We are expecting big things from Sony in 2025. The Japanese audio brand ruled the roost last year, dominating the wireless headphones and earbuds market in 2024 (and 2023, come to that) with pair after pair of feature-packed, well-built and terrific-sounding products. We saw the debut of the affordable and impressive WF-C510 late last year, while the premium WF-1000XM5 earbuds and WH-1000XM5 over-ears continue to impress and win those coveted What Hi-Fi? Awards.
What we are all desperate to see, of course, is a sequel to the Award-winning Sony WF-C700N. The budget noise-cancelling buds are the kings of giving value for money, wowing us with their dynamic sonic performance, exceptional host of features and supremely comfortable fit for not a lot of money at all. It's a high bar, and we're hoping that their potential sequels can surpass it.
Those prospective buds are set to arrive this year, according to reliable Sony rumours source, The Walkman Blog. The Sony WF-C710N have been teased as the proposed sequel to the popular WF-C700N, and while we don't have all of the details, recent leaks and revelations have given us a much clearer picture of what this highly anticipated sequel can offer.
We have rounded up everything we know so far about the future WF-C710N wireless earbuds, plus some speculation, predictions and wishes from Sony concerning what we would like to see from the prospective debutantes. Let's get to it.
Sony WF-C710N: potential release date
Sony tends to release a pair of premium true-wireless earbuds once every two years, generally in the summer. Its flagship WF-1000XM line follows that pattern without much deviation, with new buds generally coming in two-year intervals: the WF-1000XM4 came out in mid-2021, the WF-1000XM5 dropped in July of 2023, etc.
It's a little trickier to make predictions about the brand's mid-range line, however, mainly because the WF-C700N were the progenitors of a new mid-range series for Sony – a 'noise cancelling on a budget' option which plugged the gap between the budget WF-C500 and the flagship models.
What we do know is that the C700N arrived in April 2023, meaning that a parallel two-year release cycle would see a follow-up make its debut in the spring of this year. That would also make a degree of sense concerning Sony's other earbuds, as it would avoid the WF-C710N clashing with the predicted release of the WF-1000XM6 (also expected later this year).
Sony WF-C710N: price predictions
At the time of writing, we don't know for certain the price Sony will opt for with the WF-C710N. What we would like to see would be a matching of the older-generation earbuds' launch price of £100 / $120 / AU$200; but there are no guarantees in this world, especially when prices are going up all over the place.
What gives us hope is the recent release of the Sony WF-C510. A pair of budget buds built to maximise performance while keeping costs down, the C510 actually arrived at a far lower figure than their ancestors, the out going WF-C500; they cost £55 / $60 / AU$110 when compared with the C500's £89 / $79 / AU$149 asking price. Yes, they are more cheaply made on the outside, but performance-wise, they are more than a match for the buds they ended up replacing.
Will Sony do the same with the WF-C710N? There's no need to drop prices so low that they begin to tread on the WF-C510's toes, but the whole point of this mid-range product is to offer value and affordability without compromising on performance, features or noise cancelling. Whacking up the cost too far would defeat the point of the exercise and, more importantly, alienate customers who fell so hard for the C700N.
Sony WF-C710: rumoured design and features
According to a recent thewalkmanblog post, the new buds won't deviate too much from their predecessor's design, with detachable silicone tips returning. What the leaked images seem to show is that the buds' exterior surface has been flattened and, rather than using a physical button, the WF-C710N will opt for touch controls instead.
According to the leaked images, the upcoming earbuds are set to be available in four colourways: black, white pink and a shiny black finish, the latter of which comes with a rather fancy-looking transparent charging case. We don't currently have any information regarding an improvement on the C700N's current IPX4 waterproof rating.
What about potential features? The earbuds are set to use the same power cell as found in the C700N, but the case might be the same as the one accompanying the flagship WF-1000XM5, so the C710N's battery life could be extended to a total of around 24 hours, beating their predecessors' 15 hours by some distance. Battery life is an area that we think the C700N are lagging behind the competition, so this would be a big step up if true.
Certain core features are set to return, including noise cancelling, Bluetooth Multipoint and Sony's Adaptive Sound Control feature for switching listening modes automatically depending on where you are. Sony's proprietary DSEE upscaling tech, naturally, is set to make a return here.
While the above features are essentially a matter of routine for the new buds, there are plenty of features we'd like to see that we've listed below.
Sony WF-C710N: five things we'd like to see
There wasn't much that we didn't like about the Sony WF-C700N. For the price paid, we can't think of much they didn't offer from their pound-per-sound package, but as times move forward, technology advances and rivals start to move goalposts further, there are always areas that could be made a little better when the sequel arrives.
1. Improving the sound quality
The WF-C700N sound superb at this level – two back-to-back Product of the Year Awards attest to their excellent performance and value – but that's not to say that improvements aren't there to be made. After all, if they were perfect, there would be no need for a sequel, would there?
The C700N have all the punch, dynamism and power you could hope for at this level, but we wouldn't mind hearing a greater dose of clarity, spaciousness and precision to their presentation. A little more refinement in these areas to broaden out that sonic canvas and give the WF-C710N buds a touch more room to express themselves would make for an irresistible recipe.
2. Better codec support
Is it fair for us to have been disappointed at the lack of more high-quality codec support with the WF-C700N? The (potentially) outgoing buds granted SBC and AAC codec support, but aptX HD and/or LDAC for higher-quality Bluetooth streaming were absent. LDAC is usually reserved for Sony’s more expensive headphones, but could we cautiously hope for its inclusion with the WF-C710?
3. Boost the battery life
When it comes to battery, the WF-C700N offer a decent amount of life. The earbuds are good for seven and a half hours of playtime on a single charge with ANC switched on (rising to ten without ANC), but the charging case offers you only another seven-and-a-half-hour stint before it too needs juicing. Time to whack those numbers up a bit, Sony, especially for that rather underperforming charging-case capacity.
4. Refine the ANC
Active noise cancelling matters to users who have sought out a pair of ANC buds, and that's no less true for C700N or prospective C710N customers. One of the C700N's biggest selling points was noise cancelling for a reasonable price, and while it was ably implemented and nicely balanced, a more powerful ANC performance or greater scope for adjustments would elevate the new in-ears to greater heights.
5. The same tips, just more of them
Sony, please take this as a compliment: we love the ear tips on the WF-C700N. They are, for most of us, the best tips that the company makes, providing a nice balance of firmness, pliability and comfort that we find much more appealing than the rather tough-to-manage eartip material offered by the flagship WF-1000XM5. They're so good, in fact, that we are asking just one more favour: give us more of them! Three choices isn't enough to cover a wide variety of ear sizes, so boosting the choice to four or five sizes would offer even greater fit and comfort.
We are seriously excited about the prospect of a new pair of affordable noise-cancelling Sony earbuds. Yes, the potential future flagship WF-1000XM6 will probably take the headlines when they (hopefully) land this summer, but there's a good reason the WF-C700N are such an immensely popular and acclaimed set of buds, and why we continue to highly recommend these buds for sheer value for money. If you want the balance of great sound at an affordable price, they are the undisputed winners by far in an over-crowded market.
We stress again that much of the information above is currently speculative or based on leaks and rumours, so we'll make sure to keep updating this page when more concrete details emerge. Sony has had a stellar couple of years in the wireless headphones space, and if it can continue that form into 2025, we could be treated to something seriously special when the potential WF-C710N earbuds finally see the light of day.
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