Sony’s next flagship earbuds are almost ready to make their debut

Sony is one of the most well-known companies in the world when it comes to audio, and that's exactly why we so often see it topping our list of the best wireless earbuds. The company has pushed the envelope time and time again with innovative tech and compelling designs, dating all the way back to its first stereo headset in the 1960s. Sony hopes to keep that momentum going with the upcoming release of the WF-1000XM5 earbuds, which the company teased today as it shared plans for a live announcement on YouTube.

In recent years, Sony’s flagship lines of noise-canceling earbuds (the WF-1000XM series) and headphones (its WH-1000XM family) have been embroiled in battle with the likes of Apple and Bose to get into (and onto) the ears of the most people. While we at Android Police may feel like Sony could bring in more brand loyalty if it actually gave its earbuds and headphones some marketing-friendly names (instead of this alphanumeric jumble), there’s no denying the quality of its devices. Just look at its WF-1000XM4 earbuds, which have topped our best-of lists since their debut in 2021.

Right now, though, it's time for some fresh blood, with the imminent unveiling and release of the WF-1000XM5, as spotted by The Walkman Blog. Leaks have already suggested many improvements, as we'd only expect from a refresh like this after so much time. It looks like Sony has continued working on its earbuds’ weight, making this upcoming gen — tipping the scales at 5.9g each — 1.4g lighter than the previous model. Despite the decreased weight and size, Sony is expected to plant 8.4mm drivers in each earbud this time around, compared to the 6mm elements from the previous model. That means that the sound coming from the WF-1000XM5s should pack quite a punch.

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Expect Sony to also talk about quick-charging features built into the WF-1000XM5. Leaks suggest that charging the earbuds in their case for just three minutes will let users listen to them for about an hour.

While Sony hasn’t outright said whether this will be the official announcement for the WF-1000XM5, all signs heavily point to it. From the product’s glossy surface in the live stream’s thumbnail, to the Japanese Sony website’s “All You Need is 5ilent” tagline, we think it’s safe to say that this is it. You can watch Sony’s announcement on YouTube on July 24 at 12:00 noon, Eastern.