Android Advisor - UK (2021-08)

86 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 88

BUYING GUIDE

I couldn’t feel the proximity sensor while I waswearingthe headphones.

detectswhenyoutakethecansoff,so

as toautomaticallypauseplayback.

Themusicresumesinstantlywhenyou

put thembackoveryourears.This

workedlikea charm.I triedtotrick

the sensorbyplacingtheheadphones

on mythigh,tightlyaroundmyneck,

andevenworethemlikea crownandI

nevertriggereda falsepositive.When

I returnedtheheadphonestomyears,

themusicquicklyresumedwithno

problem.Thisfeaturealonewould

makemeconsiderupgradingfromthe

previousversion,andnotjustbecauseit

shouldextend battery life.

Top-notch noise cancellation

As I’ve already mentioned, Sony holds

the active noise-cancellation crown with

its WH-1000XM3. The WH-1000XM4

feature the same HD Noise Cancelling

Processor QN1 as the previous

generation,butwitha newalgorithm.

Thischipprocessesambientnoise

samplescapturedbya pair of sensors

oneachearcupata rateof 700 times

eachsecond.Bethatasit may,myears

couldbarelydiscernanydifference

betweenthenoise-cancellation

performanceoftheWH-1000XM4

compared to its predecessor.

Any noise-

cancellation

strategy

starts

passively,

with large

ear cups

that form

a tight but

comfortable

seal around

your ears

to blunt

the sharp

edges of

loud sounds

and quiet

the high-

pitch hum