We've been feasting on a treasure trove of Sony WF-1000XM4 leaks, promising longer battery life, IPX4 sweat proofing and support for high-resolution audio via Sony’s LDAC wireless tech.
Today, much of this information has been confirmed via an official looking promo video, with a few new details for good measure. Originally posted to YouTube, the clip is now mirrored on Reddit after it was inevitably pulled from the service.
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The 2:33 video is exactly the kind of thing you’d expect to see at a launch event, complete with the WF-1000XM4 buds pulled apart in cross section, beautiful people modeling the earbuds in a variety of urban locations and captions highlighting the key features as they’re demonstrated (albeit in French).
Still, it’s not too hard to figure out what’s being highlighted, especially when some of the features come from yesterday’s Sony WF-1000XM4 leaks. IPX4-certified water resistance is flagged again, as are the key battery stats: up to 8 hours off a single charge with ANC (active noise cancellation) enabled, or 12 with it switched off. Combined with the charging case, this means you should get up to 36 hours of battery life, and the video also boasts that you can get an hour’s playback from just a 5-minute charge.
But the video mentions other things not highlighted by yesterday’s leak. New drivers will not only boost sound quality but include support for the LDAC Bluetooth codec and DSEE Extreme upscaling technology. As with Sony’s over-ear WH-1000XM4 headphones, the earbuds will include support for 360 Reality Audio which brings 3D effects to your music. Also demoed: a feature called Speak-to-Chat mode, which will automatically mute the audio when it notices you’re talking, so you can hear what’s said to you in response.
Eagle-eyed viewers of the video may also spot an unexpected cameo from a mystery Sony handset. Is this the Sony Xperia 1 III?
The only things missing from the video were price and release date. For the former, yesterday’s leak suggested a MSRP of €279, which comes to around $340 – that’s substantially higher than the WF-1000XM3’s $230 price, even taking into account the fact that the European price point likely includes sales tax.
The release date remains a mystery, but if Sony has a polished promo video like this ready to go, you should expect the WF-1000XM4 to be available very soon indeed.
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