Sony Mobile said U.S. consumers can preorder its Xperia Ear Duo wireless headphones beginning today for $280. The wireless ear buds ship May 25. The Ear Duo are not traditional headphones and employ an open design that allows people to hear their surroundings and their music at the same time. The Xperia Ear Duo rely on a spatial acoustic conductor to push sound directly to the inner ear while leaving the ear canal open. Sound is generated by a unit that sits behind the owner's ear. Sony says the Xperia Ear Duo automatically adjust to environmental sounds to counter background noise. The Xperia Ear Duo support Bluetooth 4.2 are compatible with Android and iOS devices. Touch surfaces and voice commands allow owners to interact with Android Assistant and Siri. The headphones include a Daily Assist function on Android, which will read incoming notifications, offer calendar reminders, as well as listen for voice commands. Owners can nod or shake their head, respectively, to accept or reject incoming calls. The Ear Duo includes four microphones and beamforming to ensure proper noise reduction and voice capture. The headphones offer 4 hours of music listening or 2.5 hours of talk time per charge. The included charging case can recharge the Ear Duo up to three times for music and talk totals of 10 and 4 hours, respectively. The Xperia Ear Duo comes in black and gold and is available for preorder from Amazon.com.


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