Setting up the WH-1000XM4 headphones is relatively straightforward. To connect them to your smartphone, download the Sony Headphones Connect app from the App Store or Google Play store and follow the instructions. I was able to connect and start playing around with the customisable settings in less than a minute.
One of the major improvements Sony made with the new WH-1000XM4 headphones is that you can now connect to two devices simultaneously. To do this, open the app and click the "Status" tab and select the "Device Currently Being Connected" option to open the setting. You can then connect to a new device via Bluetooth.
I had a lot of difficulty trying to connect the headphones to my MacBook. However, I was eventually able to connect after restarting my laptop multiple times, and once the headphones were paired the first time they automatically connected every time I turned them on.
Switching back and forth between two different audio sources was easy and relatively quick. I noticed that switching between two entirely different sources, for example, going from listening to Netflix on my laptop to a podcast on my phone only took a few seconds, but switching back and forth between the same Spotify account on two different devices often took several tries.
Noise cancellation
Like their predecessor, the WH-1000XM4 headphones have some of the best noise-cancellation of any headphones on the market. They feature two microphones on each ear cup that detect sound for noise-cancelling, plus a sensor that captures ambient noise extremely effectively. While working from home, I could activate the ambient noise setting and hear water boiling in my kettle in the next room, or listen to my cat meow sadly at his half-empty (or half-full) food bowl.
You can switch the ambient sound on and off using the customisable button control on the left ear cup or temporarily activate it by holding your hand flat against the right ear cup.
Another new feature in the XM4 headphones is Adaptive Sound Control, a smart feature that adjusts ambient sound levels at your frequently visited locations. For example, over time the headphones can recognise that you are at the gym or at home and automatically adjust to your preferred ambience level. You can set locations and settings via the app.
Audio quality
It shouldn't come as a surprise that these headphones sound fantastic. Sony uses artificial intelligence to rebuild some of the audio that's lost during digital compression, giving you a much richer sounding audio than you typically get from digital music.
The headphones also offer 360 Reality Audio which allows you to listen in virtual surround sound. I was wowed by the demo that popped up when I connected to the Sony Headphones Connect app. However, the feature has limited application and is currently only compatible with the music streaming services Tidal, nugs.net and deezer. 360 Audio would be ideal for watching movies and TV shows and I hope future versions of the feature start to incorporate more content.
Additional features
Another new feature Sony has brought to the WH-1000XM4 headphones is the "speak-to-chat" function that allows you to pause your audio and let in ambient sound so that you can have a conversation or listen to an announcement. Once you turn on this setting via the app, your music will automatically pause when you speak and you'll be able to hear ambient noise. The music starts playing again about 30 seconds after you stop speaking.
It's definitely a bit odd hearing your voice projected back to you through the headphones, but it's extremely helpful if you want to be able to hear something quickly. Especially now that many of us are wearing face masks out in public and trying to touch our faces as little as possible, being able to have a quick interaction without removing your headphones (and potentially accidentally pulling your mask off) is an unexpected benefit of the feature.
The XM4 headphones are able to automatically detect when you take them off, and will pause your music as soon as you do, which helps extend the battery life. If you take them off briefly, they also automatically resume your music as soon as you put them back on.
You can answer phone calls while using the XM4 headphones by pressing the centre of the right ear cup (the same spot you press to pause or play a song). The microphone quality is perfectly fine, but not exceptional. Everyone I spoke to said that they could hear me clearly but it sounded like I was using speakerphone. When I took calls outside, the microphones picked up on quite a bit of surrounding noise.