The Momentum True Wireless 4 earns its price on sound: Tom's Guide calls it a contender for the best wireless earbuds, with aptX Lossless on Android and a measured 7 hours 45 minutes of playback. ANC is effective but trails Sony and Bose, the case is bulky, and iPhone users get AAC only. For Android-first listeners, it's the audiophile pick.
— THE VERDICT · JUDGEANY EDITORSWhy the True Wireless 4 exists
The fourth generation since the original launched in 2019, announced at CES 2024 and on shelves from February 2024. From the outside it's almost a TW3 — Tom's Guide found only the new copper colorway to distinguish it — with the upgrades underneath: a retuned acoustical system, the Qualcomm S5 Sound Gen 2 platform, and Bluetooth 5.4. The price went up too: a launch-price hike over the TW3 that Tom's Guide flagged as the one real downside. This review gathers published specs, expert measurements, and aggregated owner impressions. We run no test lab; the scores are editorial judgments built on that evidence.
Sound: the reason to buy
Sennheiser kept the 7 mm TrueResponse dynamic drivers but changed what surrounds them — a new acoustical system and a redesigned sound signature aimed at vocal clarity. Tom's Guide found the result remarkably well-balanced across the whole frequency range, with bass that digs deeper and carries more detail than the TW3, and called the TW4 serious contenders for the best wireless earbuds. Android users get the headline feature: aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive, alongside SBC, AAC, and LC3. Two caveats come with it — no LDAC anywhere, and iPhones top out at AAC. The Smart Control app's Sound Personalization and 5-band EQ add worthwhile fine-tuning on top.
Noise cancelling: effective, not the quietest
Adaptive ANC tunes itself to the surroundings, with an Anti-Wind mode and adjustable transparency for company. In SoundGuys' lab the TW4 posted an average noise attenuation of 83% — a good number, though incidental noise still gets through. Tom's Guide judged the cancellation strong but not at the level of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds' silence, and rated the Anti-Wind setting among the very best of its type. Transparency can be tuned and sounds natural enough that, per iwantek's review, you can hear a barista call your name without taking a bud out. One wrinkle: the sonic signature shifts slightly with ANC switched off.
Battery life: rated honestly, measured slightly better
Sennheiser's claim is 7.5 hours from the buds and 30 hours total with the case. SoundGuys' standardized battery test came back at 7 hours and 45 minutes of playback at 75 dB — a shade above the rating, which doesn't always happen. GSMArena's test, run over aptX Adaptive at 24-bit/48 kHz, landed at 6 hours and 47 minutes, still close to the AAC figure. An 8-minute charge buys about an hour of listening, the case sits on any Qi wireless charger, and the app's Battery Protection Mode trades charge speed for long-term cell health. One rival to respect: the Sony WF-1000XM5's 9 hours and 32 minutes in the same SoundGuys test.
Fit, design, and the case problem
The buds weigh about 6 grams each — TechGearLab measured 5.95 g — and ship with four tip sizes, rubber stabilizer fins, and an in-app fit test. Tom's Guide wore them for several hours a day over several days without discomfort, and Best Buy owners list fit and comfort among their most-mentioned positives. The look is unchanged from the TW3, which reads as bulky next to softer rivals. Then there's the case: 70.1 by 44.6 by 34.8 millimeters, wrapped in fabric, and thick enough that owners call it the hardest case to fit in a pocket — the complaint that repeats more than any other.
Calls, app, and connectivity
Calls run through six microphones with sidetone adjustment, per Sennheiser. Quiet rooms are fine; wind is not, per the scorata expert-review aggregate — one of the few areas where the TW4 clearly trails its rivals. Touch controls are reliable and customizable, with an audible tone confirming each tap, per Tom's Guide. The Smart Control app is genuinely good: 5-band EQ, Sound Personalization, location-based Sound Zones, multipoint for two devices at once, and firmware updates that brought LE Audio and Auracast after launch. What's missing: spatial audio and any Find My-style device tracking. And Best Buy's review summary notes some owners reporting connectivity reliability issues.
Who should buy it
Android users who put sound first. The TW4 delivers audiophile-grade tuning, aptX Lossless, and a deep feature set, and the street price has often sat below the launch figure. If the priorities are the quietest ANC, the slimmest case, or full iPhone integration, Sony, Bose, and Apple each make a stronger case. For everyone else, this is Sennheiser's most sophisticated true wireless package yet — Tom's Guide's verdict, and the evidence agrees.