Sony Linkbuds leak reveals future wireless earbuds with a weird design

Sony Wf L900
Sony Wf L900 (Image credit: TechInsiderBlog / Twitter)

What you need to know

  • A pair of strange-looking Sony earbuds, dubbed the WF-L900, have been leaked.
  • The earbuds appear to replace the silicone ear tips with doughnut-shaped rings of holes.
  • There are no visible buttons as well, so it's possible the body will support touch controls.

Sony's next pair of earbuds might have a weird-looking design, if a new leak is anything to go by. Courtesy of TechInsiderBlog (via TheWalkmanBlog), we now have probably the best look yet at a new set of upcoming truly wireless earbuds called the Sony WF-L900 or Linkbuds.

The leak reveals that the Linkbuds will still have a circular body like Sony's best wireless earbuds, the WF-1000XM4. What sets it apart from any other models of earbuds are its doughnut-like rings that will presumably keep the Linkbuds in place on top of the ear canal.

There are apparently no ear tips, which will supposedly be replaced by the rings. Nonetheless, the earbuds are said to feature active noise cancellation, as indicated by the presence of feed-back and feed-forward microphones. That said, it's not clear how this works without silicone tips.

Sony has also reportedly designed the Linkbuds with no physical buttons. This means the earbuds may have a touch-sensitive body to support gesture controls.

Given the leaked details, it does not look like the WF-L900 is a flagship-level set of earbuds that will replace the WF-1000XM4. Instead, it could be a less expensive model, though we still don't know how much it will cost.

The earbuds are also said to include proximity sensors that detect when the earpiece is removed. The leaked images indicate that the Linkbuds will be available in two colorways: white and black.

It's not the first time that the WF-L900 has leaked. A few images of the earbuds surfaced last month for the first time thanks to TheWalkmanBlog, but those were of poor quality.

Sony WF-1000XM4 Black

Sony WF-1000XM4

Sony improved on what was already a great product with the WF-1000XM4, which provides the best active noise cancelation (ANC) performance for any pair of wireless earbuds and a great combination of features and performance.

Jay Bonggolto
News Writer & Reviewer

Jay Bonggolto always keeps a nose for news. He has been writing about consumer tech and apps for as long as he can remember, and he has used a variety of Android phones since falling in love with Jelly Bean. Send him a direct message via Twitter or LinkedIn.