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Sony has just unveiled two new wearable audio products – the WF-XB700 truly wireless earbuds and the WH-CH710N over-ear wireless headphones. The former are the company’s less-pricey alternative to last year’s acclaimed Sony WF-1000XM3 truly wireless earbuds, while the latter are seemingly an upgraded version of the Sony WH-CH700N headphones from 2018.
Sony WF-XB700 wireless earbuds
The new Sony WF-XB700 earbuds are the company’s latest offering in the truly wireless earbuds market. They sport an in-ear design and feature Sony’s signature “Extra Bass” technology for “deep and punchy” sound. The earbuds use Bluetooth 5.0, supporting AAC and SBC codecs.
The new Sony earbuds come with IPX4 water and sweat resistance rating, so they should survive your workouts and the occasional exposure to rain. These buds last for up to nine hours on a single charge. The charging case can store enough power to refill the buds once, so you get 18 hours of playtime in total. The buds also support quick charging. Ten minutes of quick charging gives you up to 60 minutes of music playback.
The Sony WF-XB700 earbuds, however, don’t offer active noise cancellation (ANC). They don’t have gesture support as well. Sony has equipped the buds with physical buttons instead. You can control music playback, adjust volume, summon your smartphone’s voice assistant, and make and receive calls on the push of a button.
Nevertheless, priced at only $129.99, the new Sony buds undercut competitors like Samsung Galaxy Buds+ and similar offerings from other brands. They will be available this month in black and blue colors from Sony’s website.
Sony WH-CH710N headphones
Sony’s new pair of wireless earbuds may not offer ANC, but its new over-ear wireless headphones do. The Sony WH-CH710N headphones pack dual microphones feeding forward and backward for complete noise isolation. There’s also an ambient sound mode if you do want to hear the outside world.
Further, the new headphones include “Artificial Intelligence Noise Cancellation,” which “constantly analyzes environmental ambient sound components, and automatically selects the most effective noise-cancelling filter for your surroundings.”
The Sony WH-CH710N headphones have an amazing 35 hours of battery life and offer Bluetooth and NFC for connectivity. They come with fast charging support with Sony once again claiming 60 minutes of playback from just ten minutes of charging.
The new headphones feature volume control buttons as well as an additional button through which you can control music playback or summon your smartphone’s voice assistant. Like the Sony WF-XB700 earbuds, these headphones also only support AAC and SBC codecs.
The Sony WH-CH710N headphones will also be available this month from the company’s website. Priced at $199.99, these headphones come in black, blue, and white color options.
