Sony LinkBuds Open vs Sony LinkBuds S

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LinkBuds Open compared with LinkBuds S

	SonyLinkBuds Open	SonyLinkBuds S
Overview
Released
Released	October 2024	May 2022
Sound
Type
Type	Open-ear	In-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	No	Yes
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	–	Yes
Spatial audio with head tracking
Spatial audio with head tracking	Yes	–
Driver size
Driver size	11 mm	5 mm
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC, AAC and LC3	SBC, AAC, LDAC and LC3
Chip
Chip	V2	V1
Drivers
Drivers	11 mm ring-shaped driver with a high-compliance diaphragm and high-power neodymium magnet	5 mm dynamic driver with a high-power neodymium magnet
Chip
Chip	Integrated Processor V2	Integrated Processor V1
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	No noise cancelling; the open-ring design lets outside sound through; Adaptive Volume Control adjusts the volume to your surroundings; Speak-to-Chat	Noise cancelling using the microphones on both earbuds; Ambient Sound Mode; Adaptive Sound Control; Quick Attention Mode; Speak-to-Chat
Audio features
Audio features	DSEE upscaling; 360 Reality Audio with head tracking; LE Audio (LC3); BGM effect; equaliser in the app	LDAC up to 990 kbps (Hi-Res Audio Wireless); DSEE Extreme upscaling; 360 Reality Audio; LE Audio (LC3); equaliser in the app
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 8 hours	Up to 6 hours
With the case
With the case	Up to 22 hours	Up to 20 hours
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	No	No
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 8 hours with AAC, SBC or LC3; 8 hours from the earbuds plus 14 hours from the case, 22 hours in total; talk time up to 4.5 hours; standby up to 13 hours; the equaliser, DSEE, Speak-to-Chat and Adaptive Volume Control shorten battery life	Up to 9 hours with noise cancelling off (AAC or SBC); 14 more hours from the case with noise cancelling on; with LDAC, 3.5 hours with noise cancelling on or 4.5 hours off; with LC3, 5.5 hours on or 9 hours off; talk time up to 3.5 hours
Charging case
Charging case	USB-C; about 2.5 hours to fully charge the case, 1.5 hours for the earbuds; 46.0 × 46.0 × 29.4 mm	USB-C; about 3 hours to fully charge the case, 2 hours for the earbuds
Fast charging
Fast charging	3 minutes of charging gives about 1 hour of playback	5 minutes of charging gives about 1 hour of playback
Design
Weight (each earbud)
Weight (each earbud)	5.1 g	4.8 g (better)
Water and sweat resistance
Water and sweat resistance	IPX4	IPX4
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	5.2
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	Yes	Yes
Controls
Controls	Wide Area Tap on the earbud or the face in front of the ear (tap twice to play or pause; three times to skip or answer calls; five or more times for volume), reassignable in the app; head gestures to answer calls; voice control; Quick Access; IR sensors pause music when an earbud is taken out	Touch sensor on each earbud (by default the left switches noise cancelling and Ambient Sound Mode and holds for Quick Attention Mode; the right plays and pauses, skips tracks and holds for the voice assistant; tap four or more times for volume), reassignable in the app; Quick Access for Spotify and Endel; IR sensors pause music when an earbud is taken out and switch the earbuds off after about 15 minutes
Microphones
Microphones	A microphone on each earbud, with Precise Voice Pickup Technology and AI noise reduction for calls	Microphones on both earbuds with Precise Voice Pickup Technology and a mesh structure against wind; MEMS, omnidirectional
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Open-ring design held in place by Fitting Supporters; either earbud can be used on its own	Hybrid silicone rubber earbud tips in SS, S, M and LL (M fitted); either earbud can be used on its own
Case weight
Case weight	About 30.6 g	About 35 g
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	IPX4 equivalent for the earbuds, excluding the sound outlet, ventilation holes and microphone holes; the charging case is not water resistant	IPX4 for the earbuds
Works with
Works with	Sony | Sound Connect app for iOS and Android; multipoint connection to two devices; LE Audio with compatible devices; Auto Switch with the LinkBuds Speaker; Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa; Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair; Bluetooth 5.3 Class 1, about 10 m range	Sony | Sound Connect app (formerly Headphones Connect) for iOS and Android; multipoint connection to two devices; LE Audio with compatible devices; Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa; Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair; Bluetooth 5.2 Class 1, about 10 m range
Colours
Colours	Black, White, Violet (Olivia Rodrigo edition)	White, Black, Ecru at launch; later Earth Blue
In the box
In the box	Earbuds, charging case, USB-C cable (USB-A to USB-C), documents	Earbuds, charging case, USB-C cable (USB-A to USB-C, about 20 cm), hybrid silicone rubber earbud tips in SS, S, M and LL