Sony WF-1000XM5 vs Anker soundcore Liberty 4 NC

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WF-1000XM5 compared with Liberty 4 NC

	SonyWF-1000XM5	Anker soundcoreLiberty 4 NC
Overview
Released
Released	July 2023	June 2023
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	8.4 mm	11 mm
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC, AAC, LDAC and LC3	SBC, AAC and LDAC
Chip
Chip	QN2e	–
Drivers
Drivers	8.4 mm Dynamic Driver X	11 mm custom-tuned drivers with a curved design
Chip
Chip	HD Noise Canceling Processor QN2e and Integrated Processor V2	–
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	Three noise-cancelling microphones per earbud (dual feedback and feedforward, six in total); Noise Isolation Earbud Tips for passive isolation; Ambient Sound Mode with adjustable level; Quick Attention Mode; Speak-to-Chat	Adaptive ANC 2.0 responds to ear fit and surroundings; manual cancellation, transportation modes and wind-noise reduction. The UK page's unlabelled specification cards instead describe an open-ear model; the exact Liberty 4 NC description, comparison column and FAQ control
Audio features
Audio features	LDAC up to 990 kbps (Hi-Res Audio Wireless); DSEE Extreme upscaling; 360 Reality Audio, with head tracking on supported Android 13 phones; LE Audio (LC3)	HearID 2.0, 22 presets and adjustable EQ; SBC and AAC are confirmed by SoundGuys and Tom's Guide. Low-latency gaming mode and 3D Surround Sound are described by the reviews
Hearing health
Hearing health	–	Safe Volume monitoring and an optional limit in the soundcore app (SoundGuys)
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 40 hours
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	Yes	Yes
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 12 hours with noise cancelling off (AAC or SBC), 36 hours with the case; with LDAC, 5 hours with noise cancelling on or 8 hours off; with LC3, 7 hours on or 11 hours off; talk time up to 6 hours (7 hours with noise cancelling off)	Up to eight hours with ANC or Transparency, 40 including the case; Normal mode gives ten and 50 hours. LDAC with ANC gives five and 25 hours, or six and 30 without ANC. Maker testing uses 50% volume; SoundGuys lists a June 2023 release
Charging case
Charging case	USB-C and Qi wireless charging; Xperia phones with battery sharing can charge it; about 2 hours to fully charge the case and earbuds, 1.5 hours for the earbuds alone	USB-C and wireless charging; earbuds take around 1.5 hours to recharge, case around three hours by cable or 3.5 wirelessly
Fast charging
Fast charging	3 minutes of charging gives about 1 hour of playback	Ten minutes of charging provides up to four hours of playback
Design
Weight (each earbud)
Weight (each earbud)	5.9 g	–
Water and sweat resistance
Water and sweat resistance	IPX4	IPX4
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	5.3
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	Yes	Yes
Controls
Controls	Touch sensor on each earbud, reassignable in the app (by default the left switches noise cancelling and Ambient Sound Mode and holds for Quick Attention Mode; the right plays and pauses, skips tracks and holds for the voice assistant; tap four or more times for volume); nod or shake your head to answer or reject calls; IR sensors pause music when an earbud is taken out and switch the earbuds off after about 15 minutes	Customisable taps and long presses with wearing detection for automatic playback pause/resume; case pairing button
Microphones
Microphones	Three microphones per earbud for noise cancelling; bone-conduction sensor and AI-based noise reduction for calls; wind noise reduction structure	Six beamforming microphones with AI call-noise reduction
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Noise Isolation Earbud Tips (polyurethane foam) in four sizes (SS, S, M, L); Sony says the earbuds are about 25% smaller and 20% lighter than the WF-1000XM4; either earbud can be used on its own	Four sizes of silicone ear tips and app Fit Test; SoundGuys lists 5.7 g for each earbud, while the current UK maker page publishes no weight
Case weight
Case weight	About 39 g	1.53 ounces according to Tom's Guide
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	IPX4 (IEC 60529) for the earbuds; the charging case is not water resistant	IPX4 applies to the earbuds; no case water-resistance rating is published
Works with
Works with	Sony | Sound Connect app (formerly Headphones Connect) for iOS and Android; multipoint connection to two devices; LE Audio with compatible devices; Google Fast Pair; Microsoft Swift Pair	Two-device Bluetooth, disabled when LDAC is enabled; LDAC requires Android 8.0 or later and a firmware update. Google Fast Pair on Android (SoundGuys)
Colours
Colours	Black, Platinum Silver, Smoky Pink	Velvet Black, Clear White, Navy Blue, Pastel Pink and Light Blue
In the box
In the box	Earbuds, charging case, USB-C cable (USB-A to USB-C, about 20 cm), Noise Isolation Earbud Tips in SS, S, M and L (M fitted), documents	Earbuds, charging case, four ear-tip sizes and USB-A to USB-C cable (SoundGuys)