Sony’s new WF-1000XM3 totally wireless earphones are now up for pre-order at various retailers starting from Friday and will further become available to purchase sometime in August. They’re priced at $230. With WF-1000XM3, the Japanese giant hopes to translate the success of WH-1000XM3 to a true wireless design. They fit better, look nicer, exhibit very little signal loss, and have improved battery life.
A 24-bit audio signal processing offers improved sound quality and an HD Noise Cancelling Processor. Each earbud is equipped with a pair of microphones that work in real-time to feed external sound to the QN1e noise cancelling and block out any background noise. There are also modes that you can set using the Sony | Headphones Connect app which can adjust the amount of ambient noise heard at any given time. It promises up to 32-hours of total battery life. The earphones claim to offer 6 hours of use on a single charge with active noise cancellation switched on, and 8 hours with it switched off. A 10-minute quick-charge feature gives you 90 minutes of battery life and the charging case delivers three full charges on the go.
Each earbud has a circular area for touch controls: you just have to adjust noise cancellation with the left earbud and audio playback with the right. On tapping the left earbud it toggles between noise cancellation and ambient sound mode, which pipes in outside audio.
Moreover, the Sony WF-1000XM3 features 6mm dynamic drivers, a frequency response range of 20-20,000Hz, Bluetooth 5.0, Bluetooth codec support for the SBC and AAC codecs, and charging for the case through a USB Type-C port.
The earphones can also be used for hands-free calling, and can have various other settings and functions controlled through the Sony Headphones Connect app, available for both iOS as well as Android.
Here are the WF-1000XM3’s key features, according to Sony:
- Completely new design and new drivers
- Active noise cancelation
- Touch controls
- Bluetooth 5.0
- New QN1e processor (24-bit audio signal processing and DAC with amplifier)
- Battery life: Up to 6 hours with noise canceling on and up to 8 hours with it off
- Charging case delivers three additional charges
- USB-C charging
- Quick charge feature: 10 minutes of charging gives you 90 minutes of battery life
- Support for AAC codec (but not Apt-X)
- Two color options: Black and gray
- Price: $230