Powerbeats Pro Vs. Sony Linkbuds S Review In Detail

Ingress Protection (Ip) Rating

Sony LinkBuds S IPX4

Powerbeats Pro IPX4

Ingress protection ratings refer to the rank of protection offered by an enclosure, against dust and water. The letters 'IP' are followed by two values The first value means protection against solids such as dust, followed by the one that refers to resistance against liquids (water).

Scoring IPX4, the Powerbeats Pro's rating is read as, the first number of X denotes that no data available to specify a protection rating, and of liquids that they can withstand low pressure spray similar to that of a shower head when tilted at 180° for 10 minutes.

In comparison to the Powerbeats Pro, Sony LinkBuds S have a rating of IPX4 meaning that we are not yet certain of their rating with solids (dust) and that of liquids is that, they both have the same rating against liquids

Weight

Sony LinkBuds S 9.6g

Powerbeats Pro 20.3g

Powerbeats Pro have a weight of 20.3g . We consider a lower weight better because lighter devices are more comfortable to carry.

The Sony LinkBuds S, at 9.6g are lighter than the Powerbeats Pro with a difference -10.7g

Has No Wires Or Cables

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✓

True wireless devices have no wires connecting any part of the device together, Powerbeats Pro are true wireless for this case since they have no wires. This is a key difference as some wireless earbuds have wires connecting the 2 earbuds together.

Sony LinkBuds S also is true wireless since it doesn't have wires linking the two earbuds .

Wingtips Included

Sony LinkBuds S ✗

Powerbeats Pro ✓

Powerbeats Pro have wingtips, these are reserved for workout earbuds and are usually an optional add-on to the separate silicone ear tip for a better fit.

Sweat Resistance

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✓

Powerbeats Pro are resistant to sweat

Sony LinkBuds S's resistance to sweat makes both devices good for use during long-distance running, marathons, cardio sweat workouts , etc

Is Dust Proof And Water-Resistant

Sony LinkBuds S ✗

Powerbeats Pro ✓

Powerbeats Pro are both dustproof and water-resistant.

Has Stereo Speakers

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✓

Powerbeats Pro have stereo speakers, devices with stereo speakers deliver sound from independent channels on both left and right sides, this creates a richer sound and a better listening experience.

Both Sony LinkBuds S and Powerbeats Pro have stereo speakers

Sony LinkBuds S
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Has Active Noise Cancellation (Noise Control)

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✗

ANC makes use of more advanced kind of tech to actively counter noise. ANC works when, it detects and analyzes the sound pattern of incoming noise and inverts the soundwaves to counter it. In simple terms, it's like having +1 (sound from your surrounding) and adding -1 (inverted noise) to make zero resulting in a reduced level of noise.

The Sony LinkBuds S have Active Noise Cancellation enabling you to listen at lower levels of volume, good for your ears as you don't have to crank up the earbuds volume to overcome background sounds.

Has Passive Noise Reduction

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✓

Powerbeats Pro stay tightly in place, creating a sound seal that reduces your environment sounds well as preventing the device voice audio from leaking out at the same.

Both Sony LinkBuds S, and Powerbeats Pro have passive noise reduction which means that both limit ambient noise without using ANC to cancel it out.

Driver Unit Size

Sony LinkBuds S 5mm

Powerbeats Pro 12mm

The Powerbeats Pro have a unit size of 12mm in diameter, the bigger the unit the more powerful, and can produce better bass. The driver unit is the component that produces sound in the earbuds, its size corellates with the loudness of the earbuds.

Sony LinkBuds S driver unit is 5mm in diameter, which means that they have a smaller driver unit than that of Powerbeats Pro by 7mm , a common assumption that driver units of a bigger size automatically produce better sound quality.

However, large drivers find it difficult to produce high frequencies so yeah, larger drivers are capable of generating louder sound, but this does not imply that they deliver better quality sound.

Lowest Frequency

Sony LinkBuds S 20Hz

Powerbeats Pro 10Hz

The Powerbeats Pro's lowest frequency is at 10Hz, low-frequency response measures if and how well a particular audio component produces low frequencies that can be heard, and if it alters the signal while at it.

Sony LinkBuds S's lowest frequency is at 20Hz, this implies that Powerbeats Pro can produce a juicier bass than the Sony LinkBuds S

Highest Frequency

Sony LinkBuds S 40,000Hz

Powerbeats Pro ✗

The Sony LinkBuds S's highest frequency is at 40,000Hz, high-frequency response measures if and how well an audio component produces high human frequencies and if it makes any adjustments to the signal while at it.

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Battery Life

Sony LinkBuds S 6hours

Powerbeats Pro 9hours

The Powerbeats Pro's battery life is 9 hours, these last longer than 5 hours of listening which is considered average for a single charge. A device's battery life is usually given by the manufacturer, and with longer battery life, you get to use it for longer and have to charge the device less often.

Sony LinkBuds S's battery life is less than that of Powerbeats Pro by 3 hours . Every time you recharge your device, they get a little less playing time. The effect is barely noticeable at first, but over a few years, your wireless earbuds will have shorter listening time.

Battery Life Of Charging Case

Sony LinkBuds S 14hours

Powerbeats Pro 24hours

This is given by the vendor, and the Powerbeats Pro's case is said to have a charge of 24 hours. A charging case with a longer battery life allows you to recharge your earbuds on the go multiple times before recharging the case itself.

Sony LinkBuds S's charging case has a battery life of 14 hours, less than that of Powerbeats Pro by 10 hours

Charge Time

Sony LinkBuds S 2hours

Powerbeats Pro 0.7hours

It requires 0.7 hours to fully charge the Powerbeats Pro's battery. It is highly adivsable to charge fully the battery before using the earbuds when they have been unused for extended periods.

Sony LinkBuds S takes 2 hours to fully charge the battery, more than that of Powerbeats Pro by 1.3 hours

Has A Battery Level Indicator

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✓

Powerbeats Pro have a battery level indicator, an indicator notifies you when the earbuds has a low battery. Its lights indicate the charging state of your device and case.

Sony LinkBuds S too have a battery level indicator, these enable you to determine the charging state of your device, if charged fully, or the battery is running low.

Sony LinkBuds S
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Has Usb Type-C

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✗

The Sony LinkBuds S have USB TYPE-C, a standard connector for transmitting both data and power through a single cable.

Bluetooth Version

Sony LinkBuds S v5.2

Powerbeats Pro v5

Powerbeats Pro have Bluetooth version of 5, Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that allows data movement between devices placed in range, using short-wavelength, ultra-high frequency radio waves.

Sony LinkBuds S has a Bluetooth version of 5.2, newer than that of Powerbeats Pro . Newer versions provide faster data transfers.

Maximum Bluetooth Range

Sony LinkBuds S 10meters

Powerbeats Pro 10meters

Powerbeats Pro have a 10meters distance connecting via Bluetooth.

Sony LinkBuds S have a maximum range of 10meters, equal to that of the Powerbeats Pro

Has Aac

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✓

Powerbeats Pro support AAC, a codec used for Bluetooth audio. It supports 24-bit audio at 250kbps. Since it uses psychoacoustic modeling, it can provide better results than other codecs at a similar bit rate.

Since its the highest quality codec that any Bluetooth-supporting Apple product supports, the Powerbeats Pro will work well with your iPhone. If you intend on using these with Android you need to pay even closer attention to codec support for if they only have AAC they won't provide the best audio quality possible, ensure that they also support aptX HD, LDAC, or LHDC as well.

The Sony LinkBuds S support AAC as well. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves higher sound quality than MP3 encoders at the same bit rate.

Has Ldac

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✗

The Sony LinkBuds S support LDAC, a codec developed by Sony which allows streaming high-resolution audio over Bluetooth connections at up to 990 kbps at 32 bit/96 kHz. It can reach a high bitrate of 990kbps, which provides high-resolution audio.

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Number Of Microphones

Sony LinkBuds S 6only

Powerbeats Pro 2only

Powerbeats Pro have 2 microphones.

While the Sony LinkBuds S microphones are 6, more than that of Powerbeats Pro by 4 . More microphones record better sound quality and help the earbuds to filter out background sounds.

Sony LinkBuds S
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Has Ambient Sound Mode

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✗

The Sony LinkBuds S support ambient sound mode, which uses microphones to channel ambient sound to still be heard even while wearing them

Has In/On-Ear Detection

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✗

The Sony LinkBuds S have in/on-ear detection, the sensors in the earbuds can detect when they are removed from your ears .

Has Find Earbuds Feature

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✗

When lost in a room, or can't easily find them in your bag, Sony LinkBuds S have a find earbuds feature.

Supports Fast Charging

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✓

The Powerbeats Pro support fast charging. Most often, technologies like MediaTek’s Pump Express, are used to reduce the amount of time it takes to charge a device.

Also the Sony LinkBuds S support fast charging. This kind is similar to regular charging, only that the battery is filling up much faster. Say, with Quick Charge 3.0, the battery can be charged to 50% in just thirty minutes.

Has A Mute Function

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✗

The Sony LinkBuds S have a mute function, they have the feature to mute/unmute a conversation directly from the earbuds.

Control Panel Placed On A Device

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✓

The Powerbeats Pro, so you can easily access the volume control, pause, play, mute, etc whichever functions are supported on the earbuds.

The Sony LinkBuds S also have a control panel on them.

Has Voice Prompts

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✗

The Sony LinkBuds S support voice prompts. Automatically receive information via audio messages, like if there is an issue with the connection.

Travel Bag Is Included

Sony LinkBuds S ✓

Powerbeats Pro ✓

Powerbeats Pro come with a special case. Carrying earbuds without a case, or putting them inside your bag without a cover may easily put them at risk of getting damaged.

Sony LinkBuds S too have a travel bag included, which offers safe transportation.

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Category	Features	Sony LinkBuds S	Powerbeats Pro
DESIGN	ingress protection (ip) rating	IPX4	IPX4
	weight	9.6g	20.3g
	has no wires or cables	✓	✓
	wingtips included	✗	✓
	sweat resistance	✓	✓
	is dust proof and water-resistant	✗	✓
	has stereo speakers	✓	✓
SOUND QUALITY	has active noise cancellation (noise control)	✓	✗
	has passive noise reduction	✓	✓
	driver unit size	5mm	12mm
	lowest frequency	20Hz	10Hz
	highest frequency	40,000Hz	✗
POWER	battery life	6hours	9hours
	battery life of charging case	14hours	24hours
	charge time	2hours	0.7hours
	has a battery level indicator	✓	✓
CONNECTIVITY	has usb type-c	✓	✗
	bluetooth version	v5.2	v5
	maximum bluetooth range	10meters	10meters
	has aac	✓	✓
	has ldac	✓	✗
MICROPHONE	number of microphones	6only	2only
EXTRAS	has ambient sound mode	✓	✗
	has in/on-ear detection	✓	✗
	has find earbuds feature	✓	✗
	supports fast charging	✓	✓
	has a mute function	✓	✗
	control panel placed on a device	✓	✓
	has voice prompts	✓	✗
	travel bag is included	✓	✓
		See price on Amazon	See price on Amazon

Powerbeats Pro Vs. Sony Linkbuds S Review

Reasons why you might like the Sony LinkBuds S

Reasons why you might like the Powerbeats Pro