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Sony's WH-1000XM5 headphones could pack a sleek design (Updated: New images)
- Renders and specs for the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones have appeared online.
- Expect a sleeker design and up to 40 hours of battery life with ANC.
Update: May 5, 2022 (5:44 AM ET): The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones have now appeared in alleged real-life images. The pictures were posted on Reddit and show the boxed headphones. The packaging shows that they’ll come with 30 hours of battery life, instead of 40 hours as revealed by the leak in the original article below.
It’s unclear whether this advertised battery life is with active noise cancellation (ANC) enabled or without it. We would expect Sony to advertise the former as ANC usually tends to deplete the battery life of headphones. The longer the battery life with ANC switched on, the better. So if the WH-1000XM5 did come with 40 hours of ANC playback, that would have ideally made it on the packaging.
It’s possible that the headphones offer 30 hours of battery life with ANC and 40 hours without it. We’ll have to wait and watch.
Original article, April 22, 2022 (7:27 AM ET): Sony’s WH-1000XMx series of over-ear headphones are among the best on the market, offering great sound quality, effective noise-cancellation, and support for a variety of codecs. Now, renders purportedly showing the upcoming WH-1000XM5 headphones have leaked online, along with some specs.
Reliable news outlet Technik News posted numerous renders of the headphones (seen at the top of the page), showing a sleeker design. This is especially apparent when looking at the juncture between the headphones and the headband.
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The outlet also reports that the Sony WH-1000XM5 will offer 40 hours of battery life with active noise cancellation (ANC) enabled. This is 10 hours more than the XM4’s claimed battery life with ANC activated. It’s also believed that the new headphones can be fully charged in 3.5 hours.
Other apparent features include Bluetooth 5.2, support for a headphone jack, and an on/off slider instead of a button. There’s no word on pricing, availability, or other specs just yet, but we’re guessing the new headphones will retail for the same price as the WH-1000XM4 ($350 at launch).