It’s all change for Sony’s new premium wireless earbuds
In-ear headphones | £259 | whf.cm/Sony_XM5
We think it’s fair to say that the Sony WF-1000XM5 are, without exaggeration, one of the most eagerly anticipated pairs of wireless earbuds to launch in recent memory.
Why? Well, for starters they are replacing a two-time What Hi-Fi? Award-winner that has dominated the category since launch and set a pace that rivals from Apple and Bose have only recently matched.
Do the WF-1000XM5 push the envelope further? Sony definitely hasn’t been shy in making some big changes to its new top-of-the-line buds, but are they all positive?
The first change concerns pricing. Unfortunately, Sony hasn’t been able to do the same as Apple with its AirPods Pro 2 and keep its new flagship earbuds the same price as their predecessors. The WF-1000XM5 are £259, which is up from the £250 price tag of the previous model, the WF-1000XM4. This still sees them slot in between the AirPods Pro 2 at £249 and the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II at £280, which keeps them competitive. In case you were wondering, we have spoken to Sony and it has confirmed that the WF-1000XM4 will be discontinued, so stock of the older model will start to become more limited over time.
Trimmed down design
The WF-1000XM5 charging case gives the first hint that Sony’s designers have been busy. It’s noticeably smaller than that of its predecessor, and sure enough, flip the top open and you will see the shrinkage has spread.
The earbuds really have been trimmed down. Sony claims the WF-1000XM5 are approximately 20 per cent lighter and 25 per cent smaller than the WF-1000XM4.
Peeling them out of their charging case is tricky at first, but we soon get the technique nailed down. Most of the exterior of each earbud is a new glossy plastic material that looks and feels premium by modern standards. It is also super smooth, which makes pinching the earbuds to get them out of the case a bit of a struggle. We find pulling an earbud towards you makes it much easier to liberate it from the magnetic housing.
The only section of the earbuds that isn’t glossy is the outer surface used for the touch controls, that leads down to the outer mic arrangement. That gets more of a very finely textured matt finish. Incidentally the touch controls work extremely well, and there’s also a welcome new control feature for the new model; but more on that later.
Slender profile
The Sony WF-1000XM5 look and feel just as premium as their closest rivals, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II and the AirPods Pro 2, and they are
