Sony YY2986 Design Leaked

Sony's YY2986 leaking this early was not something I was expecting. Considering I first posted about the headset back in mid November, such a quick leak seems odd and maybe accidental. The leak is via Audix, which is Taiwan's certification body. We have full photos and some details like the internal battery capacties.

The earbuds use a 3.85V 70mAh cell, with 2 suppliers, HighPower SP1254, and VDL 1254PF4D. if the second one sounds familiar, that is because it is used in the WF-C700N and WF-C510. The charging case battery also uses the same suppliers, HighPower (772030) and VDL (772130), the capacity is 500mAh at 3.85V. This is 200mAh more than the outgoing WF-C700N. In fact, this is the same battery as in the WF-1000XM5, model 772030. So we could potentially see up to 24 hours of battery life with the case.

The earbuds look like they will ship with a USB cable (DLC-SON005BK), and the same tips like on the WF-C700N and WF-C510. As mentioned in an earlier tweet, 4 colours, black, white, pink and transparent blue. The earbuds are made in Vietnam.

Codec support is unknown, but SBC and AAC should be supported, and perhaps LC3. Will be interesting if Sony finally adds LDAC support. Whether Sony keeps the single NC mic, or upgrades the headset to a dual NC mic setup remains to be seen. This change would increase ANC performance but would also bring this new model closer to the LinkBuds Fit.

So let us dive in and look at the design.

First thing we notice, no physical button like on the WF-C700N. The mic mesh/screen is now similar in design to the WF-1000XM5. Next we have something never seen on Sony's entry level models, a proximity sensor. This will add the auto pause/play function. Finally, we have only 2 charging pins like on all Sony's newest earbuds.

Looking at the side views, nothing jumps out apart from the small hole in the back, which should be for pressure equalization. Note, these are pre-production photos, so this is why there is glue and gunk on the earbuds. 

Another view of the pressure equalization hole.

The case design looks to be an evolution of the current WF-C700N case, with a more oblong shape. The bottom half of the case is larger, like on the new WF-C510. There is a notification LED on the front, and  on the back, we have the pairing button and the Type-C USB port.

The top of the case retains the engraved Sony logo with the model number details, and serial number on the bottom. Guessing a screen printed logo is reserved for the higher end and premium models.

Here is the Pink colour, more pastel like than sharp pink.

The transparent blue is something very different for Sony, and no doubt copies what Apple did with the Beats Studio Buds + and their transparent version. I do not think Sony has ever had a transparent model before. Anyone recall anything from the past?

The transparent case does reveal that we have no wireless charging as there is no coil on the bottom. It does seem that the top of the case is held on with clips like the WF-C700N and WF-C510. Would anyone prefer such a transparent design?

Finally the black colour. The photos are the lowest resolution out of all the colours in the certification, not sure why. They appear to have a similar matte finish with less of a shinny appearance versus the new WF-C510.

But the black case colour is similar to the WF-C510, so I suspect the lighting is a factor in showing the true colour.

So with the leak, it is obvious this replaces the WF-C700N, and my guess is Sony will use WF-C710N model name, but I do not have that confirmed yet. Will be interesting how Sony will price this model. It will depend how much of an improvement this model will be on the old one. Guess we wait for the retail leaks, but those could be far off.