Sony’s new LinkBuds add voice controls without a smart assistant

Sony has announced caller versions of its LinkBuds wireless earbuds with “improved wearability” and built-in dependable controls, making them easier to permission successful your ears each day. Both the caller LinkBuds Open and LinkBuds Fit are disposable for preorder contiguous for $199.99, alongside a caller LinkBuds Speaker debuting astatine $179.99 that volition beryllium constricted to the US market.

The archetypal Sony LinkBuds, first announced successful aboriginal 2022, featured a unsocial “open ringing design” that skipped sound-isolating receptor tips for a donut-shaped speaker, allowing ambient sounds to beryllium heard astatine each times. The caller version, present known arsenic the LinkBuds Open, features a akin but smaller design, with a caller 11-millimeter talker to heighten measurement and bass performance. Sony besides includes redesigned silicone wings called “Air Fitting Supporters” that it says volition trim unit points and marque the earbuds much comfy to deterioration for longer periods.

With dependable power capabilities present built close into the LinkBuds Open, you tin set volume, skip tracks, and alteration ANC modes without having to inquire Siri oregon Google Assistant to bash it for you. It besides means that dependable controls are disposable erstwhile connected to devices that deficiency a voice-activated adjunct of their own, similar consoles oregon in-flight amusement systems.

Battery beingness for the LinkBuds Open is present 8 hours with the earbuds alone, oregon a full of 22 hours with their charging lawsuit (up from 5.5 hours and 17.5 hours, previously), portion a three-minute speedy complaint volition supply up to an hr of euphony playback. To further widen artillery life, Sony is adding a caller “auto artillery save” enactment that turns disconnected features similar EQ adjustments, talk to chat, and dependable controls erstwhile the earbuds’ batteries driblet beneath 20 percent.

The LinkBuds Open travel with Bluetooth 5.3, connection multi-device connectivity, and enactment the SBC, AAC, and LC3 codecs. Sony says the earbuds besides present diagnostic the aforesaid V2 spot arsenic its flagship WF-1000XM5 earbuds, offering a much unchangeable transportation to devices.

The caller LinkBuds Fit are a smaller and lighter mentation of the LinkBuds S, which debuted successful mid-2022 arsenic an alternate to the archetypal LinkBuds for those wanting ANC. The caller Fit comes with shorter receptor tips and Sony’s “Air Fitting Supporters,” akin to what’s included with the LinkBuds Open, to assistance amended administer the value of the earbuds astir the ear.

Their smaller size does travel with a sacrifice successful artillery beingness for the buds: it is present 5.5 hours alternatively of six. But erstwhile the LinkBuds Fit are paired with their charging case, wide artillery beingness improves from 20 hours to 21, with the aforesaid speedy complaint capabilities arsenic the LinkBuds Open.

The caller Fit besides diagnostic the V2 processor from Sony’s WF-1000XM5 earbuds, powering some its ANC and ambient dependable modes. The Fit besides inherit the Dynamix Driver X from Sony’s premium earbuds for improved dependable quality, and portion its Bluetooth capabilities lucifer the LinkBuds Open, their codec compatibility includes enactment for Sony’s LDAC, which allows amended prime Hi-Res audio to beryllium streamed.

If you’re looking to customize the quality of the LinkBuds Fit, Sony volition besides merchantability the “Air Fitting Supporters” successful respective alternate colors similar ash pink, ash green, and axenic achromatic for $9.99, arsenic good arsenic a $19.99 silicone screen for the charging lawsuit successful matching shades.

Sony is expanding its LinkBuds enactment with the caller LinkBuds Speaker, designed to complement the wireless earbuds. Featuring a azygous tweeter and woofer paired with a passive radiator, the talker includes a charging dock; Sony says artillery beingness is arsenic overmuch arsenic 25 hours astatine mean measurement oregon up to six hours astatine maximum volume.

What sets the LinkBuds Speaker isolated from Sony’s different wireless speakers is simply a caller Auto Switch mode that tin automatically swap playback from the earbuds erstwhile you get adjacent enough. Compatible models see the caller LinkBuds Fit and Open, the older LinkBuds S, and Sony’s WH-1000XM5 and WF-1000XM5 headphones. So, if you’re listening to euphony and caput into the room to marque a snack, you tin opt to person the euphony power to the talker and springiness your ears a break.

The LinkBuds Speaker includes a microphone truthful it tin beryllium utilized arsenic a speakerphone, a fastener that volition commencement streaming euphony from your preferred service, and regular routines that tin beryllium scheduled done a mobile app, truthful you tin usage it arsenic an alarm clock. It’s disposable successful either a grey oregon achromatic finish, but with constricted IPX4 splash resistance, it’s mostly designed for indoor usage distant from atrocious upwind oregon the hazard of being dunked successful a pool.