Sony’s smarter take on open-ear audio strikes back

Sony Linkbuds Fit
Pictured: Sony Linkbuds Fit
// Sony's lifestyle buds are back!
Fergus Halliday
Oct 02, 2024
Icon Time To Read1 min read

Sony is bringing back an expanded incarnation of its LinkBuds audio line.

Introduced back in 2022, the Sony LinkBuds have been always been a bit of a wildcard. While the more experimental and unconventional open-ear designs involved have likely held the line back from enjoying the more mainstream popularity of more conventional fare like the Sony WH-1000X over-ear headphones and WF-1000X earbuds, the fact that Sony are keeping the brand around suggests that quirkiness still managed to strike a chord with other audiences.

The new LinkBuds Fit and LinkBuds Open are very much of a kind with previous efforts, offering up a blend of sleek open-ear design and transparent audio. Both feature special fitting supporters that promise additional comfort that previous LinkBuds lacked.

The LinkBuds Fit are more conventional in form-factor and feature noise-cancelling while the LinkBuds Open incorporate a unique open-ring design that promises to get you a little closer to your audio while also still offering the kind of situational awareness that open-ear headphones are known for.

In addition to noise-cancelling and the same Dynamic Driver X found in the Sony's WF-1000X earbuds, the LinkBuds Fit also boast multi-point connectivity, head-gesture and voice controls plus an IPX4 rating for water resistance. The LinkBuds Open tick many of these same boxes but offer slightly longer battery life at 22 hours compared to the 21 hours on offer from the LinkBuds Fit.

Last but not least, there's the new LinkBuds Speaker.

Sony Linkbuds Speaker

With a minimalist cube-shaped design, this smart speaker is more of a complement to what the other LinkBuds have going on than a substitute for it. It comes with 25 hours of battery life, an IPX4 rating for water and dust damage and a little strap that makes it easy to carry around.

The LinkBuds Speaker will be landing in Australia later this month with prices starting at $299. The LinkBuds Fit and LinkBuds Open are due to follow in November at a recommended retail price of $349.

Fergus Halliday
Written by
Fergus Halliday is a journalist and editor for Reviews.org. He’s written about technology, telecommunications, gaming and more for over a decade. He got his start writing in high school and began his full-time career as the Editor of PC World Australia. Fergus has made the MCV 30 Under 30 list, been a finalist for seven categories at the IT Journalism Awards and won Most Controversial Writer at the 2022 Consensus Awards. He has been published in Gizmodo, Kotaku, GamesHub, Press Start, Screen Rant, Superjump, Nestegg and more.

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