Not too long ago, Sony introduced a new Smoky Pink colourway for two products: the Sony WH-1000XM5 and Sony WF-1000XM5. The new colour is a collaboration with K-pop girl group LE SSERAFIM, and it’s a nice, muted pink shade that I personally think suits a wide variety of users.

Since I also have the Platinum Silver model of the WH-1000XM5 with me, I think it would be good to see how the two colours look next to each other. Surprisingly, there are actually other differences between the two models beyond just how they look, and I’ll get to them in this comparison.

Let’s start with the carrying case of the WH-1000XM5 first. Naturally, the case matches the colour of the respective colours, and I’m really digging the understated Smoky Pink shade. It’s muted enough to not be too intense, but it’s not quite as…well, plain as the Platinum Silver version.

Aside from that, even the zipper of the carrying case is finished in a different colour. This extends to the Sony branding on the headphones too, which I appreciate. Granted, it’s not like these are groundbreaking changes, but it does show Sony’s attention to detail with the new Smoky Pink colourway.

But there is one other difference with the two colours of the XM5 that is much more noticeable: the finishing. The Platinum Silver model has a rougher finish, while the Smoky Pink model has a smoother, softer feel to it. According to Sony, the LE SSERAFIM colour has a powdery matte texture.

Besides that, depending on how the light hits the Smoky Pink XM5, it actually…doesn’t look all that pink, much to my surprise. In fact, it looks more like a shade of purple than pink. With that in mind, I definitely wouldn’t mind wearing the headset in public; not that there’s anything wrong with wearing pink headphones, of course.

Beyond the aesthetics of the Smoky Pink XM5, it remains a good pair of wireless headphones with active noise cancellation. Although it no longer has the very, very emphasised bass of its predecessor, I still much prefer the more balanced (but still quite bassy) sound signature of these headphones.

That also means the XM5 offers more details and clarity. On top of that, it also has better overall noise-cancelling performance than the XM4, even though the latter is better at eliminating low frequency rumbles. Of course, it’s also worth noting that the XM5 remains very comfortable, and it can still return very long battery life of up to 30 hours – yes, even with noise-cancelling enabled.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 in Smoky Pink is now available for purchase in Malaysia. Although the wireless headset originally retails at RM1,799 at launch, Sony Malaysia itself is offering the Smoky Pink model for only RM1,499 now. If you know where to look, you can even get this new pink colourway for as low as RM1,349, which is not a bad price at all for a pair of wireless headphones of this calibre.