Sony LinkBuds will add an auditory AR experience to Ingress

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(Pocket-lint) – Niantic has partnered with Sony to develop new technologies – namely, headphones – that will allow you to enjoy sound in an augmented world.

Niantic, which owns game titles such as Ingress, Pokemon Go, and Pikmin Bloom, tends to focus on augmented reality (AR) apps for mobile devices. But, currently, AR is a very visual format. So, in order to make its AR games more immersive for gamers, Niantic is partnering with Sony to develop and promote an additional sensory experience called auditory AR.

Sony will add its spatial sound technology to Niantic titles, starting with the game Ingress in 2022. It will work with Sony’s latest pair of wireless headphones called LinkBuds. These will apparently allow you to hear both the real world and the virtual world for a “never off” wearing experience. Basically, Niantic said they noticed people were playing their games without sound because they didn’t want to be cut off from the real world. Now, with LinkBuds, those same people can play Ingress and feel fully in the game while remaining aware of their surroundings.

LinkBuds feature an “open ring driver” that connects your in-game audio to what’s happening in the real world. You’ll be able to hear conversations in high-quality sound, thanks in part to a built-in V1 processor and something called “Adaptive Volume Control”, which optimizes the sound for your surroundings. There is also “Precise Voice Pickup” technology for clear phone calls.

They’re available now for £150 in the UK and $180 in the US.

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More details on spatial sound technology. Ingress’s auditory AR update will be announced later this year. For more on Niantic and Sony’s partnership, watch the announcement above.

Written by Maggie Tillman.