Sony’s new Linkbuds and flagship headphones leaked

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Sony could soon launch two new headphones. The Sony LinkBuds are to receive an advanced true wireless offshoot with the “S” suffix. The earbuds are rumored to feature active noise cancellation and an overhauled design.

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Sony could unveil the pricey LinkBuds S earbuds next week.
The LinkBuds S are said to get a traditional rounded earbud design.
The over-ear headphones WH-1000XM5 from Sony should start with a price of around 380 euros.

Sony LinkBuds S with traditional earbud design

Sony is said to be introducing the WH-1000XM5 this week. The over-ear headphones will apparently soon be followed by the Sony LinkBuds S, which should appear without the open ring design. We have already seen this design with the vanilla LinkBuds that we were presented with at the beginning of the year.

As far as pricing goes, the LinkBuds S could come in at just under £190 – an increase of just under £20 from the LinkBuds’ price point of around £170. However, it’s not clear what the distinguishing feature of the “S” nomenclature is – aside from the rounded design. The unannounced earbuds resemble the WF-1000XM4 more and less the donut-like buds of the original LinkBuds in-ear headphones.

Perhaps the price increase for the new earphones means that an ANC function and good battery life have finally found their way. That would be a significant improvement given the poor performance of the regular LinkBuds in our test . In addition, Sony offers the LinkBuds S in beige and black.

“Sony WH-1000XM5” headphones could get a new design

Information about the Sony WH-1000XM5 also seems to have been leaked. This time we see what is said to be recent packaging from the Apple Airpods Max competitor and WH-1000XM4 successor . The packaging suggests that the battery life is said to be 30 hours – quite the opposite of the 40 hours it said last month. Unsurprisingly, the headphones come with 360-degree surround sound and Sony’s noise-cancelling feature.

Nothing is known exactly about the price. However, some are speculating that the XM5 will be launched at a price of around 380 euros. That would be around 40 euros more expensive than last year’s retail price of the XM4. The leakers expect Sony to announce the ANC headphones on May 12th. Regardless of this, the wireless LinkBuds S should follow on May 18th.

Do you like the closed design of the earplugs better than the open ring? Let us know.