Sony WF-XB700 wireless earbuds offer long battery life for tight budgets

(Image credit: Sony)

You might be familiar with the Sony Extra Bass speaker range, but never has a little pair of wireless buds claimed to be worthy of the title. The Sony WF-XB700 earbuds (where XB stands for Extra Bass) changes that, launching as the first pair of wireless in-ears in the Extra Bass Series.

Not only do the buds boast Sony's Extra Bass sonic chops, you can get eight hours of battery life from the buds plus eight hours from the case – giving you 18 hours of juice in total. Thanks to a USB-C charger, a quick ten-minute charge will give you an hour of playtime, too. Interested? You should be.

The earbuds use Bluetooth 5.0, with each earpiece establishing an individual connection to your device. Sony is supporting AAC and SBC in terms of codecs, and while you’re not getting any kind of noise cancellation here (for that, you’ll still need to level up to Sony’s flagship set, mentioned above) that Extra Bass for a powerful, punchy low-end is an intriguing proposition. 

The Sony WF-XB700 will launch soon in the US. No news on availability for the rest of the world yet – but when we know, you'll know. Will they challenge the best wireless earbuds on the market? We will have to wait and see.

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Becky has been a full-time staff writer at What Hi-Fi? since March 2019. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, she freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 20-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance is of course tethered to a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo, This is Cabaret and The Stage. When not writing, she dances, spins in the air, drinks coffee, watches football or surfs in Cornwall with her other half – a football writer whose talent knows no bounds.