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We know Sony will likely be working on a follow-up to its masterful WH-1000XM3 noise canceling headphones for a little while – in fact, late last year, an FCC file confirmed that Sony was working on some form of WH -1000XM4.
This is a gap that we are looking at with interest, given that the WH-1000XM3 is right up there with our absolute favorites in the over-ear headphone market, offering some of the best comfort and performance you can hope for.
Now it looks like a launch of some sort could be more imminent than ever, after leaked images have emerged that claim to show the new model, as well as a few photos from its user manual.
The photos and manual for the Sony WH-1000XM4, the successor to the excellent XM3 Bluetooth wireless headphones from Sony, have just been mounted on the Brazilian Anatel (equivalent to the FCC).
h / t @evefavretto pic.twitter.com/sjXb4XaCN9
– Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) March 6, 2020
The photos show headphones that clearly share a lot of design touches with the XM3s we know and love, which makes sense. It is unlikely that Sony plans a total overhaul given the adulation of the previous pair of headphones.
This means that they are still a fairly heavy set of cans, doing nothing to reduce their form factor.
Thin on the details
The user manual, illustrated in some later tweets, suggests that the headphones will add Bluetooth 5.0 for more stability on the connection side, but other technical specifications are not detailed.
Of course, there is also a good chance that these images are not what they seem – you should take image leaks like this with a pinch of healthy salt until they are more solidly confirmed.