Sony launched the voice-assistant powered Xperia Ear back in late 2016. Since then, we’ve seen multiple voice assistant guided smart Bluetooth headphones, including Google’s Pixel Buds. Sony has now unveiled the Xperia Ear Duo, consisting of two ear buds instead of just one. These headphones will break cover in May with a price tag of $280.

The Xperia Ear Duo was first shown off during the MWC 2017 under the name of “Xperia Ear Open-style Concept”. At $280, the Xperia Ear Duo isn’t all that expensive, considering the fact that the Xperia Ear was priced at $200.

The design of the Xperia Ear Duo is far from impressive, however. Initial hands-on impressions suggest that it’s hard to put on the ear and might take some getting used to. We wouldn’t be surprised if the Ear Duo was confused for an enlarged hearing aid. Given the way it’s designed, the headphones are bound to get a lot of attention in the public. Sony, however, claims that the Black and Gold combinations of the Xperia Ear Duo are designed to blend in with different hairstyles.

The headphones come with support for Google Assistant, including a few handy gestures like nodding of the head to answer/reject calls. It’s surely a novel concept, but it’s too soon to tell if the market will accept it as a viable replacement to the Pixel Buds, which is currently priced at $159. Apple is expected to launch a new pair of AirPods compatible with”Hey Siri” commands later this year. This is expected to make the market even tougher for Sony.