Say hi to Sony's new WH-1000XM6 headphones. Photo: Sony
Sony has just announced the WH-1000XM6, its latest flagship wireless ANC headphones.
Its predecessor, the WH-1000XM5, was released in 2022 and was mostly good. However, it also had a couple of glaring shortcomings—the most notable being that it could not fold and therefore was cumbersome to carry around.
The WH-1000XM6 is also available in black and—look—it folds! Photo: Sony
The first thing you must know about the new WH-1000XM6 is that Sony has returned to a folding design. The ear cups swivel so that they can lie flat against your body when you put them around your neck, and the headband folds so that the entire headphone collapses for easier storage.
The headband itself is wider and supposedly puts less pressure on your head. The leather for the headband and ear cups is vegan.
The WH-1000XM6 in Midnight Blue. Photo: Sony
The carrying case has also been redesigned. It does away with the zipper and uses a magnetic clasp that is supposed to make it easier for users to put away their headphones.
There are big changes on the inside, too. The dynamic driver is still 30mm, but is said to be new and tuned with the help of sound engineers from Sterling Sound, Coast Mastering, and Battery Studios. There are now 12 mics that better capture background noise and your voice. Finally, there’s a new HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3 chip that better analyses and cancels out background noise.
Inside there's a new ANC chip that Sony says help cancel out more unwanted background noise. Photo: Sony
Battery life remains unchanged. Sony claims up to 30 hours on a single charge if you leave the ANC off, and 24 hours if you turn it on. It still charges over USB-C. Speaking of USB, the WH-1000XM6 still stubbornly refuses to accept digital audio over USB-C, which means you’ll need to use a 3.5mm cable if you want to use these headphones with a non-Bluetooth source.
All in all, the WH-1000XM6 looks mighty promising. However, all of this does come with a heftier price tag. The WH-1000XM6 will retail for S$649—that's S$80 or 14% more than its predecessor. We can't wait to get our hands on one to see if it can justify this rather noticeable price increase.
Availability and pricing
Photo: Sony
The Sony WH-1000XM6 comes in Black, Platinum Silver, and Midnight Blue and is S$649. It is available to pre-order now and will be available in retail on 14 June.
From now until 30 June 2025, Sony is offering up to S$150 off if you trade in your old headphones. To find out how much you can save, see the table below and click here for more information.
You can order the Sony WH-1000XM6 now on Amazon, Lazada, Shopee, and the Sony Online Store.
Trade-in Rebate | Trade-in Model | Qualifying period |
S$150 off | Sony 1000X series | 16 May to 8 June |
S$100 off | Other Sony headphones | 16 May to 8 June |
S$50 off | Other headphone brands | 9 June to 30 June |
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