After weeks of leaks, Sennheiser has officially announced its newest flagship pair of noise-canceling headphones, the Momentum Wireless 4, and they’re quite a bit different from the 2019-released predecessors, the Momentum Wireless 3. The fourth-generation models have been pretty drastically redesigned, ditching the signature retro look (with leather headband stainless steel hinges) in a favor of a more continental and lightweight design.
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Of course, the new cans have more than just a more streamlined design that puts an emphasis on comfort. Sennheiser claims that the Momentum Wireless 4 have significantly improved sound quality, as well as more powerful adaptive noise-cancellation and transparency modes.
The biggest and most impactful improvement, however, is that the new cans apparently have an incredible 60-hour battery life. For context, this is roughly three times the battery life of Apple’s AirPods Max.
The other big change is that the Momentum Wireless 4 no long have as many physical buttons for playback control. Instead of physical buttons, Sennheiser has opted for earcups with capacitive touch controls — aka swipe and tap gestures — that some other popular noise-cancelling headphones also have, like the Sony WH-1000XM5 and the Bose Headphones 700.
It’s a big change considering that, depending on personal preferences, swipe controls on headphones can be pretty divisive. (I personally prefer physical buttons as your less likely to pause your music while adjusting/touching your headphones.)
