New Sony Xperia Ear headset combines your surrounding sounds with the music of your choice

We’ve been long seeing headphones of different kinds competing on which one can cancel more sound to keep you immersed in your music, however not so much on the opposite side of the spectrum. Headsets that can give you an inclusive sound experience that doesn’t cancel your surroundings are few and far between, which makes this new Sony solution shine from CES 2018.

Though first revealed last year, a working prototype was shown on the expo floor this year as Sony Xperia Ear was available to try out. The fundamental tech behind it isn’t really as high-tech as you’d think, as it features big holes in the middle of the earphones to let sound come through instead of opting for some advanced hardware solutions. However, it seems promising, for certain needs at least.

According to testers, the Sony Xperia Ear does exactly what it says it does. Whenever you’re wearing a pair of those striking conversations while listening to music doesn’t seem so bad after all. In fact, it’s almost like you’re sitting in a shopping mall with ambient music around you. This may be the earphone’s biggest strength and weakness at the same time.

I mean, it’s what it’s advertised to do. a not-noise-cancelling headset. The sound quality is good, but the experience isn’t really something you’d normally use to listen to your favorite songs. This makes it perfect for only a set of situations like biking around, going to the gym, or being at places where you need to be constantly aware of your surroundings.

Another note is the fit of these things, as its design makes it barely stick to the ears and feel like it’s falling out of it. However, this isn’t much of a concern as well as the company is going to ship different sizes of ear pieces with final product. The touch and gesture controls work really well too, as you can skip tracks and control volume by touching the piece or tilting your head while wearing it.

So where does that put Xperia Ear headset? We think it’s going to be perfect for when you want to add some flavor to your everyday activities without losing awareness of what’s around you. Sony didn’t inform us of the definitive release date nor the price, but it states that the development is going really well with it going on sale soon enough.

Also from CES 2018: Yevo Labs new earphones transform lethal weapons into peace devices at CES 2018