Six years on, the Sony WH-1000XM4 still refuses to fade into the background. You’ll spot them on commuter heads everywhere, and plenty of listeners rate them among the finest wireless cans ever made — even after the arrival of the five-star WH-1000XM6. Now it appears Sony isn’t done with the old favourite either.
According to a leak from French retail outlet Dealabs, Sony is preparing a fresh variant called the WH-1000XM4C. Nobody’s quite sure what the “C” stands for — “Classic” and “Comeback” are the leading guesses — but the leak suggests this is less a reinvention and more a gentle revival.
Under the hood, expect near-identical hardware to the original. The XM4C reportedly keeps the QN1 noise-cancellation processor, the trusty 40mm drivers, a 10-band customisable equalizer, Hi-Res Audio support, DSEE Extreme upscaling and 360 Reality Audio. In other words, the acoustic recipe that earned the XM4 its reputation stays intact.
So what actually changes? Two small things. Battery life reportedly drops to 34 hours without ANC (and around 27 hours with noise cancellation switched on), a modest step down from the original XM4’s endurance. And there’s a new Lavender colourway joining the familiar Black and Platinum Silver options.
None of this is unprecedented territory for Sony. The company pulled a similar move with the WH-1000XM5SA — a lightly tweaked version of the Award-winning XM5 that turned up in October 2025, five months after the XM6 launched, with a new soft case and a trimmed price. The XM4C looks to follow that same playbook: keep a beloved model alive with minimal fuss and a friendlier sticker.
On pricing, Dealabs pegs the XM4C at £219.99 / €249.99, which slots it neatly below Sony’s pricier options and undercuts the XM5SA by roughly a tenner. That positioning is telling — this is aimed squarely at the listener who wants proven Sony sound and noise cancellation without stretching to the flagship XM6 or the premium 1000X The Collexion.
- Processor: QN1 noise-cancellation chip
- Drivers: 40mm
- Battery: 34 hours (ANC off) / around 27 hours (ANC on)
- Audio: Hi-Res Audio, DSEE Extreme, 360 Reality Audio, 10-band EQ
- Colours: Black, Platinum Silver, Lavender
The WH-1000XM4C is expected to launch on 7th September 2026. As ever, treat leaked details with a healthy pinch of salt until Sony makes it official — but for anyone who’s clung to their XM4s all these years, a familiar friend with a fresh coat of Lavender sounds like a rather appealing prospect.
