The Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless are unusual earbuds designed to let you hear ambient sound. A plastic ring sits around your ear and has a hole to allow you to hear what's going on around you. Their unique design means that the LinkBuds were created with everyday functionality in mind. They'll be most useful for those who want to listen to audio to soundtrack their daily activities while still being able to hear their surroundings.
Our Verdict
The Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless are poor for neutral sound. Like most open headphones, their sound hardly has any bass, so your audio lacks thump, punch, and boom. The treble response is also underemphasized, hurting the detail of instruments and vocals and making sibilants like cymbals seem dull. Their very accurate mid-range response makes them best-suited for vocal-centric content like audiobooks and podcasts. Their app includes a graphic EQ and presets that you can use to customize the sound profile, but they aren't a good choice if you're looking for neutral sound.
- EQ and presets in-app.
- Great companion app.
- Sound profile lacks bass.
- Poor passive soundstage.
The Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless are disappointing for commute and travel if you want headphones with good noise isolation. By design, they block out virtually no noise, meaning it may be hard to hear your music over the sound of rumbling bus and plane engines. That said, they have a very small, portable design. If you walk to work, you may like that they let you hear ambient sound. They also work with Microsoft Soundscape, intended to help you navigate your surroundings with audio cues, which could be helpful in unfamiliar places. Unfortunately, whether or not you get a good fit depends on the shape of your ears, and they aren't comfortable or stable for everyone due to their unusual design. Their six-hour battery life is also a bit short for long flights, but they come with a case that holds a couple of extra charges.
- Small, portable design.
- Great companion app.
- Relatively short battery life.
- Aren't designed to block out commuter noise.
The Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless are good for sports and fitness. Getting a good fit in both ears can be tricky, but they come with many different silicone wing tips to help. Once you find the right fit, they will stay firmly in place during workouts. Their open-back design makes them a good choice for runners who need to stay aware of their surroundings. They're also small, well-built, and rated IPX4 for water resistance. They have decent controls, so you can change the song or turn up the volume without pulling out your phone. They also support Spotify Tap, which lets you control your music or podcast in that app with the onboard controls.
- IPX4 rating for water resistance.
- Good build quality.
- Great companion app.
- Mediocre stability.
The Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless are sub-par for office use if you want to focus on your work and audio. However, they can be a suitable choice if you want to stay aware of your surroundings, like if someone's speaking to you, without removing your buds or pausing your audio. They let you stay aware of your surroundings, so you can hear if someone's talking to you, which you may prefer to noise cancelling headphones at work. Unfortunately, getting a comfortable fit is hard, and the plastic rings can hurt your ears after a while. Their six-hour continuous battery life is too short to last through a 9-5 workday, although you can top up the battery with the case, which holds about two extra charges.
- Support multi-device pairing.
- Great companion app.
- Relatively short battery life.
- Control scheme lacks call-related functions.
The Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless are Bluetooth earbuds and aren't compatible with Xbox or PlayStation consoles. You can use them with PCs via Bluetooth, but their latency is too high for them to be suitable for gaming, as you'll notice significant delays between audio and video.
The Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless are wireless-only headphones; you can't use them wired.
The Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless are disappointing for phone calls. You'll be understandable if you use them for a phone call, but your voice will sound distorted and thin. While the mic has decent noise handling, ensuring your voice isn't drowned out even in a loud environment, the person you're talking to might hear a crackling noise when you speak. Since they don't isolate you from any noise, hearing your call may also be hard if you're in a noisy place. Their control scheme also doesn't include any call-related functions, so you need your phone to answer a call.
- Decent noise handling performance.
- Great companion app.
- Recorded speech sounds a bit distorted.
- Control scheme lacks call-related functions.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 19, 2023: We've updated this review's text to ensure accuracy and clarity.
- Updated Aug 21, 2023: Firmware update 2.2.0 added multi-device pairing. As a result, we've retested Bluetooth.
- Updated Mar 16, 2022: Review published.
- Updated Mar 08, 2022: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Sony LinkBuds come in two colors, 'Gray' or 'White'. Both versions have a speckled design. We tested them in 'Gray'; you can see the label for the unit we tested here.
If you encounter another variant, please let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Sony LinkBuds have a very unconventional design, but similar to earbuds like the Bose Sport Open Earbuds Truly Wireless or the Shokz OpenRun Pro Bone Conduction; they're designed to keep your ears open so you can hear your surroundings. However, the manufacturer markets them more for everyday, office, and casual use than sports. They have a great app with many features like an EQ, virtual surround sound, and automatic volume adjustment. They also support Microsoft Soundscape, a feature that tracks your head position and can give you audio cues to help you find a destination. Unfortunately, it's hard to find a good fit, and depending on the shape of your ears, you may not be able to. If you're looking for open-back headphones that are more likely to be comfortable, the Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless or Apple AirPods (3rd generation) Truly Wireless are worth considering.
If you want other options, check out our lists of the best earbuds and in-ear headphones, the best wireless Bluetooth earbuds, and the best wireless earbuds for Android.
The Sony LinkBuds S Truly Wireless are the upgraded variant of the Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless. Both are designed for different purposes, meaning you may prefer one over the other. The original LinkBuds are open-ear, allowing you to easily monitor your surroundings without removing the buds. However, that means they won't block sound, and they leak audio. However, the S model are in-ears with ANC. They're able to block out a great amount of ambient noise. They're more comfortable, stable, and have a more neutral and flat sound profile, which some users may prefer. They also have longer continuous battery life.
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds and Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless are unusual-looking earbuds designed to prioritize environmental awareness. Both have virtual surround sound and IPX4 ratings against water splashes. Neither pair has much bass on tap. The Bose feel more comfortable and stable. Their battery lasts longer, too. The Sony buds still sit in your ears, which can give you a slightly more consistent sound, especially if you have ear piercings. Their mic system sounds a bit better, but neither is pro quality. They use touch controls and include a handy Speak-to-Chat function to pause playback automatically if you're engaged in a conversation.
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Truly Wireless are better for most purposes than the Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless. The Bose headphones have an ANC feature with great performance, a more neutral sound profile, and a longer continuous battery life. They're also much more comfortable and stable. However, the Sony headphones are designed to let you hear your surroundings while you wear them, which some may prefer.
The Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless are better than the Sony LinkΒuds Truly Wireless for most purposes. They have an ANC feature that blocks out a lot of noise, a better-balanced default sound profile, and a longer continuous battery life. On the other hand, the LinkΒuds are designed to let you hear your surroundings, so you may prefer them at the office or for a run outside.
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