Sony WF-1000XM4 vs Sony WF-1000XM6

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WF-1000XM4 compared with WF-1000XM6

	SonyWF-1000XM4	SonyWF-1000XM6
Overview
Released
Released	June 2021	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	6 mm	8.4 mm
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC, AAC and LDAC	SBC, AAC, LDAC and LC3
Chip
Chip	Integrated Processor V1	QN3e
Drivers
Drivers	6 mm drivers with high-power neodymium magnets	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	Feedforward and feedback noise-sensing microphones on each earbud; Ambient Sound Mode, Quick Attention, Adaptive Sound Control and automatic wind noise reduction	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	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	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
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 8 hours	Up to 8 hours
With the case
With the case	Up to 24 hours	Up to 24 hours
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	Yes	Yes
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	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.	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	USB-C and Qi wireless charging; about 1.5 hours to charge the earbuds and 3 hours for the case	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	5 minutes of charging gives about 1 hour of playback	5 minutes of charging gives about 1 hour of playback
Design
Weight (each earbud)
Weight (each earbud)	7.3 g	6.5 g (better)
Water and sweat resistance
Water and sweat resistance	IPX4	IPX4
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.2	5.3
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	Yes	Yes
Controls
Controls	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	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	Dual noise-sensing microphones per earbud; Precise Voice Pickup uses beamforming and a bone-conduction sensor for calls	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	Polyurethane foam Noise Isolation Earbud Tips in S, M and L; an app test checks the seal	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	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	About 47 g
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	IPX4 for the earbuds only, excluding the sound outlets, ventilation holes and microphone holes; the charging case is not water resistant	IPX4 (IEC 60529) for the earbuds; the charging case is not water resistant
Works with
Works with	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	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, Silver; official press photo shows Silver	Black, Platinum Silver
In the box
In the box	Earbuds, charging case, Noise Isolation Earbud Tips in S, M and L, USB-A to USB-C charging cable	Earbuds, charging case, USB-C cable (USB-A to USB-C), Noise Isolation Earbud Tips in XS, S, M and L (M fitted), documents