Sony WF-1000XM6 vs WF-1000XM5: Which should you buy?

Well, it's official – Sony's latest flagship earbuds are finally here, and the WF-1000XM6 aim to become a whole heap of people's go-to buds over the next couple of years. With basically the same price as the last set, though, and a very new design, which should you be buying in 2026?

I've used both and compared them in detail, so read on to find out which I think you should buy out of the XM5 and XM6 generation, with a keen eye on value and features.

Price & Availability

Although the review embargo is up, and you can check out my full four-star verdict right here, we don't yet know exactly when the WF-1000XM6 earbuds will be available to buy, although it's definitely sometime this month. They'll cost £250, €300 or $299 depending on where you're located.

By contrast, the WF-1000XM5s are now a couple of years old, and that means they're available just about everywhere you could care to look. They came out at the exact same price as the new generation, but as the older model, they're now widely sold for less, even outside of sale events.

Design

Perhaps the biggest differences between the XM6 and XM5 earbuds from Sony come in the design department, where it basically seems to have gone back to the drawing board after years of incremental updates.

The XM5 earbuds have a really rounded appearance, one that fits relatively obviously into the concha of the outer ear, pinching as they narrow to the ear tip you choose. The case, meanwhile, is slim and really rounded, where previous generations had somewhat massive cases.

The XM5s are available in black, silver and a smoky pink, the latter added a while after launch, with each generally having small pricing differences from the others as stock fluctuates.

Some people complain that these buds have a design featuring slick plastic that makes it really easy to drop them as you take them out of either their case or your ears, so that's worth watching out for.

The WF-1000XM6, by contrast, are very different to look at. The earbuds themselves will be available in black and silver only, for now, and have a totally new shape that's far more pill-like in its dimensions.

This is apparently a little smaller than before in terms of narrowness, but it's six of one and half a dozen of the other – the earbuds are very similar in terms of volume, so fit ears differently but not necessarily better. I've found them to be mediocre in terms of comfort, so if you can try them on before buying, that'd be a boon.

The case is also substantially bigger on the newer earbuds, even if the measurements don't make that seem too key. The new case is squarer and harder-edged, and I think it makes it fiddlier to get in and out of pockets, which is a small but telling grievance.

Overall, in design terms, a lot will come down to taste, but I don't think there's much in it – and I prefer the more rounded design of the XM5,s given they're more comfortable and useful as a result.

Sound and features

Comparing the sound of two generations of earbud can be a little like playing spot the difference with a blindfold on, but there are contrasts to be found if you listen to the XM6 and XM5 earbuds side-by-side.

For one thing, the newer earbuds do have better noise-cancelling, which was already impressive before. It's now benefitting from an extra microphone per earbud, and that makes for better muffling and much better wind-proofing.

The overall sound quality of music is also improved a little, with a wider soundstage and slightly richer depth. That said, the XM5 earbuds are still excellent sonically, and you won't be frustrated by any limitations on that side of things.

The features are also very similar between the two, from the 8-hour battery life on a charge to the IPX4 water resistance, and there's no real difference in connection strength either. That means this is a pretty incremental upgrade that leaves the XM6 ahead, but not by much.

Verdict

This hasn't been the hardest conclusion to write, of the many comparative tests I've conducted in my time – while I really do like the WF-1000XM6 earbuds, I would definitely advise people upgrading from cheap earbuds to consider the XM5s as a far more cost-effective option now.

If you time things well and take advantage of price cuts and sales like Prime Day, you could easily save £100 by opting for the older model, and that's a pretty telling gap.

Given the difference in sound quality is pretty minor, and the noise-cancelling goes along similar lines, the biggest factor is the earbuds' design. I actually prefer the older ones on that front, which means the WF-1000XM5s clinch the win in my books.

That said, there's no wrong choice here – both earbuds earned four-star verdicts from T3 at the time they released, which means they both get our seal of approval.