Sony to launch its flagship WH-1000XM6 headphones on May 16 and here is everything we know about them

India Today

09-05-2025

Sony is officially launching the WH-1000XM6 wireless headphones on May 16. The announcement comes a wee bit after details – specs and features – of the WH-1000XM5 sequel leaked online through an alleged Amazon listing in Spain. It isn't immediately clear if they are coming to India at the same time or sometime later.As is often the case, Sony hasn't shared any concrete details yet. The teaser for the launch has a silhouette of the headphones giving very familiar vibes, which is not surprising given that Sony made some very big design – and functional – changes on the XM5. The leak listing, too, suggests likewise. Big upgrades are expected within.advertisementAs per the leak, Sony is – maybe – looking to amp up active noise cancellation in the XM6 with a next-generation QN3 HD which is said to be seven times faster than the QN1 inside the XM5. The XM5 had two chips, QN1 and V1. The latter was used specifically to enhance noise-cancelling at higher frequencies. We are not sure if the XM6 has a dual-chip setup as well, or just the purported QN3 doing all the heavy lifting. The new chip is also expected to aid in producing better sound.
There are two more important updates. The XM6 headphones are said to feature six 'AI-powered' microphones to enable more clear calling in a busy ambience. Sony is also sticking with keeping the headphone jack, a quality-of-life feature that is fast becoming obsolete on headphones (after smartphones). Finally, we can also expect some degree of water resistance (IP rating) which was missing in the XM5.advertisementElsewhere, battery life is still rated at 30 hours, like the last few generations of the WH-1000XM headphones. Quick charging appears to be on the cards, too, promising three hours of playback after a 3-minute top-up, much in the same way as the current-generation model. Dual paring, which is the ability to simultaneously pair with two devices and LDAC support, should be a given at this point.The XM5 headphones' look was polarising. It was easy to see that Sony had borrowed a page out of Bose' book, even Apple's, with a chassis that folded one-way to lay completely flat and case that took up more space during storage. They also lacked some of the premiumness of their predecessor – XM4 – going for all plastic and no metallic/copper accents to speak of.