Sony WF-1000XM3 vs Sony WF-1000XM4

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WF-1000XM3 compared with WF-1000XM4

	SonyWF-1000XM3	SonyWF-1000XM4
Overview
Released
Released	July 2019	June 2021
Sound
Type
Type	In-ear	In-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	Yes
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	Yes
Driver size
Driver size	6 mm	6 mm
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC and AAC	SBC, AAC and LDAC
Chip
Chip	HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1e	Integrated Processor V1
Drivers
Drivers	6 mm dome drivers with CCAW voice coils and neodymium magnets; Bluetooth frequency response 20 Hz–20 kHz at 44.1 kHz sampling	6 mm drivers with high-power neodymium magnets
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	Dual Noise Sensor technology with feedforward and feedback microphones; Ambient Sound Mode, Quick Attention and Adaptive Sound Control	Feedforward and feedback noise-sensing microphones on each earbud; Ambient Sound Mode, Quick Attention, Adaptive Sound Control and automatic wind noise reduction
Audio features
Audio features	QN1e combines 24-bit processing, a DAC and amplifier; DSEE HX upscales compressed audio, with a battery-life cost	DSEE Extreme upscaling; 360 Reality Audio with compatible services; Bluetooth frequency response of 20 Hz–20 kHz at 44.1 kHz sampling, or 20 Hz–40 kHz with LDAC at 96 kHz and 990 kbps
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 6 hours	Up to 8 hours
With the case
With the case	Up to 24 hours	Up to 24 hours
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	–	Yes
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	With DSEE HX off, AAC playback is up to 6 hours with noise cancelling or 8 hours off; SBC is 5.5 hours on or 7.5 hours off. DSEE HX AUTO with noise cancelling is up to 3 hours. The maker claims 24 hours total with the case with noise cancelling, or 32 hours off.	With DSEE Extreme off, the manual lists AAC playback up to 8 hours with noise cancelling or 12 hours off; SBC up to 7.5 hours on or 11 hours off; LDAC up to 5 hours on or 6 hours off. LDAC with DSEE Extreme set to AUTO and noise cancelling on is up to 3.5 hours. The launch release claims 24 hours with the case with noise cancelling, or 36 hours off; talk time up to 5.5 hours with noise cancelling and 6 hours off.
Charging case
Charging case	USB-C charging; approximately 1.5 hours for the earbuds and 3.5 hours for the case	USB-C and Qi wireless charging; about 1.5 hours to charge the earbuds and 3 hours for the case
Fast charging
Fast charging	10 minutes gives about 90 minutes of playback	5 minutes of charging gives about 1 hour of playback
Design
Weight (each earbud)
Weight (each earbud)	8.5 g	7.3 g (better)
Water and sweat resistance
Water and sweat resistance	–	IPX4
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.0	5.2
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	No	Yes
Controls
Controls	Touch panels for playback, calls and sound modes; app-configurable functions; wear detection pauses and resumes music; holding the left panel activates Quick Attention	Touch controls for playback, volume and sound modes; Quick Attention lowers music volume while a finger is held on the left earbud; Speak-to-Chat pauses music and admits outside sound when speech is detected; wear detection pauses playback when an earbud is removed
Microphones
Microphones	Dual noise-sensing microphones also used for calls	Dual noise-sensing microphones per earbud; Precise Voice Pickup uses beamforming and a bone-conduction sensor for calls
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Tri-hold structure with high-friction rubber; Long Hybrid silicone tips in SS, S, M and L, plus Triple-comfort tips in S, M and L	Polyurethane foam Noise Isolation Earbud Tips in S, M and L; an app test checks the seal
Case weight
Case weight	Approximately 77 g	About 41 g; the UK support specifications put this under an unqualified weight heading, while the manual distinguishes the case from each 7.3 g earbud with M tips fitted
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	The manual states that the unit is not waterproof	IPX4 for the earbuds only, excluding the sound outlets, ventilation holes and microphone holes; the charging case is not water resistant
Works with
Works with	Bluetooth A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP; NFC pairing through the case; one connected device at a time, without multipoint; the two earbuds receive audio simultaneously and either can be used alone	Bluetooth A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP; Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair; the current manual describes two-device multipoint, which Sony's firmware notes list as an added feature; LDAC needs a compatible source
Colours
Colours	Black, Platinum Silver	Black, Silver; official press photo shows Silver
In the box
In the box	Earbuds, charging case, four sizes of Long Hybrid silicone tips, three sizes of Triple-comfort tips, approximately 20 cm USB-A to USB-C cable	Earbuds, charging case, Noise Isolation Earbud Tips in S, M and L, USB-A to USB-C charging cable