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Sony Electronics has announced its first gaming-focused wireless earbuds, the InZone Buds, priced at $199.99. These earbuds are designed with a focus on optimizing battery life, offering up to 12 hours of continuous use, and delivering low-latency audio. Preorders have begun, and they are set to ship this month.
The InZone Buds are compatible with various devices, including the PS5, PCs, and mobile gadgets. Most of these connections are made using the included USB-C dongle, which reduces latency to under 30 milliseconds. They also support Bluetooth LE Audio, which is particularly useful for recent high-end Android phones.
Sony emphasizes the 360 spatial audio capabilities of the InZone Buds. To fully experience this, users need to follow a few steps and utilize specific software features:
- Sound Field Optimization creates a personalized hearing profile by capturing images of the user's ears through the 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer smartphone app.
- The Sound Tone Personalization feature fine-tunes the audio for the ear canal by playing test sounds and using feedback microphones to measure how sound fills the ear canal.
- The acoustic analysis is then uploaded to the InZone Hub PC software, allowing further personalization for a truly customized spatial listening experience.
Sony has designed the InZone Buds to be comfortable for extended gaming sessions, minimizing pressure on the ears. They come with four sets of silicone ear tips, including an extra-small size, and use the "Dynamic Driver X" audio architecture, similar to Sony's WF-1000X earbuds.
While these earbuds can be used for non-gaming entertainment, they are primarily tuned for gaming. They offer active noise cancellation and ambient sound modes for different scenarios.
Sony's PlayStation division is also about to release Pulse Explore earbuds, which offer lossless audio and a new PlayStation Link protocol for pairing with the PS5 with ultra-low latency. Both the InZone Buds and Pulse Explore earbuds are priced at $199.99. The InZone Buds provide native integration with the PS5 user experience, displaying connection status, volume, battery level, and microphone status.
The introduction of these gaming-focused earbuds raises questions about Sony's product lineup and whether it should aim for more cohesion and integration between its various earbud offerings and gaming ecosystem.
