In early 2022, Sony took a gamble on a unique design for open-design earbuds. The company built tiny buds with a circular, donut-shaped speaker that were designed to be worn all day. It then followed those with a more “traditional” set, the LinkBuds S, just a few months later. That second model delivered a lot of the key features from the flagship WF-1000XM5, but at $100 less.
Now Sony is expanding the LinkBuds line once again, adding three new options with very different designs. A second-gen version of the LinkBuds are now called LinkBuds Open (pictured above), with an all-new design debuting alongside them in the LinkBuds Fit. Lastly, there’s a LinkBuds Speaker that allows you to automatically switch the audio between it and a set of earbuds as needed.
LinkBuds Open
My key gripe with the original LinkBuds is that they weren’t very comfortable. Sony did well to pack in a ton of features, including tapping your face in front of your ear for the onboard controls (Wide Area Tap). However, the rigid casing for the ring driver was too firm and the earbuds overall didn’t stay in place that well. To address this, the company redesigned the “fitting supporter” for the LinkBuds Open, opting for a more common fit wing shape off the top edge. Sony also says it reduced the size of the second-gen model to further assist with a more comfortable fit.
Inside, Sony built a new 11mm ring driver that’s still open at the center for an inherent transparency mode. Thanks to a carefully selected high-compliance diaphragm and a powerful magnet, the LinkBuds Open can better replicate clear highs and mids along with louder, richer bass, according to Sony. The company also upgraded the earbud chip to its Integrated Processor V2, the same component that’s found inside the WF-1000XM5. Sony says this update should provide connectivity that’s more stable compared to the LinkBuds.
Sony also extended the battery life on the LinkBuds Open, offering up to eight hours on a charge. That’s up from five and a half on the first model. What’s more, the quick charge feature now gives you an hour of use in three minutes, as opposed to 90 minutes of playback in 10 minutes on the original version. Sony included a fit check tool in its new app this time, allowing you to have the positioning analyzed with a photo (Sony has done this before with other models). Other key specs include an IPX4 rating and multipoint Bluetooth.
The LinkBuds Open are available for preorder today for $200, $20 more than the…