Sony’s taking on Apple AirPods with new $99 wireless earbuds

Sony'south taking on Apple AirPods with new $99 wireless earbuds

(Epitome credit: Sony)

Later on refreshing its flagship noise-canceling headphones the WH-1000XM4 before this year, Sony has turned its attention to its entry-level audio products. So get set up for the WF-C500 wireless earbuds, which looks like a genuine rival to Apple tree's AirPods.

The Sony WF-C500 will retail for $99, which makes it $60 cheaper than Apple's culling, and will offer 360 Reality Audio for an immersive listening experience. If it offers the audio quality we've come up to await from Sony'south audio products, it could be a strong contender for our all-time wireless earbuds page.

The WF-C500 will replace the WF-XB700 equally Sony's cheapest true wireless earbuds. Furthermore, they'll be launching at a retail price point that is $xxx cheaper than the WF-XB700 did. It seems that Sony is aggressively pricing the WF-C500 in social club to hook back some marketplace infinite from the dominant AirPods.

These wireless earbuds definitely make a compelling example compared to Apple's acknowledged earbuds. The WF-C500 takes design inspiration from Sony'due south more premium WF-1000XM4 earbuds, with a smaller size and a more secure fit than its predecessors.

Don't permit the miniature size fool you, though: these buds volition nevertheless pack an audible punch. The WF-C500 is equipped with Sony'due south Digital Sound Enhancement engineering, which restores the particular lost when music is played over Bluetooth. Plus, the earbuds are sweat-proof thanks to an IPX4 rating — regular gym-goers will honey them.

Sony claims the earbuds can manage 10 hours of playtime on a single charge (with DSEE switched off), with a full boosted juice-up coming from the supplied case. That's double the 5 hours of charge time offered by AirPods v2, although Apple'due south charging example can heave this to 24 hours of additional ability.

The Sony WF-C500 wireless earbuds is available to order from multiple retailers including Sony, Amazon, Best Purchase, and Target. While all retailers will be selling them in black, some do have exclusive colors: Amazon has white, Best Buy has greenish and Target has orange.

Alternatively, if y'all're looking for over-the-ear noise-canceling cans, the best Sony headphones are a great place to offset. Or, if you'd rather stick to a pair of wireless buds, some of the all-time inexpensive wireless earbuds are expected to receive big discounts in this year's Black Friday deals.

More: AirPods Black Friday deals 2021 — what to expect

Rory is a Deals Editor at Tom's Guide based in the U.k.. He covers a wide range of topics but with a detail focus on deals, gaming and streaming. When he'south not scouring retailers for PS5 restock or writing hot takes on the latest gaming hardware and streaming shows, he tin can be institute attention music festivals and being thoroughly disappointed by his terrible football game team.