Sony LinkBuds Successor (YY2964) Certified? (Update 6)

A new set of Sony earbuds has leaked thanks to the Korean RRA. Thanks to user @rubik_ganse on Twitter for sending this in.

Update 6: 26-6-2024:

The new LinkBuds have passed through import website which has revealed the colours. No surprise, the new LinkBuds will come in 2 colours, black and white. The earbuds were also imported into Japan for testing I would imagine.

Disregard the noise cancelling description on the earbuds, as these will not be with NC, they are just a wireless stereo headset according to the FCC. These are open earbuds, NC would not be affective, perhaps maybe for voice calls.

Update 5: 04-6-2024:

Quick update, the model has appeared on E-ComM last month.

We are slowly moving closer and closer to an announcement and release.

Update 4: 19-4-2024:

The model has appeared on Apple's MFi certification site.

Update 3: 28-3-2024:

The new LinkBuds have also been registered in Canada and Indonesia. The Indonesian certification confirms the Korean one regarding place of manufacture, Vietnam.

Update 2: 14-3-2024:

The new LinkBuds 2 have hit the FCC. The documents do not reveal much unfortunately, no doubt Sony has learned to scrub them clean of any clues. The label drawing shws only a square placeholder box. The FCC filing does confirm that the new model retains a 3.85V battery but does not provide a model.

Finally comparing the antenna gain between the old and new, there is a difference. The current model has a gain of -6.0 dBi, versus -4.5 dBi for the new model. This is not my field of expertise, but from my limited reading up on this, the higher the value of gain the more directional it is. Perhaps the new model antenna is an improved design and could provide better connection stability.

Finally, the short term confidentiality date ends on September 12th 2024, which could indicate a IFA announcement and then release. Of course this can change. Sony has announced models earlier with the short term confidentiality date changing shortly after announcement. I will keep updating this post as I find and receive information.

Update 1: 13-3-2024:

Looks like Sony asked RRA to remove the photo, along with the certification. This is the first time I see Sony asking RRA to remove a certification. I have posted countless of RRA certifications in the past, and never have I seen them remove any. Perhaps the certification was not supposed to go live just yet?

I will be keeping an eye out for the new headset on various other certification sites, so far nothing.

The certification date is from the middle of February, with the new model codenamed YY2964. For comparison the LinkBuds are codenamed YY2953. The WF-1000XM5 use YY2963, so I suspect these new LinkBuds were developed at the same time as the WF-1000XM5.

Very little is revealed from the certification, apart from place of manufacture, Vietnam, and the design. We can see that Sony has moved to 2 recharging pins for the new model, previously 3 on the LinkBuds.

While difficult to tell from the photo, I suspect there is a proximity sensor beside the Sony logo. It would make sense for Sony to carry this feature over from the LinkBuds. It is one feature I wish the WF-C700N had.

When we compare the design to the current model, we can see that the holes for the driver are very different. We no longer have the 2 sets of holes, but instead Sony has opted to go for only one circle of identical hole sizes. The fitting supporters have also changed in design. The leak shows the black colour, so perhaps we will have 2 colours again, black and white.

To my surprise, there are import/export details for the headset, but it does not reveal the colours as in some previous cases.

The current model uses a Zenipower Z32H battery, rated at 3.85V 0.12Wh. It will be interesting to see whether Sony carries the battery over, or uses something new.

The SoC in the previous model, the Mediatek MT2822MA, will be changed to the Mediatek MT2833 found in the WF-1000XM5. I suspect Sony will use a SiP in order to save on internal packaging.

I have checked other certification sites, and apart from the Mexican certification above for the SoC, no other sites yet show this headset. But I suspect we will see more certifications soon enough.