Sony WF-1000XM4 leaked in Product Video (update)

Sony's WF-1000XM4 has leaked in a product video on YouTube. The video has been taken down but is still up on reddit. I am embedding the video below.

I will be updating this thread with photos from the video. Stay tuned.

Update: Sony will be debuting the headphones in a YouTube live stream, I am embedding the stream below and the timezones for various areas.

 

Los Angeles - June 8th 09:00

New  York - June 8th 12:00

London - June 8th 17:00

Berlin - June 8th 18:00

Dubai - June 8th 20:00

Singapore - June 9th 00:00

Tokyo - June 9th 01:00

Seoul - June 9th 01:00

Melbourne - June 9th 02:00

Auckland - June 9th 04:00

And now for some screencaps and details from the video. This new headset looks to be packed a lot more versus the current model. For example I am seeing a lot more PCBs, the WF-1000XM3 had 2 main PCBs, and I am seeing at least 3, maybe even 4/5. Lots of tech here, really looking forward to a teardown and any interviews Sony does with their engineers.

The above photo is the best to show the PCBs, I think the 5th PCB is just for the NC mics, they look to be connected together to the board via ribbon cables, so not sure if this could be counted as a full PCB. It looks like rather than 2 long PCBs, Sony has divided them up into more small ones to fit them in. The battery looks to be a standard small coin battery, unknown what size, but might be CP1254 again, hopefully replacement will be straightforward and nothing is glued down.

This next photo shows the new V1 integrated processor. Unknown if we are looking at an updated QN1e (CXD3781GF) or a new chip, but whatever it is, it does seem quite small in size. The area circled in red looks to be a microphone of some sort corresponding to the rounded rectangle on the exterior. My initial assumption is that this was for the voice pickup, but the way the earbuds sit in the ear made me reconsider. 

But now seeing this video, I feel this might be indeed for the voice mic for calls, since the other 2 microphones for NC are located together as seen in the photos below. The NC mics appear to the MEMS type. The text "deux micros pour capter le bruit" translate to "two microphones to pick up the noise", so these definitely are the NC mics.

The driver/diaphragm looks significantly upgraded versus the tiny little 6mm driver on the WF-1000XM3. I know the video is just a render but it looks like a mini version of the WH-1000XM4 driver/diaphragm assembly. Currently the WF-XB700 has the largest drivers in Sony's WF lineup, but I suspect the quality and materials will be better in the WF-1000XM4. Once a teardown takes place, we will know if my assumptions are correct.

As for its size, that is difficult to judge, but perhaps 8mm? maybe 10mm? Regardless, any increase in size is welcome, especially if the materials and design have been improved. Below is a comparison to the WH-1000XM4 driver assembly.

Sony WH-1000XM4 driver and diaphragm

The rest of the specifications line up with the leaks from this past week, like the battery life, Qi wireless charging. IPX4 and Hi-Res support. 

The video does provide some new details, like DSEE Extreme, Speak-to-Chat, Adaptive Sound Control, a sensor to detect your voice via bone conduction, and quick charge of 5 minutes providing up to 60 minutes of playback. I guessed that with the increased power delivery, 140mA versus 120mA, we could get 10 minutes charge 120 minutes of playback, but I was a bit too optimistic, 2 times as much. But I was close,  and I do wonder if 10 minutes would provide 120 minutes of playback though.

The video also mentions excellent call quality, so it will be interesting to see how it compares with the current model. I am sure Aaron is Loud and Wireless will have a video up comparing the mic quality with the WF-1000XM3.

What the video does not mention is what the 8 hours of battery life is for, is it with LDAC, AAC or SBC? It does say this is with NC on, so possibly AAC and then LDAC would be 6 hours maybe? Likewise no mention of price, Winfuture.de said 279 Euros, I can believe this, it is more than the WF-1000XM3's 250 Euro price, but the improvements are worth it in my opinion. 

One final tidbit I found intriguing, the WF-1000XM4 name is no where to be found on the device as seen in the photo below. We know the YY2948 is the WF-1000XM4, but odd for Sony to include the name on the device itself. Maybe this is the way forward for all future devices?

I think that is mostly everything from the video, if anyone sees anything else interesting, leave a comment below and I will add it. Before I finish, LE Audio is coming hopefully soon, when maybe Fall/Winter, could be early next year, regardless, I do hope Sony decides to certify these new earbuds once LE Audio is released fully and pushes a firmware update to bring LC3 to the headset. Perhaps battery life could be slightly increased, but if not, then latency should be significantly lowered with the new codec.