Sony's rumoured cut-price reboot of the classic XM4 wireless headphones has leaked again, this time with very official-looking images. There's also news on the specs.
WinFuture has posted some images of the cans, which look very similar to the standard XM4 which launched in 2020. The images show the headphones in black, white and violet colourways.
The German site has also seen "excerpts from the manufacturer's data sheet" which spills the beans on the specs. Bluetooth 6.0 is apparently supported, which is a later version even than the Award-winning XM6 (which have Bluetooth 5.3), and matches the premium 1000X The Collexion. Though whether this translates to any new or improved features remains to be seen.
Some corners are rumoured to have been cut in order to offer the cans at a lower price. The NFC logo is missing from the pictures, which suggests Sony axed the easy-pairing feature to keep the costs down. Battery life is also said to be lower than the XM4, at 27 hours with active noise cancellation (ANC) activated, and 34 without (the XM4 boasted 30 hours and 38 hours, respectively).
But like the standard XM4, they're said to feature 40mm drivers, ANC, and to have a frequency response of 4Hz – 40,000Hz. They should also weigh the same as the XM4.
Launch price is said to be €250, which would be lower than the XM4's original price of £380. But given that the XM4 have fallen to £170 before, Sony will have some way to go to make the XM4C a compelling alternative. Though given that the XM4 are no longer on sale, the XM4C could be a tempting budget option for Sony fans unable or unwilling to stretch to the XM6.
They're rumoured to launch in early September – we'll bring you all the news as soon as we have it.
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