Sony could soon announce a replacement to its hugely popular WH-1000XM4 ANC headphones - unsurprisingly called WH-1000XM5.

The timing seems right, considering the existing model was released in the summer of 2020 and alleged official images have appeared online showing the 2022 refresh in all its glory.

In addition, a few of the key details have been revealed. For example, the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are said to come with 40 hours worth of battery life - 10 hours more than the XM4 - even when listening using adaptive noise cancelling technology.

A full charge will take three-and-a-half hours through USB-C, it's said.

Apparently, there will also be new driver tech in each ear, but that hasn't been fleshed out significantly as yet.

The "press renders were posted by German site TechnikNews and give us a glimpse of a cleaner looking design - albeit one that still keeps the same basic shape.

Other than that, we can see the same two colours Sony has offered in the series so far - silver and black.

No pricing or release date details have been mentioned so far. However, with such a major leak we'd be surprised if we don't hear more in the coming weeks. We'll keep you informed.