JBL Live Beam 4 vs Sony WF-1000XM6

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Live Beam 4 compared with WF-1000XM6

	JBLLive Beam 4	SonyWF-1000XM6
Overview
Released
Released	May 2026	February 2026
Sound
Type
Type	In-ear	In-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	Yes
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	Yes
Spatial audio with head tracking
Spatial audio with head tracking	–	Yes
Driver size
Driver size	10 mm	8.4 mm
Impedance
Impedance	16 ohms	–
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	LDAC	SBC, AAC, LDAC and LC3
Chip
Chip	–	QN3e
Drivers
Drivers	10 mm dynamic; 20 Hz–40 kHz frequency response and 98 dB SPL sensitivity at 1 kHz	Newly developed 8.4 mm driver unit; the diaphragm pairs a lightweight, rigid dome with a soft, notched edge
Chip
Chip	–	HD Noise Canceling Processor QN3e and Integrated Processor V2 (32-bit processing)
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	True Adaptive Noise Cancelling 2.0, Smart Ambient, TalkThru and Smart Talk speech detection	Four noise-cancelling microphones per earbud (three on the WF-1000XM5); Adaptive NC Optimizer adjusts to fit, ear shape and surroundings; Sony claims 25% more noise reduction than the WF-1000XM5; Ambient Sound Mode, Quick Attention Mode, Speak-to-Chat and Adaptive Sound Control
Audio features
Audio features	Spatial Sound, Personi-Fi 3.0 and app EQ; LDAC confirmed by TechRadar and Les Numériques; LE Audio and Auracast maker-confirmed	LDAC up to 990 kbps (Hi-Res Audio Wireless); DSEE Extreme upscaling; 360 Reality Audio; spatial sound with head tracking on Android devices that support it; 10-band EQ; BGM effect; LE Audio (LC3) low-latency mode
Hearing health
Hearing health	Personalised hearing profile through Personi-Fi 3.0	–
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 10 hours	Up to 8 hours
With the case
With the case	Up to 48 hours	Up to 24 hours
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	Yes	Yes
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 12 hours with ANC off, ten with standard ANC or eight with True Adaptive ANC; advertised 48 hours including the case is with ANC off. Each bud has a 65 mAh, 3.85 V battery; two-hour charging; calls up to 6.5 hours without ANC or six with it	Up to 12 hours with noise cancelling off (AAC or SBC); with LDAC, 5 hours with noise cancelling on or 8 hours off; with LC3, 7 hours on or 11 hours off; 24 hours in total with noise cancelling on (8 from the earbuds, 16 from the case); talk time up to 5 hours (5.5 hours with noise cancelling off)
Charging case
Charging case	Touchscreen Smart Charging Case; 680 mAh, 3.8 V battery; USB-C and Qi charging; up to 36 additional hours with ANC off	USB-C and Qi wireless charging; about 2 hours to fully charge the case and earbuds, 1.5 hours for the earbuds alone
Fast charging
Fast charging	Ten minutes supplies up to four hours; current UK hours label denotes listening rather than charging duration	5 minutes of charging gives about 1 hour of playback
Design
Weight (each earbud)
Weight (each earbud)	4.85 g (better)	6.5 g
Water and sweat resistance
Water and sweat resistance	IP55	IPX4
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	6.0	5.3
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	Yes	Yes
Controls
Controls	Customisable touch controls and touchscreen case controls for volume, tracks, sound modes and EQ	Touch sensor on each earbud, reassignable in the app (by default the left switches noise cancelling and Ambient Sound Mode, opens Quick Access, lowers the volume and holds for Quick Attention Mode; the right plays and pauses, skips tracks, raises the volume and holds for the voice assistant); nod or shake your head to answer or reject calls; IR sensors pause music when an earbud is taken out
Microphones
Microphones	Six beamforming microphones across the pair; Perfect Calls 2.0 and call-effect settings	Four microphones per earbud for noise cancelling; two microphones and a bone-conduction sensor per earbud for calls, with AI beamforming and AI noise reduction
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Sealed stemmed in-ear fit with four sizes of eartips	Noise Isolation Earbud Tips in four sizes (XS, S, M, L); earbud body about 11% slimmer than the WF-1000XM5; a ventilation structure reduces the sound of footsteps and chewing
Case weight
Case weight	73 g	About 47 g
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	IP55 earbuds; Les Numériques finds no published case IP rating	IPX4 (IEC 60529) for the earbuds; the charging case is not water resistant
Works with
Works with	Two Bluetooth devices, Google Finder and Audio Switch; LE Audio unicast and Auracast via the JBL Headphones app	Sound Connect app for iOS and Android; multipoint connection to two devices; LE Audio with compatible devices; hands-free Gemini with compatible Android phones
Colours
Colours	Black, Blue, Green, Silver, Orange, Purple and Sand	Black, Platinum Silver
In the box
In the box	Earbuds, charging case, four tip sizes, warranty and quick-start guide; no charging cable. Maker May 2026 rollout corroborated by Les Numériques' actual May availability. Current UK RRP £149.99 differs from the £179.99 launch price	Earbuds, charging case, USB-C cable (USB-A to USB-C), Noise Isolation Earbud Tips in XS, S, M and L (M fitted), documents