At their press conference here at Mobile World Congress, Sony has unveiled their new high end phones, and as a bonus they’ve also introduced the latest version of their Xperia Ear wireless ear bud, the Xperia Ear Duo.
The Xperia Ear Duo is a dual wireless bud system, you pair them to your device and simply insert them into your ears to get going. Sony’s audio labs have worked a small miracle with the Xperia Ear Duo allowing the audio to be generated in the small driver unit which sits behind the ear with the rest of the smarts in the Xperia Ear Duo, with the sound pumped through to your ear, via a ‘Sound Duct’.
The Xperia Ear Duo sits in your ear, with a small connector running out and under your ear to the smaller driver at the back. It’s surprisingly comfortable and wouldn’t dislodge no matter how much I shook my head, or jumped around. Frankly, I can’t wait to do some exercise with them, and they’re ready for that too with an IPX2 sweatproof rating.
The attraction for some people of the Xperia Ear Duo is that they sound great, but thanks to the ‘Open Ring’ bud (which comes in three sizes for optimal fit), they also allow the noise from the world around you in. There’s no need to remove them when having a conversation, and if you’re going for a run you can hear someone coming behind you, or a car nearby as you try to cross a street.
The Xperia Ear Duo is smart as well, powered by the “CXD5602” chip and a sensor array including a touch sensor panel, you can call Google Assistant or Siri to assist you throughout your day. Sony’s assistant however will also leverage the built-in chip and sensor that include an accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, compass and barometer to work out what you’re doing and offer contextually relevant information – it even responds to nods or shakes of your head to confirm or reject options.
The Xperia Ear Duo will be available in both black and gold colours when they launch. They come in a battery case which charges the earbuds when not in use with several charges available in the case.
Exactly when we may see the Xperia Ear Duo, how much they will be and the always important question of whether we’ll see them in Australia is still being worked out, with Sony Australia saying to stay tuned. I personally liked the look, and feel of the Xperia Ear Duo and hope we do get to see them in Australia soon.
