CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.
7.9 / 10
SCORE Sony LinkBuds Clip $230 at Amazon Pros Well-designed and comfortable to wear with a premium glossy finish
Very good sound for open earbuds
Excellent voice-calling performance
Good battery life (up to 9 hours) Cons Pricey
Case doesn't support wireless charging
Touch controls are a tad finicky
When Sony launched its original stem-free, donut-shaped LinkBuds in 2022, I lauded them for being an innovative take on open earbuds after Apple had dominated the open earbuds genre with its AirPods for several years. The second-gen LinkBuds Open were released in 2024, and now Sony's added the LinkBuds Clip, its take on the increasingly popular clip-on genre of open buds.
The bad news is that there isn't anything terribly innovative or exciting about the LinkBuds Clip, especially given their high list price of $230. But the good news is they're nicely designed, fit my ears well, sound quite good (for clip-on buds anyway), have strong battery life and feature excellent voice-calling performance.
... continue reading