The touch controls on the Sony WF-1000XM6 are totally customizable through the Sony Sound Connect app. You can make each earbud do whatever you want.
Here's how to set it up:
- Open the Sony Sound Connect app
- Go to System settings
- Find "Change the touch sensor function"
- Pick what each earbud does
By default, one earbud controls noise cancellation (cycling through ANC, Ambient, Off) and the other handles playback (play/pause, skip tracks). But you can change them to pretty much anything.
My recommendation: A lot of people reassign one side to volume control. The XM6 doesn't have physical volume buttons, so being able to tap to raise or lower volume is really handy. Otherwise you're always reaching for your phone.
Other options include voice assistant activation (works with Google Assistant, Siri, and even Gemini), Speak-to-Chat toggle, and Quick Access to jump to preset playlists.
If you're getting accidental triggers, the app lets you adjust touch sensitivity. Some people even disable certain gestures completely if they keep hitting them by accident—it happens.
There's also this Quick Attention feature that's separate from the customizable taps: touch and hold the left earbud to temporarily pause your music and hear your surroundings. Great for quick conversations without taking the buds out.
And if you hate the head gesture controls (nod to accept calls, shake to reject), you can turn those off too. Some people trigger them accidentally just from normal head movement.
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How we researched this
Where this comes from: this answer draws on the product's published specifications and the reviews ShopSavvy collected for it, alongside prices from 1 retailer in ShopSavvy's price data, most recently seen Mar 18, 2026.
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