As we approach the 2020 holiday shopping season, Apple's AirPods appear to be a likely target for the "has everything" gift-getters of the world. A tip this week from TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that Apple will begin manufacturing AirPods 3 in early 2021. The big question here is: Should you wait to buy a new pair of AirPods now?
Sources say the next major Samsung Galaxy smartphone will remove a charger and earbuds from its in-box contents. Apple just released the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro with packaging that did away with the charger and earbuds (AKA earphones). On the day the iPhone 12 was revealed, Samsung sent out some shade, noting that consumer's "Galaxy" devices all came with a charger. Now they may just have to eat crow.
Wireless audio accessories have suddenly become en vogue with the practical demise of the 3.5mm headphone jack. While the delivery technology has changed, the fact that no one size or design fits all hasn't. Rather than putting its eggs all in one headphone basket, Shure is instead expanding its young wireless AONIC brand with three new earphones that aim to appeal to a wider range of users' audio needs and budgets.
While the iPhones have changed significantly over the years, there at least three things that have remained constant. They have shipped in a white box, shipped with a white power adapter, and shipped with white EarPods. This year, however, only one of that will remain and Apple has been rumored to be removing all but the iPhone itself and Lightning cable from its packaging. It won't be long before that's publicly confirmed but iOS 14.2 might actually hold a small but important piece of evidence that's as good as official.
There have been a lot of new players in the audio equipment market these past years, especially with the rise of wireless Bluetooth audio. Few, however, can boast to have decades under their belt, even for just one category, which is why Bowers & Wilkins is making a lot of noise with its coming milestone. But while the PX7 Carbon Edition marks the company's ten years making headphones, it also builds upon one of the company's most recent proof that it can still make it big in the congested market today.
Bose's QuietComfort, better known as "QC", headphoens are often considered to have one of the best active noise cancellation technologies, at least when it comes to consumer audio accessories. That, however, has mostly applied to its larger products or earphones that at least have enough room for the electronics needed to make ANC work. That's why Bose is so proud of its new QuietComfort Earbuds that, for the first time, bring its popular QC technology to a form that's just as large as a quarter.
Samsung has five new devices for Galaxy Unpacked 2020, the company's new mobile communications chief has confirmed, cranking up the speculation ahead of the August event. Announced earlier in the month, Unpacked 2020 is expected to focus on the new Galaxy Note 20, the latest iteration of Samsung's pen-enabled phablet. However there's been plenty of discussion about what else could come along to the virtual show.
OnePlus isn't one to immediately jump onto trends but it doesn't shy away from making changes when it believes that the time is right. After years of carrying the torch for the headphone jack, it finally gave in but only after it had launched its own wireless headphones. That happened back in 2017 when it launched its first Bullets Wireless earphones and, three years and two generations later, it is coming back with the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z. No, there is no three.
Despite its improvements in battery life, the Galaxy Buds+ still came out as a disappointment for many who were expecting just a bit more from Samsung. In particularly, many hoped that it would be a significant improvement over the already popular Galaxy Buds in terms of features, even if that came at a slightly higher price tag. That never came to be but now consumers might be putting their hopes on the company's AKG property and its new N400 truly wireless buds to deliver exactly those missing features.
As wireless headphones, earbuds, and speakers become more commonplace, they also start to become lifestyle choices more than just audio accessories. Although performance and comfort are of utmost importance, style and appearance have also become a deciding factor for some buyers. Unfortunately, wireless earbuds are harder to skin compared to smartphones so consumers in South Korea should probably consider themselves lucky to have access to an all-new pink Galaxy Buds+.
Apple may have its AirPods but not all Apple fans, even the hardcore ones, buy into it, whether because of its design or its audio quality. Fortunately for Apple, it also owns Beats, both the brand and the audio technology, to give consumers more options that still profit it in the long run. And those who prefer the audio company's ergonomics might be happy to hear, no pun intended, that a new Powerbeats is coming blending old and new.
Once in a while, one company stumbles onto a new technology that pulls the rug out from under their industry - and sparks plenty of competitors trying to do the same. For Nura, that innovation centered on how it could create truly personalized hearing profiles simply by having people sit through a series of beeps and boops while wearing their headphones. Headphones offering personalized audio has since then popped up left and right, pushing the company to step up its game. That next level comes in the form of the NuraLoop, a pair of around the neck earbuds that brings Nura's technology to a more discreet and more personal wearable device.