There’s no doubt that Sony makes some of the best wireless earbuds on the market. Take the Sony WF-1000XM4, for example.
Even though the pair was released in January 2021, the buds are still a go-to pick for many. Well, the case might be even better for the Sony WF-1000XM5.
That said, you do not have to wait for Sony to officially announce the WF-1000XM5 to know what it will bring to the table – The earbuds just got leaked.
From what the pictures are showing, it seems that the leak might be very accurate. And if that is indeed the case, the WF-1000XM5 will offer a significant upgrade over the WF-1000XM4. So, what does the leak show?
First of all, the earbuds will feature a compact design. The pictures show that there will no longer be a flat underside. This will make the Sony WF-1000XM5 more compact and lead to better overall comfort.
The pictures also show that there will be a tactile dot right above the microphone. There’s no clear info regarding what this dot might be.
But it could be either a voice or feedforward mic. It could also enhance the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) feature.
Other than that, the latest FCC filing shed light on the controls. The filing stated that the Sony WF-1000XM5 would feature a touch panel, which should work like the WF-1000XM4.
That is, you should be able to use it to play, pause, and control the music playback. The touch panel is also expected to feature a Bluetooth antenna inside.
However, one of the critical standouts of the leaked picture is the finish of the buds. Usually, the Sony WF-1000XM series comes with a matte finish. But the leaked images show that the Sony WF-1000XM5 sports a gloss plastic build.
Now, Sony could indeed make the official WF-1000XM5 feature the same build as its predecessor.
Sony might have chosen the gloss plastic build just for the prototype. Besides the buds, the Sony WF-1000XM5 came with pictures of the charging chase.
And there’s another piece of great news: the charging case will offer more battery life than ever before. The leak shows that the charging case has a 5V 230mAh battery. In comparison, the Sony WF-1000XM4 featured a 5V 140mAH cell.
Finally, just like the flagship offerings of Sony, the Sony WF-1000XM5 charging case will have Qi wireless charging support. And like before, USB-C is the standard wired-charging method.
Overall, things are looking great for the upcoming XM5 earbuds. But do take these pieces of info with a grain of salt, as these are just leaks. Nothing is final until Sony officially announces the buds.
Slava is a man of mystery and no-one seems to know exactly where he is at any point in time. When he isn't enjoying writing about all things audio and technical he can be found researching his next project of interest. The man never rests.