Sony brings the discontinued WH-1000XM4 back as the $300 WH-1000XM4C
The headphone Sony pulled from its lineup in 2025 returns later this fall, cheaper than it launched, with Bluetooth 6 and a shorter battery rating.
The WH-1000XM4 were discontinued in 2025. They are returning as the WH-1000XM4C at $300, which is $50 below what the XM4 cost when they first came out. Engadget describes the move as Sony reviving a well-reviewed entry in its 1000X line with a few upgrades and a lower price than the current WH-1000XM6.
Very little has moved on the outside. According to The Verge, the XM4C look identical to the original, same hinge design, same ability to fold up, with a lavender option now added. Inside, the QN1 processing chip and the four microphones handling ANC are unchanged.
The upgrades are in software and radio. The Headphones app gives the XM4C a 10-band EQ where the XM4 had five bands, along with a gaming preset, and the headphones move from Bluetooth 5 to Bluetooth 6.
Battery life goes the other way. Sony claims up to 27 hours with ANC on, three hours less than the XM4 managed, and Engadget puts the drop at four hours with ANC switched off.
Two cheaper lines got new generations at the same time. The WH-CH730N sits in the midrange at $180, and the WH-CH530, which replaces the WH-CH520 as Sony's budget on-ear option, costs $70. The CH730N is rated at up to 50 hours with ANC running while the CH530 stretches to 55, helped by the fact that it has no ANC at all. Engadget puts the CH730N on sale in September.
The colour lists differ between the two reports. The Verge has the CH730N in black, blue, oat, white or pink and Engadget has black, blue, tan, white and pink; for the CH530, The Verge lists black, cobalt, mint green, white, pink and coral, Engadget lists black, purple, green, white, pink and coral.
There is also a new safe mode in the app that lets you cap the maximum volume the headphones will output.
And then there is Hello Kitty. Sony is running a partnership that packages headphones, either the WH-1000XM6, the WH-CH730N or the WH-CH530 in black or pink, with a Hello Kitty-shaped carrying pouch and a Hello Kitty-branded bag. Those bundles come later this year in limited supply, through Sony's website only.
Published by Techtutka ·