Sony has announced two new Bluetooth audio
products, the egregiously named WF-XB700 earbuds and the WH-CH710N headphones.
The WF-XB700 have an in-ear design and are part of Sony's Extra Bass series of
audio products. They have a pretty typical earbud style design, similar to
Sony's own flagship WF-1000XM3. The WF-XB700 have a sweat-resistant design with
an IPX4 rating but there are no specific fins or loops to secure the earbuds
during workouts.
Unlike Sony's flagship WF-1000XM3, the
WF-XB700 don't have active noise-cancellation. They also don't have gesture
support and instead use physical buttons. The WF-XB700 also have lower overall
battery life of around 18 hours compared to the 24 hours of the WF-1000XM3 with
the charging case, however, the earbuds themselves last for 9 hours compared to
the 6 hours on the WF-1000XM3.
The WF-XB700 are priced at US$ 130 and will
be available in black or blue. The WH-CH710N are an upgraded version of the
WH-CH700N that we reviewed at the end of 2018. The new model features improved
noise-cancellation with the help of dual microphones. We weren't too pleased
with the noise-cancellation on the WH-CH700N so hopefully the WH-CH710N
improves upon that.
The new model claims to have the same
amazing 35 hours of battery life that we loved on the previous model. The
design has also been updated slightly to be more in line with other recent Sony
headphones.
The WH-CH710N are priced at US$ 200 and come
in black, white or blue.
