As much as we love the Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds and Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones they’re not much fun in the color department: earbuds like Google‘s Pixel Buds Pro 2 are much more visually entertaining, and while this month’s AirPods Max update was a little disappointing there’s no denying that Apple’s colors are more fun than those in Sony’s flagship. So it’s nice to see a new color option for both the in-ear and over-ear Sony flagships.
The new color is called Smoky Pink and as you can see it’s more of a pastel pink than a Barbie hue or the bright coral of the Pixel Buds Pro 2. That fits with the other color options – black, midnight blue and platinum silver – which are all low-key and understated.
Sony has helpfully provided a video to show you what pink looks like and suggested it’s for “all the girly girls!” Don’t let that put you off, though.
Why Sony’s thinking pink
I’m being a little unkind here because of course, headphones are part of your overall look. That’s particularly true of over-ears, which can ruin an otherwise carefully co-ordinated fit: some headphone colors, especially the more beige-y ones, look more hospital-issue than high fashion. And earbuds can end up overpowering the look of your earrings.
Personally I’d have loved some brighter options, but I suspect that the market Sony is going for here is looking for something more sober: if you’re travelling for business you’re probably not going to want something primary-colored that’s more kindergarten than business casual. I do think the AirPods Max colors are a bit more fun, but it’s still nice to get away from the black/beige binary of most of the best headphones.
Looks aside, both the buds and the over-ears are Sony’s flagship models with the firm’s best-ever noise cancellation and sound quality. They’re not huge upgrades over their predecessors, but the over-ears are five-star headphones and rank among the best wireless headphones; the in-ears are up against much more high quality competition among the best wireless earbuds, but we still think they’re “sonically special”.
The new smoky pink versions of the Sony WF-1000XM5 and WH-1000XM5 are on sale now from the usual outlets.