Sony WF-1000XM6 vs Sony WF-C500

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WF-1000XM6 compared with WF-C500

	SonyWF-1000XM6	SonyWF-C500
Overview
Released
Released	February 2026	October 2021
Sound
Type
Type	In-ear	In-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	No
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	No
Spatial audio with head tracking
Spatial audio with head tracking	Yes	–
Driver size
Driver size	8.4 mm	5.8 mm
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC, AAC, LDAC and LC3	SBC and AAC
Chip
Chip	QN3e	–
Drivers
Drivers	Newly developed 8.4 mm driver unit; the diaphragm pairs a lightweight, rigid dome with a soft, notched edge	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
Chip
Chip	HD Noise Canceling Processor QN3e and Integrated Processor V2 (32-bit processing)	–
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	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	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	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	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	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)	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 2 hours to fully charge the case and earbuds, 1.5 hours for the earbuds alone	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)	6.5 g	5.4 g (better)
Water and sweat resistance
Water and sweat resistance	IPX4	IPX4
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	5.0
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	Yes	No
Controls
Controls	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	Physical buttons for playback, tracks, volume, calls and the paired phone's voice assistant
Microphones
Microphones	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	Omnidirectional MEMS microphones; maker Japanese specifications
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	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	Hybrid silicone tips in SS, M and LL; either earbud works independently
Case weight
Case weight	About 47 g	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 (IEC 60529) for the earbuds; 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	Sound Connect app for iOS and Android; multipoint connection to two devices; LE Audio with compatible devices; hands-free Gemini with compatible Android phones	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, Platinum Silver	Black, White, Ice Green and Coral Orange
In the box
In the box	Earbuds, charging case, USB-C cable (USB-A to USB-C), Noise Isolation Earbud Tips in XS, S, M and L (M fitted), documents	Earbuds, charging case, hybrid silicone tips in SS, M and LL, approximately 20 cm USB-C cable and documents