Sony WF-1000XM4 vs Sony WF-C500

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WF-1000XM4 compared with WF-C500

	SonyWF-1000XM4	SonyWF-C500
Overview
Released
Released	June 2021	October 2021
Sound
Type
Type	In-ear	In-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	No
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	No
Driver size
Driver size	6 mm	5.8 mm
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC, AAC and LDAC	SBC and AAC
Chip
Chip	Integrated Processor V1	–
Drivers
Drivers	6 mm drivers with high-power neodymium magnets	Closed dynamic 5.8 mm drivers with neodymium magnets; the maker figure is retained rather than TechRadar's rounded 6 mm in its design discussion
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	No active noise cancelling or ambient listening mode; the reviews confirm these omissions. Call noise suppression is separate from listening noise cancellation.
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	DSEE processing, app equaliser and personalised 360 Reality Audio playback with compatible services
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 8 hours	Up to 10 hours
With the case
With the case	Up to 24 hours	Up to 20 hours
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	Yes	No
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 ten hours per charge and 20 hours including the case with DSEE and equaliser off. The manual lists ten hours for AAC or SBC with DSEE AUTO or OFF, but warns that equaliser and DSEE settings can shorten runtime. Talk time up to five hours.
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 charging; maker UK support gives approximately 2.5 hours for the earbuds and three hours for the case. No wireless charging, as confirmed by both reviews.
Fast charging
Fast charging	5 minutes of charging gives about 1 hour of playback	Ten minutes charging provides approximately one hour playback
Design
Weight (each earbud)
Weight (each earbud)	7.3 g	5.4 g (better)
Water and sweat resistance
Water and sweat resistance	IPX4	IPX4
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.2	5.0
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	Yes	No
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	Physical buttons for playback, tracks, volume, calls and the paired phone's voice assistant
Microphones
Microphones	Dual noise-sensing microphones per earbud; Precise Voice Pickup uses beamforming and a bone-conduction sensor for calls	Omnidirectional MEMS microphones; maker Japanese specifications
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	Hybrid silicone tips in SS, M and LL; either earbud works independently
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	Approximately 35 g; the earbud weight is approximately 5.4 g each
Dimensions
Dimensions	–	Charging case approximately 80.0 × 34.9 × 30.9 mm
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 applies to the earbuds excluding the sound outlets; 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	Bluetooth A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP; up to eight remembered paired devices. Maker manual explicitly excludes multipoint. Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair; Sony Headphones Connect app. European maker announcement states October 2021 availability; Japan specifies 8 October, while Hong Kong specifies late October.
Colours
Colours	Black, Silver; official press photo shows Silver	Black, White, Ice Green and Coral Orange
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, hybrid silicone tips in SS, M and LL, approximately 20 cm USB-C cable and documents