Profile view of a person tapping their WH-1000XM6 headphones.

More intuitive. Smarter than ever.

With intuitive controls, you can adjust volume and play music without reaching for your phone. The headphones even detect when you’re speaking, pausing the music to let you engage seamlessly with your surroundings.

Quick Access

A shortcut to your music with simple taps, and no need to touch your smartphone01234. You can enjoy your music in an effortless way.
Logo of Sony's Quick Access next to an illustration of a person tapping their earbuds.
Logos of Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, and Endel Logos of Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, and Endel

Scene-based listening

Provides a sound experience just tailored to you by sensing the current situation and scene such as walking, running and gym.

Collage of illustrations showing people listening to music engaged in various outdoor activities. Collage of illustrations showing people listening to music engaged in various outdoor activities.

Plays music automatically

You can enjoy music exactly when you need them by turning on Wear to Play and each scene. Playback starts automatically when you put your headphones in — no need to touch your smartphone — and plays the right music for the moment, based on your daily routines or sensing activities like a daily walk, gym workout, or commute. And, with Voice Cue you'll still be notified of important information like appointments and reminders, so you can always stay connected to both life and entertainment wherever you go.0
An illustration of a person listening to music via Auto Play.

Adjusts to the world around you

Adaptive Sound Control senses where you are and what you’re doing, then uses AI to change ambient sound settings for the ideal listening experience. Over time, it can learn your behaviour, recognise locations you visit often, and tailor the sound to suit your location.
AI-optimised Adaptive Sound Control illustrated with icons representing sitting, walking, running, driving, and location awareness.

Total convenience, total customisation

Your headphones are even better with the Sound Connect app. The simple, intuitive interface lets you dial in your ideal sound and shortcut settings, and can keep track of your recent listening history. Safe Listening even lets you check you're in line with WHO healthy listening habits.
Logo of Sony's Sound Connect app next to a phone showing the app's interface for WH-1000XM6 headphones.

Talk it out with Google Gemini

Get hands-free help – Just say ‘Hey Google..” to access Gemini and have a natural, free-flowing conversation about anything you need to know on-the-go. Listen to music, connect with friends, get notifications and more when connected to your smartphone.0
Logo of Google Gemini

Built-in voice control

You can also use built-in voice control for noise cancellation, volume, and playback when connected to any device.0
Illustration of a person wearing headphones with a microphone icon nearby, depicting voice assistant activation.

Instant pause. Instant play.

Just take the headphones off and the music stops – a capacitive sensor knows when you are wearing them. It also helps improve detection accuracy and design. Put the headphones back on and the music starts again.
Illustration showing auto-pause when headphones are removed and auto-play when they are worn again.

Control headphones with head gestures

You can operate your headphones using natural head gestures, like receiving or declining calls0, or operating Auto Play1, by nodding or shaking your head.
Illustration of a person controlling calls using head gestures.

Talk and hear only ambient sound

You can set Speak-to-Chat to automatically lower the music volume as soon as you speak to someone, so you can hear ambient sound and conduct a conversation0 — handy if you want to keep your headphones on or your hands are full. And once your chat is over, your music volume returns to normal automatically1.
Illustration of a person wearing headphones speaking to another, with a pause button indicating the Speak-to-Chat functionality.