Sony WH-1000XM6 leak gives us our first look at the flagship headphones – and hints at a key design change

• The Sony WH-1000XM6 are expected to launch this month, May 2025
• They're likely to be significantly more expensive than the current model
• Specifications have leaked and now there's a photo too

Sony's latest flagship headphones are leaking all over the place. Over the weekend, The Walkman Blog reported that the Sony WH-1000XM6 were slated for a May release; two days later a listing for the new headphones accidentally appeared on Amazon Spain with some key specifications. And now there's another leak that appears to be a photo, which we've included below.

The news comes via Notebookcheck.net, which spotted that the image (below) had leaked on Reddit. And while it's hardly hi-res, it does show enough detail to corroborate one of the key details of the Amazon Spain link: a return to the foldable hinges of the XM4, which Sony dropped for the WH-1000XM5.

WH-XM6 from r/SonyHeadphones

The lack of a foldable hinge was something we noted in our Sony WH-1000XM5 review, which concluded that this makes them "a bit large when it comes to storing them away" and that if you wanted a "truly on-the-go pair of headphones" you should consider Sony's WF-1000XM4 in-ears (now succeeded by the WF-1000XM5, and perhaps one day this year by the XM6s) as an alternative.

Well, it seems the incoming WH-1000XM6 flagships could again offer a more travel-friendly design than their predecessors, alongside some other new features...

Sony WH-1000XM6: what we know so far

The Amazon leak included a price of €470 including tax; without, it's about €439. That's roughly $499 / £439 / AU$770, which tracks: rumors suggested we'd see a price hike with this new version. The current model launched at $399 / £380 / AU$649.

The Amazon listing detailed a new QN3 processor, more microphones for the noise cancellation and a new magnetic case. It also listed a 10-band equalizer, 30-hour battery life and 30mm drivers – smaller than the ones in the XM4 but the same as in the XM5. The listing also promises 360-degree audio upmixing to create surround sound.

The marketing text from the Amazon listing, as screenshotted by The Walkman Blog, also includes some handy details. We can apparently expect that "new HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3 and 12 microphones", a "new headband" that's "even more comfortable and secure than the previous model" and "six Al-powered microphones" that use Al noise reduction to filter out unwanted sounds.

So while the rumored price rise isn't great news, it sounds like the Sony WH-1000XM6 could still deliver some worthy upgrades – and we should hear about them all officially during their launch this month.

You might also like

• The best headphones in 2025 so far
• The best over-ear headphones for all budgets
• The best wireless headphones money can buy