92 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 88BUYING GUIDE
throughouttheyears,andit remainsa
rock-solidexperienceforme.Thereare
plentyofsettingstotweaktoyourliking,
andchangesmadetothingslikenoise
cancellationtakeeffectimmediately.
Firmwareupdatesfortheheadphones
arehandledautomaticallywithlittle
disruption,andI haven’tencountered
anybugs,performanceglitchesor
unwantedbatterydrainonmymobile
devices.I’vebeenburnedfartoomany
timesbygreat hardware saddled with a
horrible app, so it’s refreshing that it’s not
the case here.
The Sony WH-1000XM4 includes
a much-requested feature: Bluetooth
multipoint pairing, which allows you
to pair the headphones with multiple
devices at once. This is handy because
it allows you to use a laptop or a digital
audio player for music playback, and
still get audible audio alerts and phone
calls from your smartphone. Multipoint
was easy to set up and easy to use, and
I didn’t have any problems switching
back and forth between devices. Sony’s
implementation does, however, suffer
from one very unfortunate drawback:
Bluetooth multipoint pairing is only
available if you’re using the AAC
codec. So, you’ll need to decide which
is more important: high-resolution
audio for music listening via LDAC,
or the convenience of Bluetoothmultipoint. I opted for LDAC; iPhone
users,meanwhile,don’thavea choice- theycanonlyuseAACwiththe
WH-1000XM4.
The WH-1000XM4’s microphone
is thelastaspectI’dliketodiscuss.
Whileit never happened to me,
many WH-1000XM3 users reported
encountering technical problems with
that headphone’s mic. That said, neither
of these cans is a headset, so don’t
expect great phone-call experiences
from them. They’re adequate for a short
call to a friend or loved one, but don’t
rely on either for an important business
meeting. The WH-1000XM4’s mic quality
specifically is faint and cannot capture
the vocal clarity needed for serious use. I
can live with that trade-off.
Verdict
If you have £350 to spend on active
noise-cancelling headphones, the
SonyWH-1000XM4getmyhighest
recommendation.Theydelivertop-shelf
noise cancellation, they’re comfortable to
wear,they’repackedwithfeatures,and–
mostimportantly–they sound fantastic.
There’s not a lot here to warrant
an upgrade recommendation if you
already own the WH-1000XM3 – and
if your budget is tighter and you find a
great deal on those cans – you should
definitely pick them up while they’re still