Sony WF-1000XM3 leaked by Retailer, priced at 249 Euros (update)

A French retailer has leaked the new WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds.  The photos reveal a new updated design that mimics the colour options from the new WH-1000XM3, black/copper and beige/gold. Apart from an external design change, Sony has updated the headphones to Bluetooth 5.0 finally which has increased battery life up to 6 hours on a single charge now and a 10 minute charge yields up to 90 minute of use. Pricing is expected at 249 Euros.

Update: I have received some more information and photos regarding the new headphones.  For one, the driver is 6mm, the QN1e is a real chip on the circuit board like the WH-1000XM3's chip but much smaller, and just like its larger brother, the WF-1000XM3 also has touch controls on the side, using tap to control the headphones.  I will update this post once I receive all the information.

In addition the carrying case can charge the buds up to 18hours more, for a total of 24 hours.  The NFC point has been moved to up top now of the charging case from the bottom for easier pairing with smartphones and other devices (see images below).

Unlike the previous model, the new mark 3 now features an integrated DAC which adds support of high resolution audio files (24bit/192kHz) which is great news.

Noise cancellation remains and is improved with a new NC chip called the QN1e, which builds upon the QN1's features but in a smaller package.  In a previous post, I wrote how Sony is using Qualcomm's CSR8675 for the WH-1000XM3 and that the QN1 can be seen on the PCB board from the FCC documents.  It is unclear if the QN1 is Sony's design or Qualcomm's but it is a real chip and not a marketing gimmick.  This means the QN1e in the WF-1000Xm3 could also follow this route, but until Sony releases a press release and the FCC documents are opened, I cannot confirm anything.

The retailer did not provide any certain release date but only stated shipping in 2-3 weeks, so it will be interesting when these will be released, rumours were for IFA 2019 but perhaps Sony wants to have these out on the market earlier to fight any new Apple Airpods or other upcoming wireless earbuds. Regardless of the release date, the new WF-1000XM3 finally offer what the first generation should have been but was not.

If anyone has anymore information, feel free to contact me.

And now for some photos.

Source: Cobra.fr | Techreviews