We’re used to hearing about wireless earbuds with water resistance, but Sony is taking that a step further with a version of the LinkBuds S made from recycled water containers.
The Link Buds S Earth Blue variant has been fashioned using recycled water dispenser bottles – the type that appear in the office water coolers.
Sony says this new variant, which arrives with a fancy marbled design that is reminiscent of a cloudy sky, features materials from “factory-recovered plastic and reclaimed water bottles.”
As with the previous colour options for the LinkBuds S, the headphones and case still features materials recycled from auto parts, helping to make these Sony’s most environmentally friendly buds yet, as it seeks to reduce its environmental footprint to zero by 2050.
The LinkBuds S are a different proposition to Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM4 but still include good sound, extensive smarts and impressive noise cancellation. The key difference is in a design focused around all-day wear. They have a good transparency mode and are more demure than the flagship models, while also being more affordable at under $150/£150.
“In my ears, after a while I can barely feel their presence; they’re similar in appearance to the WF-1000XM4, but less bulky,” our reviewer Kob Monney wrote.
“It’s tricky not to think of the LinkBuds S as a smaller version WF-1000XM4. They share a similar design, the same feature set and similar audio performance as well. The difference is that the WF-1000XM4 are more for the audiophile, whereas the LinkBuds S seem best suited to the more casual crowd.”
Sony also announced today that all devices in the LinkBuds series, including the first-generation and the new Earth Blue LinkBuds S variant will receive a software update bringing multipoint Bluetooth connections.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
