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Open-ear earbuds have become increasingly popular for people who want music and podcasts without disconnecting from the world around them. Sony takes a slightly different approach with the LinkBuds Clip, using a clip-style design that sits around the outer ear instead of sealing the ear canal. At Rs 24,990 in India at the time of writing, they are no longer quite as expensive as their launch price of Rs 18,990, but they still sit in premium territory. In the US, it is priced at $230.
The LinkBuds Clip come across as a well-executed pair of open earbuds with excellent awareness, strong calling performance, good battery life, and a comfortable design. However, their open construction also brings some unavoidable compromises, particularly with bass, noise isolation, and performance in loud environments. The bigger question is whether those compromises are acceptable at this price.
3Excellent awareness, but no escape from noise
The biggest reason to buy the LinkBuds Clip is arguably their environmental awareness. Because the ear canal remains open, you can hear conversations, traffic, announcements, and other sounds naturally while listening to your content.
This makes them particularly useful for walking, cycling, exercising, working, and other situations where staying aware is more important than blocking out the outside world.
The downside is equally obvious: there is effectively no isolation, which you can’t really expect from this kind of earbud. There is no ANC, and loud environments like subway rides and busy streets can quickly overwhelm the audio. Increasing the volume or using Voice Boost can help, but that also defeats some of the comfort and awareness advantages of the open-ear design.
Sony does offer a Sound Leakage Reduction mode, but it comes with a noticeable reduction in high-frequency detail and can make music sound muffled.
