Meet the Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds with noise cancellation and adaptive sound control

Thanks to Sony Peru, we have had the opportunity to test the Sony WF-1000XM4, some earbuds that stand out in several aspects, such as their excellent autonomy, fast charging, noise cancellation, adaptive sound control, among other interesting features.

This review aims to provide our experience after having used them, as well as to reveal the main functions that these wireless headphones have, which are available in two different colors (black and silver) at a price of S / 999.

Presentation and design

The Sony WF-1000XM4 comes in eco-friendly packaging that is made from bamboo, sugar cane fibers, and recycled paper. Inside, we find (in addition to the case) a charging cable that is too short and two pairs of additional ear pads.

The headphone case has a rectangular design, but with rounded edges. Although it is made of plastic, you can tell that it is not an ordinary one, but a higher quality material, even its hinge gives the feeling of not breaking easily.

When we open the case, we will not only notice the earbuds, but also a small LED indicator that will change color, depending on how much battery the product has. If it is green, it means that we have a full charge.

Wireless headphones, meanwhile, are slightly larger than other earbuds we’ve tested; However, they are quite comfortable and do not generate the classic discomfort in the ears, even if you have been using them for several hours.

To increase comfort, you can remove the earpads from the Sony WF-1000XM4 and attach replacement ones. Keep in mind that one pair is small and the other is larger, it will depend on you which ones you feel better with.

Principal functions

The earbuds are compatible with any phone, tablet, or computer that has Bluetooth; However, to take advantage of all its functions, it is recommended to install an application called Headphones Connect that is in the Play Store and the App Store.

When you pair the Sony WF-1000XM4 to a mobile device, this application will show you the exact battery level (both for the headphones and the case). It also allows you to know what song you are listening to, it even allows you to advance it, rewind it, etc.

In the ‘Sound’ section we find the most interesting function of these earbuds. We refer to noise cancellation that is ideal to forget about the noise that is heard outside and that you can concentrate on your favorite song or a call.

Although this function will be very helpful, it is not recommended to use it when you are walking in the street, since you will not hear the noise of a horn, an alert notice, among other warnings. For these cases, it is best to activate the ‘Ambient sound’.

What this characteristic of the Sony WF-1000XM4 does is increase the sound of our surroundings, without ruining what we are listening to. That is, you can continue to hear your favorite song and you will hear clearly if someone speaks to you, if a siren sounds, etc.

Finally, another feature that we liked is called adaptive sound control and it recognizes what you are doing to give you a better Sony experience. For example, if you are on a bus, noise cancellation will be activated for a more pleasant trip.

In case you are walking, the earbuds will recognize the environment and enable the ‘Ambient Sound’ function automatically so that you do not miss any detail of what is happening around you while listening to your favorite music.

Touch panel

It is worth noting that each headset has a touch panel that allows you to answer calls, play, pause, advance, or rewind your favorite song, without the need to take out your cell phone. You will only have to make a few small gestures.

For example, if you press the touch panel of the right earphone once, you will pause or play a song. If you make two touches, you will advance to the next song; if you do an additional one (three taps), you will hear the previous song.

The touch panel on the left ear cup has different functions. Pressing it once will activate noise cancellation or ambient sound. If you hold it down for a few seconds, the Quick Attention function is activated in case you need to talk to someone.

Once you are done speaking, simply release the touchpad and the music will play normally again. This way, you won’t have to take off the Sony WF-1000XM4 to have a short chat with a person.

Autonomy

In terms of autonomy, each of the hearing aids has a battery that allows them to last up to nine or ten hours of continuous playback, even if noise cancellation is activated. If you deactivate it, this time can increase considerably.

The charging case provides an additional 16 hours, which generally provides more than 24 hours of autonomy. In case you run out of battery, you should know that thanks to its fast charge, you can have one hour of playback, by charging the headphones for five minutes.

Although we weren’t able to test this feature, these headphones do support wireless charging. You just have to place the case (with the earbuds inside) on a magnetic base or on phones that have this technology and you can charge its battery.

Finally, it should be noted that the Sony WF-1000XM4 have IPX4 certification, that is, resistance to splashes, so you can use them without problems in the rain or when you exercise since sweat will not affect its operation either.