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New Sony WH-1000XM6 are best premium headphones 2025and they keep getting better. One of my favorite features is LE Audio Bluetooth compatibility – a new type of Bluetooth that consumes less power and supports better sound quality.
If you've tried using LE Bluetooth on your XM6 headphones before, you may have noticed that some features are missing, such as head tracking, Find My Device, Gemini Live, and Share audio using quick pairing. Well, that's no longer the case: latest Sound Connect app update allows you to take advantage of all these features when using LE Audio technology.
Left: LE Audio (LC3) codec, middle: Bluetooth Low Latency, right: pop-up message for LE Adudio
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How to make sure you're getting the update
While I'm a fan of the headphones, I can't say I feel the same way about Sony's companion app. It's confusing and user-friendly (and I've been using this app for years). The update wasn't easy to download, and it wasn't easy to know when it would be released. But eventually a message appeared in my app asking if I wanted the latest 3.0.0 update.
You can check if you already have it by clicking the three dots in the top right corner of the main menu and selecting “WH-1000XM6 Version”. Once downloaded, you will need to perform a hard reset of the connection between your phone and headphones for the update to take effect. Select the forgotten device on your XM6 in Bluetooth settings and connect it again. Once you have done all this, you should be ready.
How LE Audio works with new features
It's hard to say that the LE Audio (LC3) codec sounds better than before without a side-by-side comparison, but I can tell you that it sounds great. The sound is exactly what I expected from arguably the best headphones of 2025.
What are your thoughts so far?
Head tracking, which creates all-round spatial sound quality, works great too. I was walking around the neighborhood and could hear neighbors half a block away talking in their driveway.
When it comes to voice assistants and Gemini Live, your experience may vary. In my experience, the WH-1000XM6 microphones can be a bit sensitive, with Gemini Live's verbose responses being cut off prematurely by ambient noise. I did most of my testing walking around the block and working from home (my wife also works from home and we have a noisy dog). But this may have more to do with Gemini Live than the LE's audio quality. Outside of these cases, this feature worked as I expected.
I can say that I noticed that my sessions on the XM6 lasted longer than before, and this is one of the biggest benefits of using LE Audio. Although the low latency feature is still in beta, it already meets the XM6's high standards.
