Not again: Sony’s WH-1000XM6 hinge shows signs of cracking

The flagship Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones are barely two months old, but a new report is raising concerns about their durability. Specifically, it’s an issue from the predecessor device we had hoped was in the past.

A Reddit post spotted by Gizmodo shows what may be the first reported case of a WH-1000XM6 with a snapped hinge near the headband — a location many will remember as the weak point that plagued the previous-generation XM5. The original source appears to be a user on the Chinese platform Red Note, who shared photos and claimed to have handled the headphones “carefully.”

That’s important context because the XM6 was supposed to fix this exact problem. According to our sister site, SoundGuys, Sony completely redesigned the hinge with this new model, embedding a metal component within the plastic housing and reintroducing a folding mechanism for compact storage. The XM5 used a flatter design with no folding arms and suffered enough failures that 25% of SoundGuys readers polled said their hinge had broken. Even when you factor in that people with a broken hinge might be more likely to partake in such a poll, it was still a concerning stat.

It’s far too soon to say whether this is an isolated case or the start of another widespread durability issue. After all, there will always be some devices that break, and we can’t be sure that the report of the headphones being handled carefully is accurate. Nevertheless, it was enough to concern some of the Reddit users in the thread, especially given the $450 price tag and Sony’s track record with hinge strength.

The WH-1000XM6 has been seen as a fix-it release, addressing complaints about things like hinge durability. SoundGuys’ review praised the headphones for solid audio, excellent ANC, and being a meaningful step up from the XM5 in most categories. If the hinge is once again a potential point of failure, it could undermine Sony’s efforts.

For now, this appears to be a single failure, but we’ll keep an eye out. If you’ve upgraded to the XM6 and experienced any issues, let us know in the comments.