Sony Electronics announces 4th generation WH-1000XM4 wireless noise-cancelling headphones
Sony Electronics has announced the launch of its much anticipated WH-1000XM4 noise-cancelling headphones – the latest addition to its award-winning 1000X range. The fourth-generation headphones offer all of the industry-leading technology found in the WH-1000XM3, with additional intelligent features that allow music-lovers to personalise and control their music, improve noise cancellation and adjust ambient sound automatically based on their preferences for a superior sound experience.
Superior silence, superior sound
Whether flying or relaxing in a café, the WH-1000XM4 headphones deliver Sony’s best noise-cancelling performance, reducing high and mid-frequency sounds. With two microphones on each earcup, Sony’s Dual Noise Sensor technology captures ambient noise and passes the data to the trusted HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1. A new Bluetooth® Audio SoC (System on Chip) senses and adjusts to music and noise at over 700 times per second. Using a new algorithm, the HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1 applies noise cancelling processing in real-time, allowing the listener to focus more on the music they love and blur out unwanted distractions.
Using Edge-AI, DSEE ExtremeTM more accurately rebuilds audio lost during digital compression for a full-fidelity experience. Edge-AI analyses music in real-time and recognises instruments, music genres and individual elements of each song to restore the high range sounds lost in compression for a richer, more complete listening experience. Sony worked with Sony Music Studios Tokyo to build this AI system by gathering data on music to garner true insight into how specific music signals are composed.
The headphones feature 360 Reality Audio – a new immersive audio experience that immerses listeners in the music as if they’re listening to their favourite artist live. Listeners can enjoy a custom immersive musical field that is perfectly optimised for each user when using the WH-1000XM4 headphones and the Sony Headphones Connect app[ii].
A smarter listening experience like no other
The headphones feature adaptive Sound Control, a feature that senses where the listener is and what they’re doing then adjusts ambient sound settings for the ideal listening experience. Over time, Adaptive Sound Control learns to recognise locations that listeners frequently visit, such as work, gym or a café, and tailors sound to suit the situation.
Everyday convenience
New to the WH-1000XM4 is ‘Speak-to-Chat’, an innovative feature that lets listeners engage in short conversations without taking their headphones off. By simply saying a phrase, the headphones will recognise the listener's voice, automatically stop the music and let in ambient sound without the need to remove the headphones. The music automatically starts playing again 30 seconds[iii] after the last word has been spoken.
The WH-1000XM4 now comes with wearing detection. The headphones detect whether they are worn or not and adapt playback accordingly to help save battery power. Using the headphone’s proximity sensor and two acceleration sensors, the headphones automatically stop the music when they’re removed and resume playing when they’re put on again, providing an effortless listening experience.
The headphones feature new Precise Voice Pickup technology, which uses five of the microphones in the headphones for advanced audio signal processing to pick up voices clearly and precisely for hands-free calls and Speak-to-Chat.
The pursuit of ultimate design
Sony’s WH-1000XM4 blends sophisticated styling with exceptional comfort and light-weight design.
For total convenience, the WH-1000XM4 can be paired with two Bluetooth® devices at the same time[iv]. The headphones know which device is ringing when a call comes in and can connect to the right one automatically.
The headphones are NFC and Bluetooth® enabled and have a battery life of up to 30 hours[v], including a quick charging function that provides up to 5 hours of wireless playback from 10 minutes of charging[vi].
The WH-1000XM4 also support Google’s helpful new Fast Pair feature that lets listeners easily locate where they’ve left their headphones by ringing them.
The latest model includes the same touch panel controls as its predecessor and is optimised for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
The industry-leading Noise Cancelling wireless WH-1000XM4 headphones are available in Black and Platinum Silver and will be available in South Africa from September.
