The latest Sony WF-1000XM4 leak is the biggest and most revealing yet. Reliable German site WinFuture has given a number of key details about Sony's upcoming headphones, which, by the sounds of it, could be a contender for the best wireless earbuds.

In addition to confirming that active noise cancellation (ANC) will return from the existing Sony WF-1000XM3, WinFuture also revealed the WF-1000XM4's expected price, other features, and new very official-looking promo images.

The inclusion of ANC is not a big surprise, as it was a major feature of the WF-1000XM3 earphones. However, in addition to the WF-1000XM4's radically revised design, this new model will apparently feature major upgrades in build quality and battery life.

First, the WF-1000XM4 is reportedly waterproof to IPX4 standards. This makes the earphones sweatproof, but not completely waterproof. Still, this is an improvement over the WF-1000XM3, which is not waterproof at all. Battery life, on the other hand, jumps to 8 hours of ANC-enabled playback on a single charge, with an additional 16 hours of use with the charging case.

This contradicts the first leak of the WF-1000XM4 in February, which suggested that the new model would share the battery rating of the WF-1000XM3, with 6 hours on a single charge and 18 hours with a case. Still, the total of 24 hours is the same, and if Sony has increased the operating time per charge, that is fine.

Eight hours of ANC playback is also almost double that of the AirPods Pro.

And this isn't the only advantage of the Sony Buds; WinFuture also reports that the WF-1000XM4 supports Sony's LDAC wireless technology, allowing for higher resolution audio than normal Bluetooth allows.

While LDAC does not yet enable true high-resolution audio, it is superior to Apple's preferred AAC format for audiophiles. Apple recently had to admit that its AirPods series, even the AirPods Max, cannot handle the new lossless features of Apple Music, which will be available in June.

The WF-1000XM4's ANC could also be boosted by the new Sony V1 processor in these earphones, according to WinFuture.

And how much will these upgrades cost? Allegedly, the Sony WF-1000XM4 will be available in Europe for €279.

All that really remains to be known is the release date of the WF-1000XM4, although recent leaks have indicated that Sony may announce it before June 9. This would likely mean that the WF-1000XM4 would be released one step ahead of the AirPods 3, which is also rumored.