Sony’s new flagship noise-canceling headphones is perhaps near launch

It’s been three lengthy years since Sony launched its flagship WH-1000XM5 headphones, our choose for the greatest wi-fi headphones for most individuals, so we’re due a follow-up — and a regulatory submitting signifies that the XM6 cans may almost be able to launch. The Federal Communications Fee (FCC) submitting hints at a slight redesign, together with a brand new hinge and what seem like removable earpads.

The Walkman Weblog first noticed the submitting, which features a product diagram exhibiting off among the particulars of the precise earcup. Most curiously, the diagram reveals the earpad lifting off to disclose the placement of the “user-visible title plate” containing the mannequin and serial numbers. For the reason that FCC requires this title plate be accessible to customers, it appears seemingly that the pad is connected with out screws, although we don’t know if that’s with clips, magnets, or one thing else. The XM5s hid their FCC particulars beneath the internal fringe of the pads as an alternative, which weren’t detachable.

In any other case there’s not an excessive amount of to glean from the submitting. The headphones’ hinge appears barely totally different from the earlier era’s, although there’s no cause but to consider which means a return to the folding design of the XM4s. The Bluetooth model is reported to be 5.3, and there are some particulars on the antenna and energy specs, however nothing to recommend how the headphones will look or sound.

The FCC submitting doesn’t title these because the XM6 headphones, however the mannequin numbers appear to provide it away. These headphones have the mannequin quantity YY2984, remarkably just like the XM5s’ YY2954 designation. The one word of warning is that the examined mannequin is marked as a prototype, reasonably than a pre-production or mass manufacturing unit, so some particulars could change earlier than launch.

The FCC submitting features a “short-term confidentiality” request dated to finish on July twenty second 2025, which actually means that we’ll get an official reveal earlier than that date. The XM5s launched in Could 2022, so we could also be due one other spring launch.