Sony has made quite a name for itself with noise-cancelling headphones recently and the 1000X family has won loads of awards, and rightly so - the WH-1000XM3 are amongst our favourite over-ear headphones.

Now in the third-generation, the 1000X might soon be seeing an update in the form of the WH-1000XM4.

The information from the FCC reveals that Sony has filed for certification for the new headphones, but there's little to actually learn from the details. While the numbering that the FCC lists makes it sound like these are Sony's next flagship noise-cancelling headphones, it doesn't go as far as confirming any specs or picturing them - or list a timeframe for launch.

With CES just around the corner, we'd expect the new WH-1000XM4 to be announced during Sony's press conference on Monday 6 January.

With the quality of the existing headphones being so good, it's hard to know where Sony will focus its efforts in any update. We've seen Bose change direction with the Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 in 2019 and we suspect that will be Sony's new model to beat. You can expect a boost in sound quality, more sophisticated noise-cancelling algorithms and longer battery life, but we hope that Sony sticks to the design, because we've always found them very comfortable.

The Sony WH-1000X are over-ear headphones, offering active noise-cancellation, as well as tuning to your ears. They can sense what you're doing to adjust the cancellation accordingly, while also adjusting for things like a change in pressure at altitude.

We'll be keeping our eyes on the Sony announcements and of course we'll be looking to bring you the news as soon as it's confirmed by Sony.