Previous leaks have indicated that Sony may push for up to 40 hours of battery life from its new headphones. But the box in the latest images only claims they’ll go for 30. That’s going to put the battery life, at the very least, on par with the previous generation.
The Sony WH-1000XM5 battery life letdown is offset by new details in this leak
Setting battery life aside, however, the images do seem to confirm all other expected changes in previous leaks. And 360-degree spatial audio — dubbed “360 Reality Audio” by Sony — is remaining intact as well. So it certainly isn’t all bad news. Moreover, there’s at least one new detail about the upcoming headphones that more than makes up for the same-ish battery life. As conspicuously denoted on the retail packaging for the new Sony cans, the company appears to be including built-in Google Assistant support. That’s not necessarily a new feature, as with spatial audio. But it does mean that users of Android handsets and the Google ecosystem can look forward to continued preferential support. Sony is supporting Alexa built-in as well, based on the packaging. And has attained certification for the headphones for Apple products. Sony will undoubtedly also be making some changes on the inside, as has been the case with previous iterations. The audio quality, for starters, will almost certainly be improved over the last generation. It’s also not unlikely that comfort and durability will follow a similar path. Regardless, the full details for the new Sony WH-1000XM5 should be available soon. With retail packaging starting to leak, these headphones shouldn’t be too far away.
