Sony LinkBuds Open review: the best open earbuds on the market
Sony's second-gen open earbuds are smarter, longer-lasting, and better sounding
🏆 Review score: 4 out of 5
Pros:
✅ 🍩 Naturally open earbud design to hear the world around you
✅ 🤏 Smaller size is more comfortable for me and others with small ears
✅ 🔊 Larger 11mm driver and updated processor
✅ 🎧 Wears like any regular pair of wireless earbuds
✅ 🔒 Secure fit with Air Fitting Supporters
✅ ☝️ Expanded touch controls
✅ 🗣️ Added voice and head gesture commands
✅ 🔋 Battery life extended to 8 hours
Cons
❌ 🎚️ Improved bass overtakes the rest of the earbuds’ sound profile
❌ 🎶 Sound quality lags behind almost any closed wireless earbuds
❌ 👂 Open earbuds aren’t for those who prefer noise isolation or cancelation
Shortcut Review
Sony broke the ground with the first pair of open earbuds in 2022 with the original LinkBuds, and now it's back with a smaller LinkBuds Open that’s also somehow fitted with bigger drivers. Their signature donut-shaped driver lets you play your music while hearing the real world through a physical opening. You still wear them like regular earbuds, so they also feel like the most regular pair of open earbuds. Sony has also improved battery life and its innovative Open Wide Tap Area can now recognize triple- and quadruple-taps on the side of your face for added commands.
The larger drivers and V2 processor pulled from Sony’s flagship headphones/earbuds give the LinkBuds Open a slight bass boost and a more flexible EQ. However, you’ll miss most of the nuances of music to outside noises simply because of their open nature. The Sony LinkBuds Open will mostly appeal to users who want to listen to music and podcasts while they’re busy with other activities – cycling or running – while needing to be aware of their surroundings safely. It fits a niche, and for $179, unless you’re that specific person, you’re much better off getting the Sony LinkBuds Fit, AirPods 4 with ANC, or another closed wireless earbud.
Full Review
🍩 Ideal shape. Sony redesigned its second-generation open earbuds to be smaller as a whole yet feature a larger 11mm speaker ring. The main body of the earbuds is now close to the size of a marble after losing 2mm of thickness compared to the pebble-sized LinkBuds. That should allow Sony’s new LinkBuds Open to fit into smaller ears, and they feel less painful for me to wear for extended periods. The LinkBuds Open case is also much smaller now than its predecessor or any wireless earbuds on the market.
💆🏻♂️ Familiar fit. Thanks to their smaller size, the Sony LinkBuds Open feels more comfortable in my ears. They also fit better thanks to the addition of Air Fitting Supporters – basically a silicone fin filled with air. I also love how the LinkBuds Open just wear like a regular pair of earbuds instead of clipping around my ear like the Nothing Earbuds Open or Bose Ultra Open Earbuds.
🎨 Personalized design. The Sony LinkBuds Open are a little more stylish now that even the basic white and black colors feature a stone-like finish. There’s also a new violet color made in partnership with signer and actress Olivia Rodrigo. In addition to the basic color choices, Sony also has five different colored silicone covers for the earbuds and case. You can mix and match the colors like this crazy combo I have in my review, but the cost will quickly add up with each $9.99 earbud supporter kit and $19.99 case cover.
👂 Actual transparency mode. The most unique thing about the Sony LinkBuds Open is its donut-hole-shaped driver unit. Forget about complex transparency modes powered by microphones and algorithms, these earbuds let you naturally hear your surroundings around you with a physical opening.
🔊 Upgraded sound. The LinkBuds Open offers sound audio quality thanks to a larger 11mm ring-shaped driver unit. Since the donut-shaped aligns right over my ear canal, I can more clearly hear what they’re playing than other open earbuds I’ve used. The LinkBuds Open’s larger driver unit also allows it to push more bass out than the original LinkBuds. Sony also ported the Integrated Processor V2 from its top Sony WF-1000XM5, allowing it to utilize the latest DSEE, Bluetooth 5.3, and LC3 technology.
⛳ It’s got holes in it. The sound of the Linkbuds isn’t exactly bulletproof – I mean, they literally have holes in them. That opening doesn’t allow sound to reverberate in your ear, so it sounds like the earbuds have prioritized bass over the rest of the sound range and clarity. Despite that shortfall, the earbud's overall balance is more than serviceable for the background listening these open-style earbuds are intended for. You’ll have to tweak the EQ with slightly lower bass and higher mid-range to hear more nuance in your music and podcasts. Still, no matter what amount of EQ tweaking, don’t expect audiophile levels of audio quality from these or any open earbuds. The Sony LinkBuds won’t sound as good as most closed wireless earbuds, either.
🎮 You are the controller now. There’s no space on the extremely small LinkBuds for buttons or touch controls, so instead, they use a clever Open Wide Tap Area, which lets me tap either side of my face to control the earbuds. By measuring vibrations around my sideburns, it can detect different taps for commands.
It’s an extension of the LinkBuds original interface, and now I can tap three times to triple-tap to change tracks or quadruple-tap to change volume. It’s a brilliant system, and I feel like a cyborg every time I pause/play by tapping myself. You can also control the earbuds by calling out commands with your voice or assigning gestures to commands like a nod/headshake to accept/decline a call.
😌 Background Effect. The LinkBuds Open also features new background listening modes thanks to Sony’s new Sound Connect app for iOS and Android. The new Background Music effect makes these earbuds sound more like I’m listening to music from speakers in a bedroom, living room, or cafe. Its effect is more limited on the LinkBuds Open than the closed LinkBuds Fit since I’m not hearing everything the drivers are putting out anyway, but it’s still useful when I only want a bit of background noise while I focus on writing or working out.
🔋 Boosted battery life. The LinkBuds Open features a longer eight-hour battery life than the 5.5 hours of the original LinkBuds. You also get 22 hours in total with almost three full extra charges in the battery case. Those numbers make the LinkBuds Open last longer than the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds and just behind the Nothing Earbuds Open. You can also fast charge the Sony LinkBuds Open to get 60 minutes of play in just three minutes.
Should you buy the Sony LinkBuds Open?
Yes, if…
✅ You want open earbuds to hear your surroundings while you work or workout
✅ You just need background music for running, cycling, working, or more
✅ You want the most comfortable and best-priced pair of open earbuds
No, if…
❌ You need earbuds with noise isolation or cancellation (get the AirPods 4 with ANC)
❌ You have especially small ears (get the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds)
Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director and he has too many earbuds. It’s a bit of a problem really.