Stefan Mileschin

Sony this week began to take pre-orders on its open-ear Xperia Ear Duo headset. The non-obstructive device has been in development for years and is designed to allow a user to listen to music and smartphone notifications while still hearing environmental sounds and holding conversations. Given rather high manufacturing costs of the product, it is considerably more expensive than the rivals. Furthermore, the headset's Host App is only compatible with smartphones, but not iPads and select PCs.

The key element of Sony’s Xperia Ear Duo earpieces is a very small driver that transmits audio directly to the ear canal without going into it and hence without blocking it from environmental sounds. The right earpiece of the Xperia Ear Duo connects to smartphone (or another source) using Bluetooth 4.2 LE (A2DP, AVRCP, HFP profiles are required; AAC and SBC codecs are supported), then it transmits audio to the left one using NFMI method. Sony says that NFMI ensures strong connection between two earpieces and it works better than if both used Bluetooth. Sony ships three sizes of rubber earbuds to firmly hold the earpieces where they should be, making the headset useful for people with different ears. Speaking of holding the earpieces, it is necessary to note that both weigh 0.4 oz (11.3 grams), so they are not hard to hold in place.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12705...ip-in-late-may