Here’s what Sony’s strange donut-shaped earbuds are all about

Sony is gearing up to launch the so-called LinkBuds WF-900 Bluetooth earbuds. The company is teasing an announcement on February 15 at 12 PM ET, calling it the reveal of an “Always-on sound gateway.” Given the image in the teaser, it’s more than likely that Sony will showcase its strange-looking donut-shaped buds. Wondering just how they’ll work? Well, a new leak just gave us a fair idea of ​​what they’re all about.

According to WinFuture, the Sony LinkBuds have a hole in the middle of the speaker. What’s unique about them is that the speaker itself is in the shape of a ring, leaving the center open to allow ambient sound in.

It’s clear the buds aren’t meant for fans of noise-canceling tech. The leak says that the wearer of the buds should feel like their ear is completely open to be able to hear conversations or other ambient sounds while the music plays in the backdrop.

Sony LinkBuds WF-900 specs

In terms of specs, the ring driver in the Sony LinkBuds is said to have a diameter of 12mm. Sony’s own V1 Processor is expected to power the thing, offering low distortion and high fidelity. Of course, those are things we would ideally like to put to test.

The buds should also carry an IPX4 rating making them splash-proof.

Elsewhere, the LinkBuds are expected to incorporate Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) to make the most of compressed file formats. They’ll also apparently come with volume controls that increase or decrease the volume based on ambient sound.

See also: The best true wireless earbuds you can get

Other purported features include voice pickup and noise impression for phone calls. One unique rumored feature is that users will be able to tap the front of their ears to control the buds. There’s apparently no need to touch the buds themselves.

The battery runtime of the LinkBuds is said to be over 5.5 hours. A charging case should extend that to about 12 hours.

If you’re hoping to pick up these earbuds, you should set aside about € 200, says the leak. That’s roughly 227.