After months of leaks and speculation, Sony have pulled back the curtain on their highly anticipated WH-1000XM5 headphones. Sony had released a teaser for the headphones only days prior to the 12th of May announcement.

With the WH-1000XM5, Sony have upgraded a number of features, and implemented a few new ones.

The new active noise cancelling (ANC) technology featured in the XM5 makes use of a pair of processors that control eight microphones, three more than the XM4. The processors are the HD Noise Cancelling QN1 that was featured in the XM4, and the Integrated V1 Processor found in the XM4 wireless earbuds, alongside a new 30mm driver unit, which replaces the XM4’s 40mm unit and improves high frequency response.

Sony have also implemented an Auto NC Optimizer, which automatically tweaks the ANC settings based on what is going on around you, which is a massive upgrade to the NC Optimizer on the XM4, which had to be manually enabled before changing environments.

Credit: Sony

Virtual surround sound comes courtesy of Sony’s 360 Reality Audio technology. Furthermore, the Japanese tech giant have continued support for Sony’s hi-res LDAC music codec and DSEE Extreme.

Four beam-forming mics and AI-based noise reduction have improved the call experience too, and Sony claim the new design is more comfortable than ever, with a thinner headband, soft padded leather ear cups and a stepless slider.

Other features include Google Fast Pair, Windows Sift Pair, Multipoint pairing, Speak-to-Chat and handsfree control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Battery life is a whopping 30 hours, just like the XM4, but is upped to 40 without ANC. Three minutes charge equates to three hours of playback time, and 10 minutes is good for five hours.

Sony have made a conscious effort to be eco-friendly with the XM5, constructing them with recycled plastic, having no plastic in the packaging and being made with low toxicity design principles and a green ‘Made to be Remade’ philosophy.

The XM5 will be available for purchase on the 20th of May for $649 AUD.