• New Sony The Collexion headphone renders arrive
• They show product very similar to WH-1000XM6
• A few premium design changes, and two colors

We've been reporting tirelessly on new top-end headphones from Sony that are set to bear the name The Collexion. We've seen them spotted on the head of a Hollywood star and leaked on Sony website listing pages, with a May 19 release looking likely.

But I'd been so caught up in the flurry of leaks, that I'd missed something obvious — and newly-leaked renders courtesy of Android Headlines have highlighted: these headphones look incredibly familiar.

Coming in white and black hues, the Sony The Collexion headphones appear to be gentle evolutions of the Sony WH-1000XM6 and XM5, especially in the looks of the speaker cups.

In fact, squint and these basically are the WH-1000XM6. It's clear that Sony isn't straying far from past designs with its new cans, which might surprise people hoping for top-end blasters that match the rumored $600-ish price tag — but there are difference in the shiny metallic elements that are really reminiscent of the Sonos Ace.

What's new here?

Let's run through the differences I can see between these rendered headphones and the XM6 cans.

Most comfortably, the headband seems to be made from a different material, with leaks pointing to it being vegan leather rather than plastic as in the XM6. This material is also said to be used for the ear pads.

A new hinge mechanism is at play too, although to see still images, it's hard to tell how it works. At the very least, Sony's attempts to play around with this design element suggests The Collexion could have a sturdier build.

Renders show a USB-C port, but no 3.5mm headphone jack. That's not a surprise, though, because the space where this audio port would be, is obscured in the pictures.

Naturally, under the hood there are probably loads of hardware changes that make these an audible step up from the XM6 — these won't literally be the same headphones (at least, I hope).

But given the high price point mooted for the new headphones, you'd be forgiven for hoping for a more inventive design. The best headphones for audiophiles show their colors with unique designs, flashy patterns or mechanical flair, and if you've paid top dollar for expensive cans, you want to feel it.

Given all the leaks and teases, I'm expecting us to learn more officially pretty soon.

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Tom Bedford is a freelance contributor covering tech, entertainment and gaming. Beyond TechRadar, he has bylines on sites including GamesRadar, Digital Trends, Android Police, TechAdvisor, WhattoWatch and BGR. From 2019 to 2022 he was on the TechRadar team as the staff writer and then deputy editor for the mobile team.