Sony LinkBuds review: novel earbuds that let the outside world in

Breaking the tradition for what earbuds should look like, they lack any form of tip, silicone or otherwise, and look like a Polo mint stuck to a mint imperial. The circular main body fits in your concha while the ring-shaped speaker sits outside your ear canal for an open fit.

Once in place you can clearly hear the world around you through the hole in the middle of the speaker for full awareness on the street, park or in the office while you are listening to music. You can easily have full conversations without taking them out and can hear your own voice to stop you accidentally shouting on calls. My voice came through sounding clear and natural on the other end of calls, too.

The LinkBuds are discreet when kept at quiet listening volumes but crank up the volume to mask other people talking around you and they will be able to hear your music.

The earbuds last up to 5.5 hours of music playback and clip into a small and pocketable case that can store an additional 12 hours of charge for a total of 17.5 hours. When low on battery, a 10-minute charge will be enough for up to 90 minutes of playback.

The earbuds support standard Bluetooth 5.2 and the universal SBC and AAC audio formats but also have Fast Pair with Android and Swift Pair with Windows PC. They only connect to one device at a time but can seamlessly switch between them. Connection to various phones, tablets and watches was rock-solid.

The LinkBuds have customisable controls for playback, volume and other options, which you can either tap twice or thrice on the earbud or even just on the side of your head to get the same effect. Each earbud can have different controls, which work well enough, but the selection is a little restrictive compared with the best competitors.

Sony does not provide an expected lifespan for the batteries in the earbuds or case. Batteries in similar products typically last more than 500 full-charge cycles while maintaining at least 80% of their original capacity. The LinkBuds are not repairable and the battery cannot be replaced, ultimately making them disposable.

The earbuds and case are made of recycled plastic. The company does not publish environmental impact reports for headphones. It publishes annual sustainability reports and its roadmap to have zero environmental impact by 2050.

The Sony LinkBuds cost £149 ($179/A$319) and are available in white or grey.

For comparison, the Apple AirPods 3 cost £169, Google Pixel Buds A-Series cost £100, and the Microsoft Surface Earbuds cost £199.

The LinkBuds are an interesting new idea in the world of Bluetooth earbuds, one with a novel physical design that ensures full awareness of the outside world while playing music.

They lack a bit of bass but otherwise sound good, particularly in quieter environments, making them perfectly suited to the office or similar. Voice calls are great, too. The fit is a bit weird at first but should suit those who do not like having tips inserted in their ear canals.