Sony's channeling Nintendo's Atomic Purple era with its latest earbuds

Time is a flat circle. In 2026, everything old is new again, whether that’s unironically listening to an iPod, or paying $5 a gallon for gas. Today those blasts from the past just keep on coming, as Sony unveils its latest pair of high-performance earbuds, with the INZONE Buds picking up a slick new color option.

Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, you basically couldn’t go wrong with colorful, translucent plastic — just think of all those classic iMacs. Nintendo fans will remember its “Atomic Purple” Game Boy Color and N64 controllers, and now Sony’s flirting with a very similar look for the INZONE Buds with what it calls Glass Purple.

At their heart, these are gaming earbuds, optimized for low-latency operation (under 30ms, according to Sony) and extended-wear comfort — like any serious gaming session demands. For the best connection there, you’re going to want to take advantage of the USB-C transceiver included in the case, which connects to your console, PC, or smartphone, as needed. Or if you’d rather just keep things simple, you can pair with your Android handset directly and use Bluetooth LE Audio.

Sony’s been offering the INZONE Buds in both white and black so far, with a MSRP of $239.99 — although you’ll find them discounted down closer to $170 or $180 right now, depending on your color choice.

No matter which color you go with, though, you can look forward to 24 hours of battery life (when topping up through the charging case), support for custom hearing profiles in Sony’s smartphone app, 360 Spatial Sound for extra game immersion, and Sony’s active noise cancellation to keep distractions to a minimum.

Sales of the new Atomic Purple Glass Purple INZONE Buds get started today at Amazon, Best Buy, and directly through Sony.