E-commerce giant Amazon, on it’s ‘Notify me’ page has posted the new teaser page about the launch of the new Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Active Noise Cancelling Headphones. Sony had already launched their flagship headphones globally in the month of August and now on September 18, 2020 onwards they will be available in India as well.
Sony WH-1000XM4- What’s new?
Sony WH-1000XM4’s predecessor Sony WH-1000XM3 became a very successful product and reached the league of Bose and Skullcandy headphones in the wireless active noise cancellation segment. It contained some major changes such as switching to a plastic body rather than a metal one which made them lighter in weight and made them look less exclusive. Moreover, they were powered by QN1 noise cancelling processor and had a battery life of more than 30 hours which made it a worthy product in high demand. The latest Sony WH-1000XM seems to be set on carrying on the legacy. While there are no revolutionary changes as such compared to the previous model, it is still a better version of it. According to international reviews, some tweaks have been done to overcome the shortcomings of Sony WH-1000XM3.
The new headphones of Sony come with the latest feature of ‘Speak to Chat’. This is essentially a voice detecting feature which pauses the music when it hears you talking. The music stays paused for the duration of time when you are speaking and plays back on after you are done. This is a step forward in establishing a seamless transition between virtual playback and real- life conversations.
The headphones are supported by virtual assistants- Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri. Various features of the headphones like noise cancellation, adaptive sound controls, equaliser, etc are controllable and adjustable according to the convenience of the user. All that is needed is downloading the Sony Headphones Connect app which is available on both, Android and iOS.
Amidst all it’s great and improved features, the only drawback seems to be that the USB-C port cannot be used for the audio. Also, Sony WH-1000XM3 had an issue of not working optimally during the winter season. Sony claims to have fixed that issue with the new model, however, the claim is not proven true yet. However, the general international feedback on the headphones looks positive for now.
Pricing and Availability
The global launch of the headphones in August was priced at $350 which approximates to Rs. 25,600 in INR. The launch in India will probably see the same pricing. It is highly unlikely that under any circumstances the price will go higher than Rs. 30,000. The latest notice of it’s release exists only on Amazon. However, if past trends are to be taken in reference then the headphones will most probably be available at most major offline retail stores and Sony stores pan India.
