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Sony WH-1000XM4: Sony announces that "something exciting is coming your way" on August 6

The Sony WH-1000XM4 may finally have a release date. (Image source: Sony via Best Buy)
The Sony WH-1000XM4 may finally have a release date. (Image source: Sony via Best Buy)
Sony is finally getting around to releasing the WH-1000XM4, some eight months after the headphones leaked. Reportedly, the WH-1000XM4 will retail for €379.90 in the Eurozone and US$349.00 in the US. It could be upwards of a month before the up-market headphones start shipping, though.
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Sony appears to be on the brink of finally announcing the WH-1000XM4, the long-awaited successors to the WH-1000XM3. Sony Brazil has already teased the premium over-ear headphones on Instagram, which was followed shortly by a leak concerning the price of the WH-1000XM4 in Europe. Sony is expected to charge €379.90 for the WH-1000XM4 in Europe and US$349.00 in the US. In short, the WH-1000XM4 will cost just as much as the WH-1000XM3 did when Sony launched those headphones almost two years ago.

Now, Sony has a placeholder up on YouTube for what it is calling an "announcement for Music Lovers 2020". The announcement is scheduled for August 6 at 11:00 EDT, which correlates to 16:00 BST and UTC 15:00. While Sony is unequivocally announcing something music-related on August 6, the placeholder does not guarantee that it will be the WH-1000XM4.

Buy Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones WH1000XM3 now on Amazon

(Image source: Sony)

However, Sony Japan has been even more obvious with its equivalent announcement. Its teaser features the tagline "Wait 4 something exciting", which leaves nothing to the imagination. Sony Japan will make its announcement on August 7 at 09:00 Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00). We should point out that next week's unveiling may not correlate with the date when Sony will make the WH-1000XM4 available to purchase. The Walkman Blog suggests that this may be up to a month later, so it may not be until mid-September before the WH-1000XM4 starts shipping.

(Image source: Sony Japan)

Based on past leaks, the Sony WH-1000XM4 will feature some subtle design changes from the WH-1000XM3. These include a thicker headband, a redesigned hinge mechanism and a "Custom" button instead of the NC/AMBIENT button found on the WH-1000XM2 and WH-1000XM3. The WH-1000XM4 will support the DSEE Extreme (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) too, which supposedly upscales compressed digital music files in real-time. Multipoint connectivity is finally heading to Sony's premium headphones also, but the aptX and aptX HD codecs have been cut.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2020 07 > Sony WH-1000XM4: Sony announces that "something exciting is coming your way" on August 6
Alex Alderson, 2020-07-30 (Update: 2020-07-31)