You might have found that all premium earbuds come with Active Noise cancellation. But this time Sony has launched something very opposite. This sounds strange but Sony Link Buds are the world’s first earbuds that allow you to hear the world’s sound while using them. It comes with a doughnut-shaped speaker that has a hole in the middle. You can enjoy your music along with a sense of the surrounding around you.
Sony wants you to get connected with the outside world along with your music or ongoing call. This product is very strange, especially for people who are using Sony’s WF-1000XM4 earbuds which provide them best ANC and other features.
So if you are planning to invest in these open-sound earbuds then this blog is written only for you. So, read till the very end to find all the exciting features of Sony Link Buds.
Build and Architecture
The earbuds come in a hard-charging case. You get to see tiny earbuds that have a donut-shaped structure that is attached to the round body of the earbuds and has a rubber fin for the grip. The company has fixed the drivers inside the ring and there is no space for silicon ear tips. The tiny structure of the earbud is really surprising as it has all the drivers and speakers placed inside the small body.
The grip provided in the earbuds is awesome and they are very small that you won’t realize that you have worn them for 2-3 hours. However, for that comfort, you have to choose the right rubber wing. In most cases, the medium wing works for most people.
The Song Link Earbuds come with control features but for that, you have to tap near your ear. With the help of the control feature, you can skip a song, pause music, or reject a call. The only downside we found in this control system is the volume controls. You don’t get the feature to adjust the volume of the ongoing song.
Just like the earbuds charging case is very tiny, but the design is not much attractive and it feels like it is made up of cheap plastic. We get to see a USB-C port for charging and no support for wireless charging.
Auditory Quality
Generally, under this section, we talk about Active noise cancellation and bass. However, this time Sony surprised us by not providing any of it. These earbuds are made in such a way that you can listen to surrounding sounds. So you have to adjust a little bit with sound quality. This doesn’t mean that the sound quality is not good, you will receive dense and clean sound. However, to get the maximum sound you need to wear earbuds properly. Sony is known for its strong bass but sadly you are going to miss the bass in these buds.
Many times, it is found that audio quality is not enough to fully enjoy the music track but it provides comfort as well as convenience of listening to everything around you. This also means that you can listen to your favorite music track and still be aware of important announcements at airports, and railway stations.
These Link buds are a great product for those who are into jogging, running or cycling as they can be aware of the nearby vehicle coming from behind.
Duration of Operation
The company claims that Link buds can last up to 18 hours of regular usage. However, on testing the battery life the buds could hardly last around 4-5 hours of playtime on a single charge. But you get a decent amount of battery on 10-minutes of charging. However, Sony should work on the battery life.
Link buds offer some the features like speak-to-chat, DSEE, and adaptive volume controls to reduce battery drainage.
Final takeaway
Sony has introduced a new concept in the earbuds market which sounds very fascinating. However, I believe they need to work on their product especially on the battery life as they don’t have sufficient battery to stay in your ears.
These buds are best for the ones who are into cycling, running, or gym workouts. As far as price is concerned, they are offered at a price point of Rs.12,990. These seem very expensive as we don’t have that many features at the price we pay.