Trusted Reviews80
A clear upgrade over the original with better sound, longer battery and useful new features; the open design has inherent limits in noise and call quality, but the reviewer enjoyed them.
Sony LinkBuds Open
4 expert reviews#26 of 29 wireless earbuds
Image: Sony2/4critics
recommend
recommend
Best for open-ear battery life
Critics’ consensus
4 professional reviewers tested the Sony LinkBuds Open, and 2 recommend it. Most praised: sound quality and battery life. Most common complaint: controls and app.
Reviewed by Trusted Reviews, Digital Trends, TechRadar and 1 more
The catch: Calls are weak in noise, and the sound is not audiophile-grade.
Critics agree
Scores run from 70 to 80All 4 scores printed by the outlets
Early score: only 4 professional reviews so far. Expect it to move as more reviews come in.
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What do critics say about the Sony LinkBuds Open?
Digital Trends80
Some of the best open earbuds available, with comfortable fit, much better balanced sound, excellent battery and many options; spatial audio and voice controls are weak.
TechRadar70
Plenty of bass, a secure fit and a rich feature set, but the sound is not audiophile-grade and the price is high against similarly capable rivals.
WIRED70
Better battery and bass with a secure, aware-of-surroundings design, but the default sound is darker and fuzzier, controls are spotty and the fit takes effort, so it is only a solid option.
Scores are converted to 0–100. "est." means the outlet gave no number, so we estimated one from its verdict and checked our estimates against ratings outlets print. How we check estimates
What critics praise most
Sound quality4 of 4
Battery life3 of 4
Comfort3 of 4
What critics dislike most
Controls and app2 of 4
Call quality2 of 4
Alternatives
Not sure about the Sony LinkBuds Open?
Image: Sony
Image: EarFun
Image: Apple
Image: SoundcoreAlso reviewed, not yet scored
- EarFun OpenJump · 3 reviews so far
- Huawei FreeBuds Pro 5 · 3 reviews so far
- Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 · 3 reviews so far
- OnePlus Buds 4 · 3 reviews so far
- Sennheiser Accentum Clip · 3 reviews so far
Common questions
Is the Sony LinkBuds Open worth it?
Critics are divided: 2 of 4 recommend it. Calls are weak in noise, and the sound is not audiophile-grade.
Do critics agree about the Sony LinkBuds Open?
Critics agree: scores range from 70 (TechRadar) to 80 (Trusted Reviews), a spread of 10 points across 4 reviews. Reviewers broadly agree.
What do critics dislike about the Sony LinkBuds Open?
Controls and app (2 of 4 reviews), Call quality (2 of 4 reviews).
What is the best alternative to the Sony LinkBuds Open?
The Sony WF-C710N (critic score 94), top pick, narrowly.