Sony’s new LinkBuds S want to “link” your digital life and your reality

Sony has officially announced its latest pair of headphones: the LinkBuds S. These new shoots appear to be an interesting middle ground between the company’s initial version of the LinkBuds and their beloved WF-1000XM4s for a variety of reasons. And they’re available for pre-order today.

The LinkBuds S are more like Sony’s other traditional earbuds – think flagship WF-1000XM4s or the smallest WF-C500s—Than the original donut-shaped LinkBuds, despite sharing a brand name with them. They weigh 4.8 grams each and sport a slim design with silicone ear tips, but still manage to pack a punch, feature-wise.

You can enjoy up to 20 hours of total battery life with LinkBuds S, with 6 from the earbuds and 14 from the charging case. While there’s no wireless charging support here (a big miss at this price point), there is a fast charge feature that will give you another hour of juice in just five minutes. Buds rock decently IPX4 rating and support for Fast Pair, LDAC Bluetooth codec, and Google and Alexa voice assistants.

Sony’s goal is for the LinkBuds S to “link” your reality and your digital life; as such, he gave the LinkBuds S a “Never Power Off” catchphrase. The company made the headphones light and comfortable, and packed them with features like Ambient Sound, ANC, Adaptive Sound Control, and Auto Play to make that goal easier.

They can sense their surroundings and adjust their audio settings on the fly. For example, if you’re listening to music on your way to your favorite coffee shop, the headphones will automatically turn ambient sound on so you can place your order, then turn it off so you can continue enjoying your music without distractions (and without removing your buds).

The earbuds have an autoplay feature that can trigger your favorite Spotify playlist to play automatically at select times, such as when you first put them on, end a call, or go for a walk every day. The feature uses an excellent algorithm that carefully detects your activity and adjusts the headphones accordingly. Auto Play is currently limited to the Sony Headphones Connect app for Android, though it should arrive for iOS in June. It also only works with Spotify and Endel Soundscapes App right now; we would like to see Sony open this up to others music streaming services in the near future.

Sony notes that the LinkBuds S are “the world’s smallest and lightest true wireless hi-res noise-cancelling headphones,” which should make them pretty easy to wear all day, every day. These headphones also seem to show off some interesting progressions of the technology we already know and love, and are working to make our lives a little easier. However, we can’t wait to get our hands on them and determine that for ourselves.

Do you want to treat yourself to these new buds? You can reserve them today for $199.99 via Sony, Amazoneither Best Buy, and will be officially available on May 20. They’re available in all three black and white (with matching charging cases). However, if you pre-order through Best Buy, you’ll get access to an exclusive colorway: Desert Sand.

Source: Sony