Sony’s INZONE Buds: the WF-1000xm5 repurposed for gaming?

Clickbait? Guilty as charged. But it's the same drivers, so on paper it's pretty much 'same same but different'.

by Justin Choo

If the idea of using an over-the-ear headset for hours makes you sweat, then Sony’s INZONE Buds might just be right up your ear canal alley.

The INZONE Buds are much like regular true wireless earbuds; in fact, if you ever found Sony’s high-tech features like the 360 Spatial Sound a little superfluous in earbuds, the INZONE Buds will probably be the perfect use case for the tech since positional relativity is helpful in the context of video games like first-person shooters. Like Sony’s regular earbuds, the INZONE Buds uses Sound Field Optimisation and Sound Tone Personalisation to optimise the spatial sound experience.

The INZONE Buds feature the same Dynamic Driver X used in the WF-1000XM5, so you should have access to the same level of dynamism and audio quality as Sony’s best true wireless earbuds. INZONE Buds also feature active noise cancelling and AI-based microphone noise reduction to improve the clarity of your voice in noisy environments. 

In some aspects, INZONE Buds may well be better than their lifestyle counterparts. The futuristic-looking bud was designed for long hours of wear and improves comfort by minimising contact with the ear. The battery life is also above average–it can manage up to 12 hours without ANC and 24 hours if connected to an LE audio-compatible device. And this isn’t counting the battery case.

And, of course, the most important feature comes in the form of a USB-C dongle, which enables latency to be as low as 30ms.

Priced at SGD299 (MYR899) and available in Black or White, Sony INZONE Buds will be available in selected retail shops and online stores from October 2023, and (for Singapore) you will receive an SGD30 Razer Gold e-Voucher with your purchase while stocks last. The INZONE Buds are also available for hands-on at the INZONE event space at Sony Store, 313@somerset, which will run till November 8, 2023.