Sony has today launched its brand new truly wireless offering, the WF-XB700, in India. The new earphones look like a pretty nice deal for truly wireless earbuds of this quality. However, are they worth the Rs. 9,990 price tag? Should you pick something from the competition instead? Well, I’ve been using the Sony WF-XB700 for over a week now, and here’s what I think about these earphones.

When it comes to most Sony products, I have little doubt that the build quality is going to be excellent. That’s also the case for the XB700. These earphones feel premium to the touch, although I think they could have done a slightly better job with the charging case. Between the transparency and the size of the thing, it does look a little weaker than it is. To clarify, it’s not weak. The charging case is sturdy and solid, and it feels great to the touch as well.

All that is not to say that I’m unhappy with the XB700’s design and build. I actually really like these earphones. However, I feel like maybe Sony could have done a slightly better job in some aspects of the design.

When I first took the XB700 out of their case I did have reservations about how well they’d fit in my ear, and how comfortable they might be. Fortunately, it turns out they are pretty great at both those things.

Looking at this design you’d not expect it to feel comfy in your ear. Having weight at the very edges isn’t usually a good idea for earphones. However, the XB700 manage it somehow. They don’t feel heavy on the ear, and they definitely don’t feel uncomfortable even after a couple hours of wearing them.

Everything that I refuse to dock points off for is mostly because of the sound quality. I’ve always been a Sony fan when it comes to headphones, earphones, and speakers. Somehow, their sound signature just feels better to me. That is why I have been using the Sony MDR-XB950BT headphones since 2017.

I was happy to see the XB700 live up to my expectations in terms of sound quality as well. As the ‘XB’ in the name suggests, these are a pair of ‘extra bass’ earphones. That means you’ll enjoy them best with bass heavy music. However, I tried listening to classics like Frank Sinatra, and some old rock songs from Bob Seger, and Kenny Rogers on these earphones, and they sound amazing.

Looking at the earbuds, it might seem as though the big blue part of the design is meant for controlling music, and otherwise interacting with the earbuds. However, that’s not the case here. Instead, there are small buttons, one each, on the underside of the earbud.

  • Play/Pause: a single press on the right earbud plays and pauses music.
  • Next Track: a double press on the right earbud skips to the next track.
  • Previous track: a triple press on the right earbud skips back to the previous track.
  • Invoke assistant: press and hold on the right earbud.
  • Volume up: a single press on the left earbud button increases the volume
  • Volume down: press and hold on the left earbud button to reduce volume

Moving on, the Sony XB700 truly wireless earbuds come with Bluetooth 5.0, which is pretty much expected at this price point. Also, as I mentioned before, the earbuds can be used individually, and pairing them is pretty easy as well. You can just take the earbuds out of the case and look for them in the Bluetooth settings of your phone. A simple tap then connects both the earphones to your smartphone and you can start listening straight away.

Battery

Sony has always offered great battery life on its earphones and headphones, and the XB700 are no different. The earbuds offer 9 hours of battery life on a single charge, which is pretty great. Moreover, the charging case offers an additional full charge to bring the battery life up to 18 hours.

Pros:

Cons:

  • Design looks a little bulky
  • No aptX support
  • No wear detection

Sony WF-XB700 Review: A Worthy Pair of Truly Wireless Earbuds

All things considered, the Sony WF-XB700 truly wireless earbuds are definitely well worth their price point of Rs. 9,990. They come with a solid build and are very comfortable to wear. The sound quality is impressive, which is what one would expect from Sony. The design could have been better, but it doesn’t feel like a deal breaker to me in any way.