Sony LinkBuds review: Unique open ring facilitates online and offline listening | ZDNet

After discovering bone conduction headsets, like the

, headphones with that technology have been my default for running due to the open-ear design that allows me to run safer. Sony just announced a new pair of earbuds that offers a similar experience in a more traditional in-ear form factor, and we’ve been using them for the past 10 days.

When I met with Sony to discuss the new headset, the first thing that struck me was that I didn’t have to stumble across a host of letters and numbers in the name. If you aren’t a fan of saying you own the

 or the

, then you will be pleased to hear that the new Sony earbuds are simply named the

. The LinkBuds name comes from linking the online and offline worlds, but before I was given the press release, I thought the name referred to the form factor that reminds me of two links in a chain.

Also: The best headphones: Workout and running

The Sony LinkBuds are the most unique earbuds I have ever seen with two circular connected pieces that have one of them with a large opening in the center. That’s right; the lower circular piece has a unique open ring design so that ambient sounds in your surroundings can pass through the earbuds and into your ear. People today often wear one earbud and interact with people face-to-face while their online world carries on in the connected earbud.

Hardware

The plastic-free packaging includes the earbuds in a charging case, USB-C cable, and five pairs of silicone ring wings. The medium size wings are installed on the earbuds with XS, S, L, and XL in the packaging. Guides and warranty paperwork are also included in the packaging.

The Sony LinkBuds are available in grey and white for $179.99. We tested the white color with the charging case matching the earbuds. The front of the charging case has a status indicator light and a top cover release button. The USB-C port and pairing button are found on the back. There is no wireless charging capability, so you will need to use a USB-C cable to charge up the headset.

Also: Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds review: Superb noise cancellation, clear calls, and long battery life

The headset has a very interesting design with the main round piece connected to a fairly flat open ring piece (looks like a donut) with the silicone wing that attaches to the circle piece so the wing braces against your ear for security. The donut piece on the end is the forward part of the headset that fits in your ear first. The opening is lined with silver material on the outside with the ring driver unit on the inside so that audio flows out of the speaker openings and into your ear. The open “donut hole” allows ambient sound to pass through and into your ear.

The main body, a round ball with a flat face, houses the battery and other components and is the piece that rests on the charging pins in the charging case. In-ear sensors are found on the flat part of this piece with clear R and L letters to make it clear which earbud goes into which ear. The right side has an R inside a red circle with the same designation matching inside the case. The left side has an L inside a gray circle.

Strong magnets help you line up the LinkBuds in the charging case, but you also have to then snap them down and into position to secure them in place for proper charging and alignment. Speaking of charging, a 10-minute quick charge provides up to 90 minutes of playtime. The LinkBuds support up to 5.5 hours of playtime, with the charging case providing another 12 hours. You can use the right LinkBuds by itself, but currently, the left earbud cannot be used without the right earbud. The LinkBuds will achieve a full charge in 90 minutes.

Sony’s Processor V1 is contained within the LinkBuds to provide advanced voice signal processing. Sony’s noise-reduction algorithm was developed with AI machine learning from more than 500 million voice samples. The integrated processor helps minimize distortion in your music and provides an outstanding audio experience.

Specifications

• Speakers: 12mm ring driver
• Water resistance: IPX4 rating
• Battery life: Up to 5.5 hours of play with the charging case providing another 12 hours of playtime. 10 minutes provides 90 minutes of playback. 90 minutes of charging are needed for a full charge.
• Wireless connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2
• Earbud weight: 4g each

Sony Headphones Connect software

In order to optimize your use of the Sony LinkBuds earbuds, you need to download and install the Sony Headphones Connect application to your Android or iOS smartphone. After installation, simply take out the earbuds and position them into your ears to initiate pairing with your smartphone. Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair are supported, so connecting to Android and Windows devices is quick and easy.

The Sony Headphones Connect application shows the battery level of each earbud and the charging case. Through the upper right menu option, you can view a tutorial, check the firmware version of the earbuds, backup and restore settings through the cloud, or launch the Music Center app.

There are four main tabs in the application; Status, Sound, System, and Services. The Status tab shows the music being played and provides back play and forward buttons with a volume slider below the controls.

Also: Sony WH-1000XM4 wireless noise-canceling headset review: Making the world better through a flawless music listening experience

Moving along to the Sound tab, we find the ability to enable or disable the Speak-to-Chat option. This function has been very useful for those who work from home when they may want to speak with other family members without having to remove their earbuds. You can choose from automatic, high, or low sensitivity to voice detection, which may be useful if you like to sing along to your music. My wife and daughters often walk into my office when I am working, and over the past week, I just started speaking to have the Sony earbuds pause the music. You can choose when to have the music start playing again or choose to turn off the automatic feature. I have it set to 15 seconds, but there are options for five seconds, 30 seconds, or no automatic closure.

Below this section is the equalizer area with an option for boosting the bass as well. Various default options are available, including bright, excited, mellow, relaxed, vocal, treble boost, bass boost, speech, and manual. You can also set up a couple of custom levels for your specific preferences.

Below the 360 Reality, Audio section is a Bluetooth connection quality selector where you can choose to put a priority on a stable connection or sound quality. I primarily tested a stable connection since the sound was fantastic. There is also a toggle for DSEE Extreme.

The System tab is where you customize other settings on your earbuds. The first option is adaptive volume control,  where the volume changes with the amount of background noise. Settings below this allow you to select left and right double and triple tap options. By default, you can double or triple tap the outside of the earbuds, but I recommend you toggle on the wide area tap that lets you tap on your face in the vicinity of the earbuds. Other settings on the System tab include automatic power off, language, download of the software and initialize settings.

The Services tab provides access to settings for Locatone sound AR service, Microsoft Soundscape, and Spotify Tap. Spotify Tap provides faster access to Spotify content with a single tap after inserting the earbuds.

The software also includes an activity page that has badges for different learning sessions, which may be interesting for some people. I find the activity page useful since it shows how many total hours I have used various Sony earbuds, see which locations I have used the headphones, and the actions I was involved in while listening to the various headphones.

Daily usage experiences and conclusions

When Sony first contacted me about an opportunity to learn more about a new audio product, I couldn’t figure out what it might be since the company had already released its flagship over-the-ear headphones and flagship earbuds. I was pleasantly surprised when I met with a Sony representative to learn more about the Sony LinkBuds. Sony is targeting next-generation people who have one earbud in to stay connected to their online world, those who spend time working from home and need to hear others in the surrounding area, those with an active lifestyle who want earbuds that let them enjoy audio content while also hearing the natural world around them, people returning to work who spend time commuting, and people who participate in AR and mobile gaming activities.

While I am clearly no longer a young man who spends time in two worlds at once, I enjoying running outside, work remotely 50% of the time, and spend more than two hours a day commuting via train and walking. While I enjoy bone conduction headphones, and the newest ones have clearly improved in audio quality, the Sony LinkBuds have better audio quality and still allow me to hear the world around me through the opening in the earbuds. Granted the outside sounds are not as clear with the LinkBuds as they are when I have bone conduction headphones around my fully open ears, but it is better than an earbud that fully covers the opening of your ear.

The Speak-to-Chat feature has also been a fantastic feature for both hearing my family and coworkers, but for pausing the music while I run in the dark and want to hear the world around me even better than just through the center donut hole opening. Voice assistants respond quickly and work flawlessly.

Phone calls are not a primary focus of the Sony LinkBuds, but the calls I made sounded great through the earbuds. There are not as many tap/button options available on the earbuds since there are no buttons present; however, the fantastic wide-area tap feature is perfect. When working out, I don’t like pressing or tapping on an earbud that moves the earbud around or pushes the earbud further into the ear. Simply double or triple tapping on the side of my face has worked flawlessly with no shifting of the earbuds or discomfort to perform the actions I select in the settings.

The Sony LinkBuds are more expensive than some other modern headphones that have active noise cancellation, but the LinkBuds are not designed for ANC performance. They are designed for those who wear one earbud all of the time or who want some awareness of their surroundings, and for these people, the LinkBuds may be the perfect fit at a reasonable price for high-quality earbuds.