Sony LinkBuds S to receive LE Audio Update in Spring 2023

Good news everyone! We finally have a time frame for the expected firmware update to LE audio for the LinkBuds S, Spring 2023. Thanks to aborne25 from twitter for finding this on the product page.

The website has a new section Next Generation Bluetooth Audio.

The superscript says the following:

Feature requires firmware update, available in 2023 spring. Feature requires connection to a compatible smartphone.

This means, your phone (or device) will also have to support LE Audio, either via a firmware update (Android) or a new device with built in LE Audio support. I suspect LE audio will be mostly marketed as having improved battery life and lower latency. While LE Audio does have LC3plus codec for high bitrate, I do not see this as the main focus.

The upcoming A and ZX walkmans might not even support LE Audio at all according to the Bluetooth filing of the NW-A300, which means users will not be able to take advantage of the new tech. I also wonder if the WF-C500 replacement will also have LE Audio out of the box or via firmware update. So far it has not appeared on Bluetooth SIG, so we will have to wait for that.

What about the WF-1000XM4? Will Sony update it to support LE Audio? Or will they wait for the new WF-1000XM5 for LE Audio support? It is supposed to receive the multipoint update "this winter", but nothing about LE Audio has been mentioned.

Finally the flagship WH-1000XM5, will it get the LE Audio support? I really hope so for Sony's sake, since there will be other competitors updating their headsets or even releasing new LE Audio headsets. Would be pretty shitty on to have spent $400 on a premium headset and not have the latest tech.