[curicat]

There is probably a planned obsolescence with these buds, as after a year the battery on one of the buds dies at most in a couple hours. And I had the exact same story with previous model, i.e. xm3.

 

[nc8000]

There is probably a planned obsolescence with these buds, as after a year the battery on one of the buds dies at most in a couple hours. And I had the exact same story with previous model, i.e. xm3.

I’ve had mine since release day and still get over 10 hours per charge with anc and eq enabled

 

[carmatic]

Hello guys, I got a new pair of XM4's , and I notice the case has a 'ratchet' effect which holds it open which wasn't present in my first pair, have they been updating the design?

 

[nc8000]

Hello guys, I got a new pair of XM4's , and I notice the case has a 'ratchet' effect which holds it open which wasn't present in my first pair, have they been updating the design?

My over 1 year old case has a click when fully opened that keeps it open

 

[curicat]

I’ve had mine since release day and still get over 10 hours per charge with anc and eq enabled

What codec do you use? I had 4-5 hours at first on LDAC. Now 2 if I am lucky I'll try to switch to SBC for a test though.

 

[nc8000]

What codec do you use? I had 4-5 hours at first on LDAC. Now 2 if I am lucky I'll try to switch to SBC for a test though.

I use aac as my source is an iPhone

 

[jsmiller58]

What codec do you use? I had 4-5 hours at first on LDAC. Now 2 if I am lucky I'll try to switch to SBC for a test though.

LDAC. At least 4 hours.

 

[Phil2020]

Just realized my photo above compared small app foams vs med sony.

Approx 11mm S, 12mm M and 13mm L.

You can just tell those tips will push into the ears better than the stock ones.

 

[jsmiller58]

There is probably a planned obsolescence with these buds, as after a year the battery on one of the buds dies at most in a couple hours. And I had the exact same story with previous model, i.e. xm3.

To an individual a series of failures may look like part of a “plan”… A more plausible explanation is that, as we all know, batteries will fail over time (it’s chemistry, not a plan). Some will fail faster, and some slower (a distribution). With enough volume of products a few who have multiple generations of a product will experience the same failure on their products sooner than the majority, while some others may actually experience failures on a much slower rate than the majority (probability). Depending on who you are in that, your perception is based on your experience and not based on the broader experience base (you only live your life).

 

[Phil2020]

My over 1 year old case has a click when fully opened that keeps it open

I bought mine November and mine clicked when fully opened but it doesn't anymore. Wonder if sony will give me a replacement case?...

Also the foam in 1 of the buds keep going quiet a way down into the nozzle and I keep on having to use a pin to lift it out from the nozzle.. It doesn't effect the SQ when the foam goes deep into the nozzle though.

 

[Death_Block]

My over 1 year old case has a click when fully opened that keeps it open

Just got mine, can confirm. Must be a redesign

 

[nc8000]

Just got mine, can confirm. Must be a redesign

So your’s dosen’t click to stay open ?

 

[curicat]

To an individual a series of failures may look like part of a “plan”… A more plausible explanation is that, as we all know, batteries will fail over time (it’s chemistry, not a plan). Some will fail faster, and some slower (a distribution). With enough volume of products a few who have multiple generations of a product will experience the same failure on their products sooner than the majority, while some others may actually experience failures on a much slower rate than the majority (probability). Depending on who you are in that, your perception is based on your experience and not based on the broader experience base (you only live your life).

That's reasonable, however in my case I have multiple bluetooth headphones and earbuds and none have this problem apart from both xm3 and xm4 wfs. To get 2 faulty units out of 2 with exactly the same pattern, i.e. battery life suddenly dropping to half of the time after a year, while may be a coincidence feels strange. Plus it always one earbud out of a pair that dies, while the second one still has 70-80%. I assume that it is the one serving as a master and doing most of the work, still it doesn't feel right and worth mentioning.

And I am not the only one with this issue, when I google. Glad that you guys have different experience and thank you for your answers

 

[jsmiller58]

To get 2 faulty units out of 2 with exactly the same pattern, i.e. battery life suddenly dropping to half of the time after a year, while may be a coincidence feels strange.

I think you missed my point. Chemistry. Probability. These are probably better explanations than a “plan” as you had called it.

Another way of looking at it is that Chemistry and Probability makes it certain that at least some will suffer multiple failures across product generations from a single vendor. Unfortunately for you, it was your turn…. Another time it will be mine. Or someone else’s.

Edit: chemistry and probability will be influenced by design and component choices, so it could be that there were choices made by Sony that increased the probability of an outcome - unless any of us here work for Sony’s design or QA teams we probably can only guess. As to googling to see the reports of this happening to others, I am sure those reports are out there. Keep in mind people who experience issues are more likely to report problems than are people who have no issues reporting that everything is fine.

 

[Death_Block]

So your’s dosen’t click to stay open ?

It does click