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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.
5Battery life is solid, but charging features are basic
Sony rates the LinkBuds Clip for up to nine hours of playback, with the charging case adding another 28 hours for a claimed total of 37 hours. A three-minute quick charge is also said to provide around an hour of playback.
In my usage, the LinkBuds Clip came reasonably close to Sony’s claimed battery life. I generally use both earbuds only when listening to music or watching movies. For most other situations, I have a habit of using just one earbud at a time, which naturally helps stretch the battery further. With this usage pattern, I found the earbuds to last around what Sony claims.
Charging is also reasonably quick. It took me around 1 hour and 10 minutes to fully charge the case, while an earbud that had run out of battery took roughly 20 minutes to reach a full charge when placed back in the case. The quick-charge feature is also useful when you need some extra playback time in a hurry.
The one obvious omission is wireless charging. At this price, it would certainly have been nice to see Sony include it. That said, I am generally not a big fan of wireless charging, whether it is for a phone or a pair of earbuds, so its absence isn’t something that particularly bothers me. For me, the USB-C charging setup is perfectly adequate.
