Sony WH-1000XM3 vs Sony WH-1000XM4C

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WH-1000XM3 compared with WH-1000XM4C

	SonyWH-1000XM3	SonyWH-1000XM4C
Overview
Released
Released	September 2018	September 2026
Sound
Type
Type	Over-ear	Over-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	Yes
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	Yes
Driver size
Driver size	40 mm	40 mm
Back
Back	Closed	Closed
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD and LDAC	SBC, AAC and LDAC
Chip
Chip	HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1	HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1
Drivers
Drivers	40 mm dome drivers with aluminium-coated liquid crystal polymer diaphragms, CCAW voice coils and neodymium magnets; wired frequency response 4 Hz–40 kHz. Impedance is 47 ohms powered on and 16 ohms off; sensitivity 104.5 dB/mW on and 101 dB/mW off.	40 mm drivers with liquid crystal polymer diaphragms; powered wired frequency response 4 Hz–40 kHz. Impedance is 40 ohms powered on and 16 ohms off; sensitivity 106 dB/mW on and 101 dB/mW off.
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	QN1 processor and dual noise sensors; Personal NC Optimizer and Atmospheric Pressure Optimizing; Ambient Sound Mode, Quick Attention and Adaptive Sound Control	QN1 and two noise-sensing microphones per earcup; Personal NC Optimizer, Ambient Sound Mode, Quick Attention and Adaptive Sound Control
Audio features
Audio features	DSEE HX upscaling; Bluetooth frequency response 20 Hz–20 kHz at 44.1 kHz sampling, or 20 Hz–40 kHz with LDAC at 96 kHz and 990 kbps; QN1 includes a DAC and amplifier	DSEE Extreme upscaling, 10-band equaliser in Sony Sound Connect and 360 Reality Audio with compatible services; Bluetooth response 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 30 hours	Up to 27 hours
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Maximum 30 hours with noise cancelling or 38 hours off uses AAC with DSEE HX off. The manual lists 24 hours with noise cancelling for aptX, aptX HD and LDAC; SBC is 28 hours with noise cancelling and DSEE HX off.	The manual lists AAC/SBC playback up to 27 hours with noise cancelling or 34 hours off; LDAC up to 20 hours on or 27 hours off. DSEE Extreme, Speak-to-Chat and equaliser settings can shorten these figures.
Charging case
Charging case	USB-C charging; about 3 hours for a full charge; USB does not carry audio	USB-C charging; approximately 3 hours for a full charge; no USB audio playback
Fast charging
Fast charging	10 minutes gives up to 5 hours with a USB adapter rated at least 1.5 A	3 minutes gives about 1 hour of playback
Design
Weight
Weight	255 g	253 g (better)
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.2	6.0
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	Yes	Yes
Headphone cable
Headphone cable	Yes	Yes
Controls
Controls	Right earcup touch panel for playback, volume and calls; holding a palm over it activates Quick Attention; separate power and NC/AMBIENT buttons	Touch panel on the right earcup for playback, volume and calls; separate power and noise-cancelling buttons; wear detection, Quick Attention and Speak-to-Chat; app-configurable Quick Access
Microphones
Microphones	Internal and external microphones for noise cancelling; built-in microphones for Bluetooth calls	Two noise-sensing microphones per earcup; Precise Voice Pickup for Bluetooth calls
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Circumaural ear cushions; adjustable headband and folding earcups; carrying case supplied	Adjustable headband, swivelling and folding earcups; colour-matched carrying case
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	–	The manual states that the headset is not waterproof
Works with
Works with	Bluetooth A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP; NFC pairing. Multipoint connects one music source using A2DP and another device for calls using HFP/HSP, without two music sources; unavailable with Google Assistant or Alexa assigned. The supplied cable allows passive listening, but disables Bluetooth and does not carry the headphone microphone.	Bluetooth A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP. Multipoint switches music between two devices; SoundGuys and Tom's Hardware report that LDAC is unavailable in that mode. The supplied cable allows passive playback, disables Bluetooth and does not carry the headphone microphone.
Colours
Colours	Black, Platinum Silver	Black, Platinum Silver, Lavender; official press photo shows Lavender folded
In the box
In the box	Headphones, carrying case, 1.2 m headphone cable, approximately 20 cm USB-A to USB-C cable, in-flight plug adapter	UK box includes headphones, carrying case and approximately 1.2 m headphone cable; USB charging cable supplied only with mainland China models