Sony’s forthcoming WH-1000XM4 headphones could build on the excellent predecessor by adding the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously.
The current Sony’s WH-1000XM3 wireless headphones with noise cancelling capabilities are among our favourites, but current users can only connect to a single device at a time.
According to a teardown of the Sony Headphones Connect app, that will be rectified, bringing the cans into line with many of favourites from other manufacturers. It’ll mean those purchasing the Sony WH-1000XM4 won’t have to manually disconnect from their current device in order to re-pair a different playback device.
The information comes from a Twitter user @justplayinghard, who took a look inside the app and discovered a number of potential new features.
Sony WH-1000XM4 Info from Headphone Connect 7.0.1
Looks identical to the XM3.
It'll be able to change some (if not all) headphone settings based on your location (set locations or your own) and uses Google Maps API for it.New DSSE Extreme (also on X1ii), probably AI Upscaling pic.twitter.com/7hpGMIE7Bb
— JustPlayingHard (@justplayinghard) May 21, 2020
Another of those could be called Smart Talking, which means you can chat to people without removing the headphones. The leaker writes: “Smart talking will be another feature of the XM4’s. If it detects a voice, it’ll automatically engage ambient sound and after a set time, audio will return to normal.”
Related: Best headphones 2020
He also says DSEE Extreme will be available. We actually don’t know what this is, but it’s likely to bring more AI enhancements to the audio, according to reports. Sony filed a trademark for the term last month.
The XM4 is one of the more eagerly anticipated headphone launches of 2020, given the love afforded to the predecessor. Our reviewer called the Sony WH-1000XM3 “The best noise cancelling headphones we’ve ever heard,” so the company will have to go some to improve upon things when dropping the successor.
Our reviewer added: “Sony doesn’t beat everybody at everything, but nobody comes close to the all-round appeal of the WH-1000XM3. Both the Bose QC 35 II and Noise Cancelling 700 Headphones have very good noise cancellation, but not as strong as what’s offered by the Sony and the sound isn’t as engaging either. The B&W PX offers more detail at the top end, as well as superior build quality, but their NC skills pale in comparison.”
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