Unreleased Sony WH-1000XM6 Headphones Appear in FCC Filing

Sony could be close to launching the successor model to its popular WH-1000XM5 over-ear noise-canceling headphones, if a new FCC filing is anything to go by.

sony headphones 1
The company's WH-1000XM5 cans, which we compared to Apple's AirPods Max back in May 2022, are considered by many to offer some of the best noise-canceling in the business, providing great sound, excellent comfort and long battery life.

Now it appears that Sony wants to go one better, with news that the company has filed for certification for the next model in the series.

First spotted by The Walkman Blog, the filing shows a diagram of the headphones, which appear to feature a new hinge that may or may not indicate a return to the folding design used in the XM4's. Elsewhere are what look like detachable earpads, similar to AirPods Max, and behind them is a "user-visible name plate" showing the model and serial number.

Specs-wise, aside from support for fast charging and Bluetooth 5.3, the filing doesn't reveal much about the "Wireless Noise Canceling Stereo Headset," but they are made in Malaysia and described as an engineering prototype rather than pre-production – just like the XM5 filing, which turned out to be accurate.

sony wh1000 xm5 filing

Image credit: The Walkman Blog

With so much going for the current model, it's difficult to know what improvements Sony is aiming for in the XM6's, but anticipation for their release is likely to be high nevertheless. Comparing the filing's short term confidentiality (STC) date to the XM5 filing, The Walkman Blog believes we can expect the headphones to be announced around late April to early May, 2025.

Tag: Sony

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Top Rated Comments

lars666 Avatar
6 weeks ago
Yeah Apple, no hurry – just keep the AirPods Max exactly the same for another five years and only change the port in 2030.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mcilwraith Avatar
6 weeks ago
I have had the Sony XM5's for a year or two. Sound, comfort, noise cancelling etc are really excellent. I also tried the AirPod Max in a shop and they were also excellent. But i got the Sonys for half the price of the apple cans. For just over £200 the Sonys are unbeatable. Mostly use them at home, could not care less about folding hinge. They also come with an audio cable to plug in to my MacBook for EVEN BETTER SOUND. wired audio will always be better than bluetooth...
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zombierunner Avatar
6 weeks ago
I hope they have spacious ear cups that don't touch the ears.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
6 weeks ago
Sony needs to work on their naming conventions.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arkitect Avatar
6 weeks ago
Excellent news!
My WH-1000XM4 is getting on a bit.

I just hope the new ons are foldable like the WH-1000XM4 are.
The WH-1000XM5 doesn't and just takes up needless space.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lwii2boo Avatar
6 weeks ago
Great news. XM4 was an outstanding device. XM5 was more controversial due to fragile hinges and non-foldable design.
ATM XM4 and Bose QC Ultra are the two high-end NC headsets I would recommend to most people. Apple need to properly refresh the Max model if they want to compete
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)