Sony WH-1000XM6: rumored release date, and possible early leaks
The rumor mill is beginning to grind the sheafs of Sony speculation into the flour of fact
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If you’re think that theSonyWH-1000XM6 must be due soon, to replace the now-several-years-old current model, you might be right. TheSony WH-1000XM5rank among thebest noise-cancelling headphonesyou can buy today – but this is an incredibly competitive market and there’s no shortage of contenders for the crown, and Sony’s own headphones are so good that the previous model, theSony WH-1000XM4, are currently atop our best-buy guide.
That means Sony needs to keep improving its flagship over-ears if it wants to keep selling new pairs to people. And the rumour mill says that it’s going to do just that, and that the Sony WH-1000XM6 will be with us soon… but nottoosoon.
Given that the WH-1000XM5 got five out of five stars in our review, which also noted that the WH-1000XM4 were so good that the improvements were “more marginal than before”, what on earth could Sony be planning for the next generation? Here’s what we think we know so far.
Sony’s WH-1000XM6 release date rumors
Back in June,GSM Arenareported two key stories: one, theSony LinkBudsandLinkBuds Swould get a 2024 update at tge same time; and two, the WH-1000XM5 and WF-1000XM5 earbuds would not. Instead, Sony was most likely “targeting the first six months of next year” for its flagships.
Given that thefirst story proved to be exactly correct when Sony announced two new LinkBuds models, and that the second story was from the same source, we’re inclined to think that the prediction of a launch in the first half of 2025 is probably sound too. And anotherleakon Chinese social media site Weibo said that Sony wants to synchronize the update cycles for the two flagships, which again would mean a 2025 launch, since that’s when theSony WF-1000XM5earbuds will hit two years and be due an update, under Sony’s usual cadence.
We haven’t seen much leak evidence of this yet, until recently, perhaps. The Sony watchers atThe Walkman Bloghave spotted a new wireless Sony headset code in import documents. It has the product code YY2984, and according to the blog it “could be” one of the XM6 models. Then again, it’s simply listing some kind of wireless headset with a plastic shell, so it could be anything.
That said, when the current models were about three months from release they showed up in FCC regulatory filings; devices need a lot of paperwork before they go on sale, so it’s not impossible that YY2984 are indeed these future candidates for thebest Sony headphones. It’s pretty weak sauce, I know, but that’s the exciting world of headphones for you. It’s the FCC filing you really want to be on tenterhooks for – that will start the countdown. Perhaps that’ll come in in December for March-ish launch.
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Sony’s WH-1000XM6: what we’d like to see
Bose-beating noise cancellation:Sony has gone from being a total leader here to being merely very good. Bose’s latest noise cancelling headphones have exceptional ANC that beats Sony, so let’s see if Sony can reclaim the crown.
Better battery life:Sony has basically dictated the average for this for years now, hitting 30 hours consistently. But when theSennheiser Momentum 4 WirelessandCambridge Audio P100can hit 60 hours, Sony should really offer us more. I’m not holding my breath for this, though.
Water resistance:This is something that’s increasingly common among rivals, and it would be nice to see some official IP ratings.
The return of the fold:The XM5’s revised design made the headphones less portable, which was a surprise – they could return to our list of thebest travel headphoneswith this tweak. The headband could do with a bit more padding too, while I’m complaining.
Dolby Atmos spatial audio:No doubt Sony’s 360 Reality Audio will be here again, but with Dolby Atmos supported by several music services and – even more importantly, all the big movie services, we’d love to see support here. Especially if it comes with Dolby’s own head-tracking, which is excellent on theSonos AceandLG Tone Free T90S.
USB-C audio:Easy true hi-res audio from phones and laptops? Many of thebest wireless headphonesoffer this, but Bose doesn’t, so Sony can get one up on its old rival.
Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir,Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock bandUnquiet Mind.
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