Sony’s WF-1000XM6s are coming for Apple's noise cancelling crown

Just months after Apple released its AirPods Pro 3 with the "world's best" active noise cancellation for in-ear wireless headphones, Sony says it has Cupertino bested with its new WF-1000XM6s. 

Sony says the claim is based on testing against the top ten wireless earbuds conducted in December last year, with accordance to the IEC active noise cancellation standard. From a more comparative perspective, the WF-1000XM6 have 25% better noise cancellation than 2023's WF-1000XM5s. 

In addition to better noise cancellation, Sony says the WF-1000XM6 have its best ever call quality thanks to bone conduction sensors, beamforming microphones, and AI noise reduction. 

The earbuds have also had a slight redesign and are 11% slimmer than their predecessors. They're slightly heavier, however, weighing 6.4g, up from 5.9g. The WF-1000XM6s are still rated IPX4 for water resistance. 

Battery life is unchanged, with the WF-1000XM6s offering up to eight hours per charge with noise cancelling on, and a total of 24 hours with the included battery case. 

The earbuds are available to pre-order from today for $499.95. Sony says ship this month, but JB Hi-Fi's website points to a March 9 release date. 

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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