Sony’s long-awaited WH-1000XM5, future replacement for the excellent WH-1000XM4, is the victim of a leak on the TechnikNews site. We discover a completely renewed design as well as some technical information.
The king of Bluetooth headsets is therefore preparing to bow out this year. After two years of good and loyal service, the WH-1000XM4 should be replaced in the coming months by the WH-1000XM5. Our colleagues from TechnikNews have unearthed some information and many images that reveal a brand new design that is more refined, softer but also much less racy. The headband seems much thinner and looks a lot like the Jabra Elite 45h. Let’s hope that despite its finesse, the headband retains the excellent comfort of the WH-1000XM4. The WH-1000XM5 would keep its mini-jack input, its power button and the button to switch from active noise reduction to transparent mode.
On the technical side, the WH-1000XM5 would take over all the functionalities of its predecessor and would switch to Bluetooth 5.2. Autonomy would know a big jump, going from 30 to 40 hours on the new model. The leaks also mention the presence of new speakers which, it is hoped, will be able to live up to those currently present in the WH-1000XM4.
Sony seems to be on a biannual renewal cycle: the WH-1000XM3 was released in September 2018, the WH-1000XM4 in August 2020. We can therefore naturally expect a release at the end of summer this year. No information about the price has unfortunately leaked.