A new pair of Sony earbuds has leaked, and it could well be the LinkBuds 2. The buds – via The Walkman Blog – have the codename YY2964. Given that the Sony WF-1000XM5 had the codename YY2963, they were likely in development at the same time. The original LinkBuds' codename was YY2953.
Released in 2022, the LinkBuds were the first of a new breed of 'open' wireless earbuds. These allow in outside sounds so you're not completely isolated from your surroundings. Other firms have since followed, with the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds the latest to arrive.
So what do we learn from this leak? Not all that much, unfortunately, apart from the place of manufacture (Vietnam) and the design. They have two recharging pins, to the LinkBuds' three, and one hole on each bud for the driver, compared to two on the original model.
The new model is expected to have a proximity sensor for in-ear detection (so the buds can pause playback when you take them out of your ear, and restart when you put them back in) and to come in black and white colour options.
Sony followed the LinkBuds with the LinkBuds S a few months later. While they offer many of the same features, they have a more traditional design without the ring driver, and add active noise cancellation.
It's not clear what this new will offer over the original and S variant. We'll bring you the official announcement as soon as it happens.
MORE:
Sony LinkBuds S vs LinkBuds: which Sony wireless earbuds are better?
And compare the Sony LinkBuds vs WF-1000XM4
These are the best noise-cancelling earbuds
