couple of months.
Sony WF-1000XM5 price speculation
The XM4 launched at £250 / $280 / AU$450, but can now be picked up for a little less than that. Prices are currently hovering around £200 / $200 / AU$349. But of course, a lot has changed since the XM4 launched in 2021.
Namely there's a cost of living crisis that's pushing up the prices of everything, headphones included. At the end of last year, Bose launched the QuietComfort Earbuds II, which, at £280 / $299 / AU$429, are pricier than the XM4. So we could well see Sony push up the price for its next pair of premium wireless noise-cancelling earbuds, maybe to around £280 / $300 / AU$400.
Hopefully that will mean the excellent WF-1000XM4 get another price cut. Stay tuned to What Hi-Fi? – we'll bring you all the news of a price drop, especially around big sale days like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday.
Sony WF-1000XM5 design rumours
The aforementioned filing with the FCC (via The Walkman Blog) also revealed some titbits on the design. It's worth noting that the images supplied with the filing won't represent the final design, so the product launched will look a little different. But some important elements should remain.
Such as? The earbuds will be more compact, according to the images, dropping the flat underside of the XM4. This change of shape and form factor is likely to make the buds sit more comfortably in the ear.
The pic also shows the tactile dot, above which is a hole for a microphone, though it's not clear whether it's for the feedforward or voice mic. According to the recent filing with the Federal Communications Commission, the earbuds should also include a touch panel for controls, though it's not clearly visible in these pics.
The charging case also seems to have changed, though not as drastically as some were predicting. Word was that it would be square, but not according to these pictures. The only changes seem to be a change from a three-pin connection to two-pin, and that the LED has moved from inside the case to the front. It should also have more power (230mAh, up from 140mAh on the XM4), which should make for quicker charging.
Sony WF-1000XM5 features
The XM4 are some of the most feature-laden wireless earbuds around. We can expect the XM5 to offer the same feature set, and then some.
Qi wireless charging looks to come as standard (as supported by the FCC filing), as does Bluetooth 5.3. The more recent leaks haven't shed any more light on what features we can expect, but we'd guess that noise-cancelling/ambient modes will be present and correct, along with Speak to Chat (which activates talk through mode when you start talking).
The Integrated Processor V1 will probably still be onboard, though Sony could upgrade this to a new version. The V1 is the brains of the operation, upping the sound quality and helping the noise-cancelling. The XM4 also feature Sony’s DSEE Extreme audio processor with Edge-AI, which we have also experienced in the WH-1000XM4 and XM5 over-ear headphones – this upscales low-bitrate music files to near hi-res quality.
The XM4 feature a 6mm driver. Sony says the bigger magnet involved helps improve sound quality and noise-cancelling, especially with certain low frequencies. And while they don't support aptX HD, they do play nice with Sony’s LDAC format, which, streamed over Bluetooth from a compatible source, allows hi-res audio files up to 24-bit/96kHz to be transmitted at data rates of up to 990kbps.
What else can we expect? We've compiled a wishlist of features we'd like to see, which includes Bluetooth Multipoint out of the box (it recently arrived on the XM4 as part of a firmware update), more eartip sizes, and better noise-cancelling. You can see our full list here: Sony WF-1000XM5: 6 things we want from Sony's next wireless earbuds.
Sony WF-1000XM5 early verdict
A lot is still unknown about the Sony WF-1000XM5. But what we have seen is very promising indeed. Faster charging, a more compact design and better Bluetooth would all be welcome improvements to what have long been the best wireless earbuds around.
But with increased competition from Bose, Sennheiser, Apple and more, Sony will have its work cut out to stay top dog in the true wireless world. We'll update this page with more leaks as we get them.
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