Sony LinkBuds Review: Better Than The AirPods 3rd Gen?

These new earbuds by Sony surprised almost everybody with its… unique design when it was first announced. I’m not a big fan of open-fit earbuds, but these are actually, really good. Maybe even better than the AirPods 3rd gen? If you need something that will allow you to hear your surroundings while still providing great sound, these are actually, probably the best open-fit design on the market.

So let’s talk design first. The reason why I say I think these are the best open-ear design is because it’s really as open-fit as they come. The part of the earbud that sits near the ear canal is pretty much a doughnut, with a circular ring speaker that has a hole in the middle to let in external sound. That being said though, it’s hard to get a truly secure fit with these earbuds, and it’s my biggest problem with them.

The earbuds came with the medium silicone wings attached and they were just too small. I had to switch out to the XL wings, but then the right ear tip was too big so I had to change out to the L wing on the right ear and then it felt a bit too small so I went back to the XL wing… Yeah, it’s just not a very fun process. If your ear shape and size aren’t compatible with these earbuds, it’s just not going to be easy for you to get them to fit right. In fact, my ears typically start to hurt after around 2 hours of wearing these earbuds, which wasn’t a problem I had with the AirPods 3rd gen at all. So I will say, if you’re planning on buying these, either try them out beforehand or buy them from a store that has a good refund policy, in case your ears hurt after wearing them.