The Sony WF1000XM4 are great for trips and commuting. These in-ear headphones are pretty light and comfortable, and they can fit into most pockets or bags without a problem. They can also play music for more than 10 hours at a time, and their carrying case has two extra charges in case you need them. Even though they have ANC, they don’t do a very good job of blocking out bus and plane engine noise. But they do a much better job of blocking out small talk from other people on the train.
Specifications
- Leading Noise Canceling
- Truly Wireless Earbud Headphones
- With Alexa Built-in
Where to get Sony WF-1000XM4 Earbuds?
When you first meet the WF-1000XM4, it surprises you. Sony has gotten rid of the usual shiny box and replaced it with packaging made from a special mix of recycled paper. This makes the box smaller (it’s 34% smaller than the WF-1000XM3) and free of plastic. That’s great for the environment, but it doesn’t really make you feel like you just bought a pair of high-end headphones that block out noise.
Sony may have been smart to get rid of the WF-1000XM3’s wide and long shape and give the WF-1000XM4 an oval shape with larger round touch panels. It doesn’t sit quietly on your ears like the Beats Studio Buds or Jabra Elite 85t, but the WF-1000XM4 is still less noticeable than its predecessor and feels both luxurious and sturdy. If you want to work out while wearing these buds, you can feel good that they have an IPX4 rating for sweat and water resistance. I also like the shiny matte finish, but when you’re not using them, you should keep them in the charging case because the surface can attract fingerprints and scratches.
When it comes to the charging case, it looks like Sony took the charging case for the WF-SP800N and made some changes to it. This one is smaller and lighter, and the buds sit flat on their ports. The Sony logo at the top is gold, and the LED light on the front is longer to show the battery level and pairing status. It also has a smooth, matte finish that feels good to hold.
Some of the WF-1000XM4’s features were first shown on last year’s WH-1000XM4 over-ear headphones: active noise-cancellation that can figure out what you’re doing and where you’re doing it to adapt to your situation; fast pairing for Android and Windows devices; and’speak to chat,’ which lets you pause your music by making a noise so you can have a short conversation without taking out your earbuds. Noise cancelling is made better with new polyurethane eartips that come in small, medium, and large sizes and are made to reduce passive noise better.
Sony’s Headphones app has everything you need to control the WF-1000XM4 all in one place. Here is where you can play with all the features, big and small, that are partially duplicated on the capacitive touch surface of each earbud. In the app, you can choose what the left and right earbuds do: “volume up/down,” “play/pause/skip forwards/skip backwards/call voice assistant,” “active noise-cancelling on/off/adaptive,” or “nothing assigned,” which isn’t very helpful.