The Sony WF

Feb 25, 2024

The best wireless earbuds just got more expensive, too

Sony has consistently led the industry when it comes to headphones, earbuds, and other audio technologies. Earlier in July, we caught wind that the newest Sony noise-canceling earbuds were going to be announced to the world in short order. Today, Sony did just that, unveiling its new flagship earbuds, the WF-1000XM5.

Sony has been alternating release years for its lines of over-ear noise-canceling headphones (the WH-1000XM series) and noise-canceling earbuds (the WF-1000XM series). Last year, the WH-1000XM5 headphones were released with a sleek new look and fantastic audio. It was so good, in fact, that we named them our headphones of the year.

The WF-1000XM5 adopts the same mentality, picking up a glossy look and shrinking both the size and weight of the earbuds over the now old WF-1000XM4s. The XM5 earbuds are 25 percent smaller and 20 percent lighter.

Inside each earbud is where the sound quality and technology shines. Sony developed both a noise-canceling processor and audio processor that incorporates precision 24-bit audio processing and high-performance analog amplification. The company says that these processors provide low distortion and crystal-clear audio reproduction.

The WF-1000XM5’s mic quality has also improved. Bone conduction sensors pick up vibrations of the user’s voice directly from their skull bones, which Sony says isolates your speech from ambient sounds and background noise for clear calls even in loud environments.

With all these improvements comes a price hike. The XM5 earbuds are priced at $300. In 2021, the WF-1000XM4 earbuds were released at $280. For comparison, in 2022, the WH-1000XM5 headphones were released at $400, which was $50 more expensive than the WH-1000XM4 headphones when they were released in 2020.

The Sony XF-1000XM5 earbuds will be available starting Wednesday, July 26. You can preorder either the white or black version right now on Sony’s website and its authorized dealers.

Sony's flagship true wireless earbuds have been our top recommendation in the category for two straight years, and the WF-1000XM5 look poised to continue that tradition. The newest models feature dedicated processors for both noise cancellation and regular audio processing while being lighter and smaller than their predecessors, but the premium quality comes with a price tag to match.

By day, Dylan is a Public Relations Representative for the NASCAR team Kaulig Racing. By the other parts of the day, he's a news writer for Android Police.He's a graduate of Temple University in journalism and a conniseur for all things It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, so you can jot that down.