Sony WH-1000XM4 noise cancelling headphones launched, could come to India soon

Sony has launched the new iteration of its popular noise-cancelling cans WH-1000XM4. The over-ear headphone is the company's fourth addition to the series after the 1000XM3 and a direct competitor to Bose 700. The headphone is priced at $350 (approx Rs 26,200) and will go on sale starting this month in global markets. 

The company has not revealed details about the Sony WH-1000XM4's availability for the Indian market. As per the rumours, the headphones should arrive in India around September. Going by how Sony has priced its predecessors, the 1000XM4 is likely to be priced around Rs 30,000 in India.

Sony WH-1000XM4 specifications and features

The Sony WH-1000XM4 has similar looking design as XM3, and it's powered by the QN1 noise cancellation chip that was praised by many in the XM3. While the NC processor remains the same, it does get a new Bluetooth audio SoC that is said to analyze music and surrounding ambient noise 700 times per second. 

The headphones have 40mm drivers like the M3s, and the company has not been making much noise about audio quality enhancements on this one. Although, it does say that its audio upscaling feature has been improved over the last time. Even the battery life is still the same offering 30 hours of continuous playback with NC on. 

Similar to its predecessors, the WH-1000XM4's features can be accessed and controlled using Sony Headphone Connect app. It lets users set noise cancellation levels, set up adaptive sound controls, and adjust equalizer and more. All the other controls and buttons remain unchanged from the M3s.

It retains the touch-sensitive earcup that lets you control music and volume, and also offers Quick Attention mode that can be used to hear the surrounding by covering the earcup with your palm. Additionally, a new 'speak-to-chat' feature debuts, which pauses the music when it recognizes that the user is conversing. 

A new multi-point connectivity feature comes as a welcome change, which essentially allows the headphone to connect to two sources simultaneously. These headphones also support Sony's own 360 Reality Audio format for spatial sound, but there's unfortunately not a lot of content available in that format. It now supports LDAC but misses Qualcomm's aptX codec support as it uses a new Bluetooth chip to aid the noise-cancelling performance.

Sony is currently selling the WH-1000XM3 in India for as low as Rs 18,500 on the Prime Day sale. It's a great deal if you've been eyeing the popular headphones.