![]() You can also go through the Sony | Headphones Connect app (available for iOS and Android) to first establish a connection. If you’ve ever paired Bluetooth gear with your smartphone, you won’t find any surprises with the WH-1000XM4: push a button, watch a blue LED blink, select the headphones in your device’s preferences. Setting up the Sony WH-1000XM4 The Sony WH-1000XM4 may have simple looks, but it also packs amazing tech (like that new proximity sensor inside the earcup). So don’t load up your most aggro playlist until you’ve tested your levels with something quieter. You may experience some volume discrepancies switching between, say, an iPhone and a digital audio player. And, for the most part, it worked without hiccups. ![]() Using the Sony | Headphones Connect smartphone app, you can swap between devices without having to mess with settings on the devices themselves. Sony really doesn’t want you to take these headphones off. The other “big” upgrade is multipoint, allowing you to pair two devices simultaneously. The “Custom Button” can also be assigned to cycle through noise-cancelling/ambient sound (more on that later). Activating Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa is done with one of the two physical buttons on the lower left (the other one being power/pairing). Taking or making calls and controlling your music is all done with taps and swipes on the touch-sensitive right earcup. I felt the recordings showed a little more of the highs than lows in my voice, but the results weren’t overly artificial or off-putting. Maybe the “Precise Voice Pickup Technology” isn’t perfect, but when I gave voice assistant commands or recorded myself I was more than satisfied with the results. And, across multiple video chats, I had zero issues with anyone picking up my voice, though they sometimes heard faint family conversations and significant other office hours-the usual WFH challenges-in the background. There are five mics-one in each oval vent on the earcups, plus three at the bottom of the left earcup-plus new firmware to improve call quality and noise cancellation. While there are slight ergonomic tweaks versus the 1000XM3, Sony’s main pitch for upgrading to the 1000XM4 is microphone quality. A selectable proximity sensor inside the 1000XM4’s left cup helps conserve battery-and your place in a song or podcast, etc.-by pausing whatever’s playing when it determines the headphones are off, starting it again when they’re back on. Sadly, I didn’t feel as secure with the AirPods Max, which I always seemed to drain at an inopportune midday point. I never found myself worrying before key meetings whether or not I’d charged the headphones. While I didn’t stretch my use to the extremes, I had the WH-1000XM4 on and off over several long workdays before I plugged them in for the night, just in case. The WH1000XM4 claims a battery life of 30 hours with tech turned on, closer to 38 with ANC and such off, and you can get up to five hours worth of charge in just 10 minutes using a 1.5A or higher AC adapter. In this case are a comically short USB-A to USB-C charging cable (you have to supply your own AC adaptor), a 3.5mm headphone cable (which works with noise cancellation or even without power), and a two-prong airplane adapter. It’s a sturdy, nondescript oval that’s good for headphones made to travel. Nailing home the utilitarian vibe, the 1000XM4 folds to fit a stiff, low-profile carrying case. ![]() The 1000XM4 doesn’t have excessive clamping force but if your ears do need a breather, the cups swivel 180 degrees so the headphones sit comfortably around your neck. The weight, combined with foam earcups and a spongy headband that are slightly expanded from the 1000XM3, make the 1000XM4 one of the most comfortable wireless headphones for long-haul listening that I’ve encountered. One bonus of this low-key build is that the Sony WH-1000XM4 is light-8.96 ounces, a pittance compared to the AirPods Max’s 13.6 ounces. ![]() Luckily, the best wireless headphones don’t live or die on aesthetics. The 1000XM4’s looks alone certainly don’t justify the $349 price tag of these Sony headphones, which are already a “deal” compared to the prices of several rival flagships. The only bling is copper accents for the logo and around external microphone ports, which seriously could pass for USB-C sockets.Īt first glance, the headphones can’t match the cybernetic industrial design of the Apple AirPods Max, the opulent but not ostentatious language of the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay HX, or the sleek, C-suite minimalism of the Bose Headphones 700. The 1000XM4’s vibe can best be described as “functional.” A mix of plastic and pleather available in matte black, blue midnight, or a very (to me) beige-like silver, the Sony WH-1000XM4 is visually muted. ![]()
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