Sony LinkBuds review: unique earbuds ideal for home working

Sony claims the LinkBuds will "link online and offline worlds" and provide a "never off" experience. That's a bold claim but in many ways, the earbuds are genuinely ground-breaking, despite our initial disbelief.

For many use cases, the Sony LinkBuds will never beat a solid pair of ANC earbuds, but for consistent day-to-day use, there is definitely an argument for this innovative design. Earbuds with full ANC can make it hard to be aware of your surroundings — for example, in a busy office, or while walking through a crowded street, or crossing roads — and the LinkBuds offer a sort of hybrid solution. Great quality sound that always allows you to hear the world around you. It could be ideal for jumping between online calls and real-life meetings in the office, or for dodging traffic on your commute, but those noises will also clash with what you're listening to in some instances.

Of course, some ANC headphones offer their own solution to this, piping in the sound of the world around you using microphones. However, we found the Linkbuds solution felt much more natural for holding conversations and keeping situational awareness than the piped in versions. The LinkBuds do have some notable drawbacks though, read on for our thoughts following a full test.

Looking for noise-cancelling Sony headphones? Take a look at our Sony WF-1000XM4 review.

Jump to:

• Sony LinkBuds review: summary
• What are Sony LinkBuds?
• How much are Sony LinkBuds?
• Design
• Features
• Sound quality
• Battery life
• Set-up
• Our verdict
• Where to buy

Sony LinkBuds review: summary

Key features:

• 12mm ring driver allows sound through
• Five rubber tip options
• Small, compact case
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Settings adjusted via Sony headphones app
• IPX4 rating

Pros:

• Extra rubber tips to aid fitting
• Pocketable case, light and portable
• Sustainable materials used
• IPX4 splash resistant
• Very good audio quality
• Light and easy to use for extended periods
• Compact case
• Snug fit

Cons:

• Sound can be overpowered by ambient noise
• Only suits certain users
• Can be slightly uncomfortable after extended use

What are Sony LinkBuds?

The Sony LinkBuds are an inventive new kind of wireless earbud that allows the user to hold conversations, hear traffic and remain aware of their surroundings while listening to their buds. The 'unique ring driver' doesn't insert deep into your ear, like most 'in-ear' earbuds, instead the ring goes over your ear and the hole allows you to hear ambient sound.

The LinkBuds are the first earbuds of this type and are likely to divide opinion among users, though they have plenty of brilliant qualities and can sound fantastic in the right environment.

How much are Sony LinkBuds?

Right now, Sony LinkBuds cost £149 and are available from a range of UK retailers.

• Sony LinkBuds | £149 at Amazon
• Sony LinkBuds | £149 at Currys
• Sony LinkBuds | £150 at Very

Sony LinkBuds design: are they comfortable?

The LinkBuds are light and their case is compact. They're very pocketable and that's a feature we always appreciate in earbuds.

They come in white or dark grey, so if you like your tech in wacky shades then the Sony LinkBuds probably aren't for you. They have a nice finish to them though and are pleasingly light and compact if a little plastic-y.

As regards their in-ear fit — which Sony is very proud of — they do stay very snug in your ear. These buds are more than capable of being your gym, or running partner, but we found that the hard plastic ring sitting in the ear can become slightly uncomfortable during extended use. It's worth noting though that different earbud types suit different ears and many users have commended how comfortable the LinkBuds are. They're certainly very, very light. You'll hardly notice they're there in that respect.

The LinkBuds and their case are largely constructed from recycled materials too, so Sony is making an effort on the sustainability front.

Sony LinkBuds features

Innovation is at the core of the LinkBuds design and they pack in some innovative features too. Instead of the usual touch controls, you can tap your cheek — once, twice, or three times depending on the function you want. For example, double-tapping your right cheek can engage an audio assistant.

Five pairs of rubber tips are included in the box and Sony emphasises the importance of finding the right ones to fit your ear. Once we did, the earbuds fitted very well and were near impossible to dislodge.

One interesting feature of the Sony LinkBuds is their 'speak to chat' function, which is turned on via the Sony headphones app. Simply, it pauses whatever you're listening to as soon as you start talking and then — after giving a reasonable pause in case your conversation continues — resumes playing automatically.

Sony LinkBuds sound quality

The LinkBuds are powered by the same V1 chip from the fantastic Sony WF-1000XM4. This is a brilliant start as far as sound quality is concerned and — if you listen to the LinkBuds in the right environment — they sound absolutely fantastic.

When we listened to the LinkBuds at home they delivered crisp, clear podcast dialogue and were ideal for audiobooks — we listened to Bill Bryson's 'The Lost Continent' which the LinkBuds rendered with wonderful clarity.

Take the same podcast or audio into the street, or a noisy gym and you will at times struggle to hear some voices. We had to turn the volume up to max when walking through central London in order to make sure a podcast was easily audible over people and traffic. Similarly, in a busy gym with its own sound system, it was hard to hear some podcasts entirely clearly — but turn the LinkBuds up with some music and this is less of an issue.

Listening to music on the LinkPods is an altogether enjoyable experience. Sony is a consistent performer when it comes to audio quality and we rank the WF-1000XM4 among the very best earbuds out there right now — they may be the best. Hence, the re-use of that V1 chip from the XM4 buds is welcome here and it creates a very listenable soundstage. It also offers Sony's DSEE, or Digital Sound Enhancement Engine, which helps present low-res audio in the highest possible quality.

Beirut's 'Nantes' nicely demonstrated the earbuds' ability to create an engrossing soundstage, in which different layers sound distinct and clear. They performed well delivering clear treble and mid-tones but the small, open nature of the buds made it harder for them to produce truly immersive bass in the way in-ear rivals can.

The volume range is good overall, but again it's compromised by the openness of the earbuds. When using the buds out and about, they struggled to drown out some of the loudest traffic sounds, but essentially this is part of the concept. It will just take some users time to grow accustomed to different sorts of earbuds if switching from using an ANC pair day-to-day to using LinkBuds. Whether or not you'd consider doing that will come down to subjective personal choices on what you need from an earbud and how you intend to use it.

Sony LinkBuds battery life

When you connect the LinkBuds to your phone via the settings menu, it won't just tell you the overall battery percentage — as is the case with most earbuds — instead, it provides a more detailed read-out explaining what percentage battery each earbud has and what percentage of battery power remains in the case. We thought this was a really nice piece of attention to detail from Sony.

The LinkBuds provide around five hours of battery life, with 12 more hours in the case. This is a far cry from market-leading but it's not too bad and should be expected due to the LinkBuds small size. However, if you love especially long-lasting earbuds, these aren't the ones for you.

This would be less of an issue if Sony didn't state that the LinkBuds were designed to be worn all day. The promise of a "never off experience" starts to sound slightly like hollow marketing speaks and users who opt-in to that philosophy will be running low on juice long before the day is over.

Sony LinkBuds set-up: are they easy to use?

Generally, connecting to the earbuds was simple and easy, but on a few isolated occasions, it took a second attempt to connect the earbuds up and get them functioning. We tried this with a variety of phones and newer models seemed to have few issues, so it's not a major cause for concern.

To play around with the settings of the earbuds, you'll need to download and use Sony's headphones app. It's loaded with features, allowing the buds to analyse your ear shape and optimise apps and music. There's a built-in equaliser and you can play around with a variety of pre-programmed sound profiles, allowing the buds to emphasise vocals, base, or other elements to suit your taste.

Our verdict: should you buy Sony LinkBuds?

There's no denying Sony has come up with a really interesting concept in the LinkBuds, but as with anything that's a bit new and a bit unique there are teething problems. Many of those issues are just inherent to this form factor and the buds simply can't give you the intense full-bodied sound of an in-ear earbud or an over-ear headphone.

That said — and with their limitations taken into account — they still sound lovely and will be absolutely ideal for some users with specific use cases in mind. If you're someone who's often sat at home with one earbud in, in case the doorbell goes or a family member calls you, then the LinkBuds are a fantastic solution and offer brilliant audio. Take them into noisy environments though and you will likely be frustrated.

They could suit the use-case suggested by Sony of a busy office. You can jump in and out of calls online and still talk to colleagues around you. That means they're perfect for the new world of 'hybrid working' that we seem to be moving into post-Covid, but that 5-hour battery might need a little boost before we can agree with Sony's idea that these are ideal for wearing all day.

Where to buy Sony LinkBuds

The LinkBuds are available right now from a range of retailers:

• Sony LinkBuds | £149 at Amazon
• Sony LinkBuds | £149 at Currys
• Sony LinkBuds | £150 at Very

For more on audio, read our dedicated Apple AirPods review and Apple AirPods Pro review. Or head to our Sony WF-1000XM4 vs AirPods Pro guide.