Earlier we have heard the news that Sony might be working on a new pair of WF-1000X earbuds. The device was presumed to the successors of the WF-1000XM3 that Sony released in July 2019. But, finally, the rumours are confirmed and according to sources, agencies such as the Bluetooth SIG and FCC have now certified the WF-1000XM4.
The earbuds are dubbed as the YY2948, with AK8 the grantee code for the Sony Corporation in the FCC’s case. The Bluetooth SIG does not give much away about the WF-1000XM4, beyond that it supports Bluetooth 5.2.
According to the FCC, the WF-1000XM4 has a MediaTek MT2822S SoC, up from the MT2811S found in the WF-1000XM3. From what we know, the MT2822 has a faster CPU combined with an improved DSP coprocessor.
The MediaTek chip also supports up to 24-bit and 192 kHz audio like the MT2811S, but the former utilizes Hardware Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and hardware gain control.
The FCC has provided a sketch of the WF-1000XM4’s charging case and since the manufacturer has included a MediaTek SoC, the possibilities of the WF-1000XM4 supporting any aptX codecs is nil. We have also heard that Sony might also include its proprietary LDAC codec. It is unclear when Sony will release the WF-1000XM4, but the FCC suggests that the earbuds will arrive before September.
It is also being reported that apart from supporting the latest Bluetooth 5.2, the device will also support the older Bluetooth 5.0. the price information is not yet known, but Sony will most likely keep the device somewhere around the same budget segment of the WF-1000XM3.