Sony LinkBuds Open EarBuds: A Good Option

Sony has launched new, more compact open-design earbuds with better battery life and sound quality at an attractive price. But will that be enough to attract athletes and those who need to stay aware of their surroundings?

It’s been two years since Sony introduced the Sony LinkBuds, their open-design earbuds with a unique shape that allows you to listen to music while staying aware of the world around you. Now, we have the second generation, the Sony LinkBuds Open, with slight improvements that make them quite interesting.

These are not your typical earbuds. The open format is quite special because it’s not suitable for every moment of the day. In fact, I would say open earbuds are mostly appropriate when you’re doing sports.

However, Sony has made earbuds with a good design, impressive battery life, and sound quality that might make you reconsider using them not only for sports but also for everyday life.

I’ve used these Sony LinkBuds Open as my go-to sports earbuds, but I’ve also worn them to listen to music while working, commuting, and in normal situations. Here’s what I think about Sony’s latest offering.

More compact with the same innovative design

Not all open earbuds share the same design. For example, Nothing opted for an over-ear design, Huawei chose a hanging style, and Sony prefers an in-ear button design.

Personally, I always prefer the button or stick design because I find them more comfortable, but I was surprised to see that Sony managed to reduce the size of the LinkBuds Open compared to the previous generation.

I think they are some of the most discreet earbuds when worn, comparable only to the new Google Pixel Buds Pro, and that’s something I appreciate, partly because it means they fit well in the ear without elements that might bother you if, for example, you’re wearing earrings.

The clever aspect of the LinkBuds Open is their design with a new upper tab intended to improve fit inside the ear. This is a common feature in sports earbuds, and I can assure you that no matter how much I turn my head, they won’t fall out.

They only weigh 4.1 grams, so they are so light you hardly notice them. That said, as with many sports designs, getting the fit just right takes some trial and error. The first few times you put them on, you’re not sure if you’re inserting them too deeply or if the upper tab is properly placed for a secure fit.

My advice is to put them on, start playing music, and adjust them until you find the best sound quality. It might just be the shape of my ear, but sometimes I feel like one earbud sits higher than the other.

In addition, they feature a sensor that pauses music when they’re not in your ears, along with motion sensors to recognize touch controls for playback (double-tap to pause/play, triple-tap to skip tracks).

Sony has also included a function first seen in the AirPods 4—the ability to respond to mobile events by moving your head.

A new app to control everything

On October 1st, Sony updated the app used to connect all of their earbuds and renamed it Sony SoundConnect. While this new app comes with updates and a redesign, it remains quite similar to the previous generation.

Through the app, you can control all aspects of these earbuds, and there are plenty of options. You can adjust the equalizer, see which two devices the earbuds are connected to, check the battery level of each earbud and the charging case, or enable/disable background sound effects, voice chat, or even take a quick ear analysis to find the best profile for 360 audio.

Among the features you can control in the SoundConnect app is Auto Play. With this feature turned on, the earbuds start playing music as soon as you put them in, without you having to touch anything. It’s currently compatible with Spotify and Apple Music.

It also detects what you’re doing, whether you’re sitting still, walking, at the gym, or running. You can configure which music to play in each situation. Additionally, Auto Play reads your mobile notifications so you don’t even have to look at your phone.

 

They sound pretty good, but their battery life is the best part.

You should always keep in mind that we’re talking about open-design earbuds, so sound quality expectations should be different from what we typically consider in more traditional earbuds. Does this mean that the LinkBuds Open sound bad? Not at all.

For earbuds with a round and open driver that allows you to hear what’s happening around you, the sound quality is quite good, but I do notice a significant loss in higher bass due to their design.

Essentially, the sound is fairly flat unless you play around with the equalizer in the app. In my opinion, the “Excited” mode is the best, as it boosts the bass and slightly enhances the vocals. However, if you raise the volume above 80%, the improved bass starts to rumble.

Call quality is something worth noting because, surprisingly, the microphones pick up your voice quite well. It’s not spectacular, but the microphone quality is very similar to other in-ear earbuds.

However, there is a new feature in these earbuds that I’m unsure how to feel about—the new background music effect. When this option is activated in the app, the sound changes to make it seem like you’re playing music in a room through speakers rather than through the earbuds. What’s the purpose? That’s up to each user to decide, but I perceive it as a way to listen to music while staying focused on another task at the same time.

 

LinkBuds Open add 2.5 extra hours of battery life despite being smaller

 

Among the improvements in this second version, the LinkBuds Open have substantially increased their battery life.

From the previous version’s 5.5 hours, Sony has managed to stretch battery life to 8 hours, while making the earbuds slightly smaller.

We don’t know the exact battery capacity, but from my usage, I can confirm I’ve achieved up to 7 hours of uninterrupted playback at a volume slightly above 50%.

The charging case offers an additional 13 hours of playback, and it takes about 1.5 hours to fully charge in the case, which also features a USB-C connection.

 

Verdict: Are the Sony LinkBuds Open worth buying?

The Sony LinkBuds Open are some of the best open earbuds I’ve tried, and among the available options, possibly the most comfortable I’ve worn.

If we add in the fact that they have good sound quality (as long as you tweak the equalizer) and are priced attractively, Sony has a very interesting option here.

That said, in certain situations, like in an office, while they would be more than suitable for making calls or talking to people without needing to take them off, there’s still that stigma that if you don’t remove your earbuds, you’re somehow being disrespectful.

The Sony LinkBuds Open will be available for €199 in Spain starting October 25th, when they officially go on sale.

But as with all open earbuds, it’s a rather risky bet. Sony has earbuds for every type of need, and while these LinkBuds Open are more than usable for your day-to-day life, I still believe they’re better suited for sports, allowing you to enjoy your music while staying aware of your surroundings.