Sony today announced the launch of the LinkBuds, which are the company's latest true wireless earbud product. The LinkBuds have a unique open air design that's not quite like any other earbud on the market.
Available in black or white, the LinkBuds have a donut-shaped earpiece that goes in the ear. As with the AirPods 3, there are no foam or silicone tips included with the LinkBuds, with the naked earpiece fitting directly inside the ear.
The hole in the LinkBuds, which is an open ring driver, lets users listen to music while also hearing the ambient surroundings, which is similar to other headphone products like sound-equipped sunglasses and bone conduction options.
Because Sony's LinkBuds do not obstruct ambient sound, they are ideal for situations where listeners might need to be aware of their surroundings, like walking, running, biking, and riding public transportation.
The earbuds are held in place by a secondary bulb that has a little fin, and Sony describes them as ultra-small, light, and able to stay in the ears. They are IPX4 splash and sweat proof, plus an Adaptive Volume Control feature optimizes music to the sound in the ambient environment. The battery in the LinkBuds lasts for 5.5 hours, and there is a charging case that provides a total of 17.5 hours of listening time.
Apple is entering its most significant leadership transition in more than a decade as multiple senior executives prepare to depart and CEO Tim Cook begins to shape the company's next generation of leaders, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Jeff Williams, who was viewed as Cook's potential successor for several...
Tuesday October 7, 2025 11:27 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, prior-generation AirPods Pro 2, and the AirPods 4 models. The firmware has a build number of 8A358, up from 8A356.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the prior 8A356 update added iOS 26 features to the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4 with ANC. The software introduced better audio quality ...
Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari.
More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
Monday October 6, 2025 11:56 am PDT by Juli Clover
With the second beta of iOS 26.1, Apple updated the design of alarms set on the iPhone, making them harder to dismiss than before.
Stopping an alarm in iOS 26.1 beta 2 requires a new Slide to Stop gesture rather than a simple tap. You can continue to tap to snooze an alarm, but if you want to turn it off entirely, you need to use a swipe.
Transitioning from a tap to a slide gesture to...
Monday October 6, 2025 5:05 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
A new iPad mini is "absolutely" on the way, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released a year ago?
Processor and Performance
Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in code that Apple mistakenly shared in...
After launching new iPhones last month, Apple is promoting iCloud+ with a prominent banner on its home page, in a bid to boost its services revenue. In addition to more storage, all iCloud+ plans include five perks for iPhone users.
As a refresher, iCloud includes 5GB of storage for free. If you want extra storage, you need to subscribe to an iCloud+ plan. In the United States, prices range...
Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.1 and iPadOS 26.1, introducing useful changes to alarms, multitasking on the iPad, and more. There are also subtle tweaks to some of the Liquid Glass design elements as Apple continues to refine iOS 26.
Alarms and Timers
Alarms set using the Clock app now have a slide to stop button rather than a tap to stop button on the Lock Screen. To snooze an...
Saturday October 4, 2025 8:19 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple's website offers a list of nearly 200 new features and changes (PDF file) included in the software update, released last month.
Apple also shared equivalent lists for iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe.
iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. To install the update, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap on General, and tap on Software Update.
Below, we have highlighted eight ...
Supplies of the 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro model appear to be constrained amid rumors that an upgraded M5 model could launch as soon as this year.
As noted by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, custom configurations of the M4 MacBook Pro model have a delayed shipping date and will not be delivered to customers until October 23 to 28. The restricted supply could be an indication that Apple is planning to...
I was fortunate enough to test these and to be perfectly honest I wasn't expecting too much but was more than pleasantly surprised. After just 5 minutes I completely forgot I was wearing them and was shocked by how good the audio was and how the external environment sounds hardly any different to when not using earbuds. The design is very clever and I'd suggest giving them a test run if you think you'd find them useful in your activity. WAY WAY better than bone conduction or similar.
I will buy ANY headphone or speaker that is NOT apple branded... Thank you for posting this... Apple will get my buck when they give us the headphone jack. Until then... NEVER!!!!
I will buy ANY headphone or speaker that is NOT apple branded... Thank you for posting this... Apple will get my buck when they give us the headphone jack. Until then... NEVER!!!!
Weird flex. I'm all for voting with your wallet, but you're saying you'll buy any non-apple branded wireless headphone before AirPods because Apple removed the headphone jack in what... 2018? Earlier?
Are you also boycotting Samsung for removing the jack on some of their phones? Does the fact that iPads and MacBook Pros, iMacs and MacMinis still have headphone jacks matter?
Personally I love the convenience of not having a cable running from my ears to my pocket. These seem interesting, but my AirPods are totally serviceable so I'm not sure I'd make the swap.
I will buy ANY headphone or speaker that is NOT apple branded... Thank you for posting this... Apple will get my buck when they give us the headphone jack. Until then... NEVER!!!!
Is it weird that this is a comment related to earbuds that do not have a cable connection with a headphone jack? ?♂️
I will buy ANY headphone or speaker that is NOT apple branded... Thank you for posting this... Apple will get my buck when they give us the headphone jack. Until then... NEVER!!!!
Exactly, I will buy ANY laptop or desktop that is NOT apple branded... Thank you for your comment... Apple will get my buck when they give us the floppy drive. Until then... NEVER!!!!
