Audio

Motorola's US online store has added new deals to its latest Winter Wonder promo event. They include the offer of a free Lenovo Tab P11 with the purchase of the Edge Plus (or Edge+) 2023 smartphone. There is also a discount on the ThinkPhone, and the offer of free TWS earbuds with the latest Razr-series foldable smartphones.

Suunto touts its latest product as the ideal audio accessories to take along on one's next adventure holiday, mountain hike or training session. The Wing headphones have an open-ear design for environmental awareness, and even support Head Movement controls for completely hands-free use. They may also be able to help keep both themselves and their user safe with LED lighting and an IP67 rating.

Sony asserts that its latest X-Series portable speaker packs all you need to hold a social event - one that might run extra-long, moreover, thanks to potentially improved battery life. The SRS-XV500 boasts X-Balanced Speaker Unit technology for its bass, and also integrates "party atmosphere" lighting in a chassis rated for some splash-resistance and eco-consciousness points.

The iPad Air is projected to upgrade to Pro-grade screen real estate in its next generation: a rumor possibly upheld in its latest alleged render. The new schematic purports to blend a premium tablet footprint with slightly more budget design cues, although there are some tweaks that Apple's next 12.9-inch tablet might also inherit some of the OEM's more premium tablet features while missing out on others.

Some wireless earphones are marketed as capable of withstanding sweat and splashes, yet none are overtly backed as worthy of keeping on in the swimming pool. The Shokz OpenSwim Pro, on the other hand, are touted to launch with the same official ingress-protection as smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra for potentially increased peace of mind when these open-ear buds are exposed to liquid.

The true wireless noise cancelling earbuds from Beats have again reached their lowest price ever on Amazon. With a 20% discount, they dropped from $200 to a current price at $159.95. They feature a custom acoustic platform, Spatial Audio, and the Apple H1 chip. They are also sweat and water resistant, and have up to 24 hours of combined battery life.

The KEF LSX II LT speakers have been announced as a cheaper follow-up to the LSX II. The new model supports wireless streaming from various services, with physical connections made possible thanks to ports including HDMI (ARC). At the time of writing, KEF Members can place an early order, with the product going on general sale before the end of the month.

Amazon's AI and voice assistant Alexa is still in financial difficulties. As leaked information from internal Amazon documents suggests, Amazon is revamping its Alexa voice assistant into super Alexa, while Alexa Plus is set to launch as a new, paid subscription later this year.

The Bose Open Ear Clips TWS has now arrived but not as the Open Ear Clips TWS nor with Bose branding. Instead, the Open Ear Clips TWS will be available as the Kith for Bose Ultra Open Earbuds in collaboration with fashion brand Kith with a $299 starting price.

FiiO is preparing to release the CP13, a modern cassette player. Not only has the company shared various product photos, but it has also confirmed a release window and launch pricing.

Viofo claims to have developed the ideal dash-cam for users who want as much of a hands-free experience as possible in the new VS1. Its "tiny" form-factor integrates a novel rotating mount for more freedom of placement within the car, yet is also touted to come packed with many of the features of its bigger siblings, Auto Event Detection, Time Lapse Recording 24/7 Monitoring and "highly optimized" Night Vision 2.0 thanks to the Sony STARVIS 2 sensor included.

DJI has kicked off 2024 with the Mic 2, a new microphone transmitter and receiver kit that replaces the ageing DJI Mic. The DJI Mic 2 is already orderable globally and contains various improvements over DJI's outgoing model.

Xiaomi is now offering the Redmi Buds 5 Pro globally, a more expensive alternative to the Remdi Buds 5 that the company released simultaneously. While the earbuds' Esports version has not made its way outside China, the Redmi Buds 5 Pro still support the LHDC 5.0 high-resolution codec with a 11 mm titanium woofer and a 10 mm ceramic tweeter, among other features.

Xiaomi has finally released the Redmi Buds 5 outside China. For under €40 in the Eurozone, the earbuds come in three colour options with ANC, Bluetooth Multipoint connectivity and titanium drivers, plus up to 8 hours of battery life with ANC enabled.

The Fanmu is a particularly compact e-reader that can be used as a music player. Now available for purchase, the device also supports a memory card and thus allows for the storage of different types of content.

EMEET claims to have thrown every quality-of-life tweak possible into its new pair of audio peripherals. The Airflow buds even have their own detachable boom mic for the OEM's VoiceCore dual channel noise cancellation for calls, not to mention UV santization built into a charging case that is also backed to confer prolonged battery life on the new open-ear buds.

Various marketing images for Bose's next pair of high-end earbuds have surfaced online. Sporting a design unlike the company's current earbuds, the Open Ear Clips TWS will rival the likes of the Huawei FreeClip and Sony LinkBuds when they arrive later this year.

Hohem's prominence in the smartphone/camera gimbal game has made its announcement of the Mic-01 wireless lavalier mic as its latest products all the more surprising. Nevertheless, the OEM asserts that the accessory will "elevate" any creator's audio with based on "advanced" DSP technology, "stable" transmission over nearly 700 feet and up to 20 hours of battery life.

Earfun unveiled its first over-ear headphones, the Earfun Wave Pro, at CES 2024. These cans have 45 dB active noise cancellation, 80 hours of battery life, LDAC Hi-Res audio, and fast charging. But the interesting part is that the ANC headphones offer all that for just $80.

Audio-Technica has announced the ATH-TWX7 earbuds that can generate soothing nature sounds and meditation sounds for a calming break from noisy city life. These earbuds come with two sets of earbud tips - softer tips for longer listening sessions and standard tips for better noise isolation.

Shiftall has announced three virtual reality products at CES 2024 - the MeganeX superlight, a 5.2K OLED VR headset, the HaritoraX Wireless R 6-point body tracker, and the mutalk 2 soundproof communications mask that prevents voice leakage.

Amazfit's probably final round of 2024 New Year's deals are exclusive to one online retail platform, and offer a chance to grab the distinctively flat-faced Limited Edition of the GTR 3 Pro smartwatch for a limited time. The discount requires a specific code, as does that for the OEM's ANC-enabled PowerBuds Pro.

The TCL 2024 soundbar range has been revealed at CES 2024. There are four new models, all supporting Dolby Atmos: the S45H, the S55H, the Q75H and the Q85H. The range-topping Q85H is a 7.1.4 Channel soundbar with Ray-Danz Acoustic Wave-Guide Reflectors and smart features like Auto Room Calibration.

Hollyland claims to have packed all the tech for a "top level consumer-grade" lavalier- or lapel-style microphone into an "all-in-one button" with its latest Lark-series release. The M2 is rated to eliminate unwanted background noise with environmental noise cancellation (ENC) to product "accurate" recordings in "studio-grade" quality. Hollyland also claims that its receiver can pick up from a "remarkable" distance away or right through obstacles like the user's body.

With the Momentum True Wireless 4, Sennheiser presented its latest ANC earbuds at CES 2024, which feature Auracast, Bluetooth 5.4, and Qualcomm S5 Sound Gen 2. The Accentum Plus headphones and Momentum Sport earbuds were also presented.

With exceptional sound quality and innovative features, the advanced earpiece set has come down from $230 to just below $110, at a significant 52% discount.

The Purfree Lite Open-Ear Headphones are Haylou's latest foray into bone-conduction audio, and are now available to buy from online stores - for a limited-time discount, in some cases. They are thus touted as a premium take on their form-factor at a particularly affordable price, with a three-stage flexible titanium wrap-around wire to keep them in place, large drivers and IP55 ingress protection.

JBL has launched three new earbuds as part of their Live 3 Earbuds series. Each comes with an innovative 1.45" touchscreen Smart Charging Case to monitor charge levels and adjust settings. All three have True Adaptive Noise Cancelling, high-resolution LDAC audio over Bluetooth 5.3, and waterproof ratings.

Asus has just announced its ROG Cetra True Wireless Speednova gaming earbuds – an update to the older ROG Cetra True Wireless. The new earphones introduce Speednova low-latency tech using 2.4 GHz (via wireless receiver) and Bluetooth connectivity, 24-bit hi-res audio, bone conduction microphones and adaptive noise cancellation. The design remains largely unchanged, but battery life has increased significantly.

Asus has debuted the ROG Carnyx, a studio grade desktop condenser microphone for gaming and streaming. The Carnyx features a metal stand/shock-mount, built-in pop filter and high-pass filter to ensure clean, noise-free recordings, while the 25 mm capsule and 24-bit/192 kHz output result in a natural, high-fidelity sound. It has on-board controls for muting and adjusting the output, and supports Asus’ Aura Sync RGB light effects.

Lenovo has decided to include the Yoga True Wireless Stereo Earbuds in its CES 2024 showcase. Built around 12.2 mm drivers, the Lenovo Yoga True Wireless Stereo Earbuds will be available in late spring at the earliest for a modest starting price.

HP present the new Poly Voyager Free 20 earbuds as part of its CES 2024 peripherals showcase. They feature hybrid adaptive active noise cancellation (ANC) alongside the brand's "legendary" smart voice-boosting and noise-reduction technology for calls. The Free 20s are also backed to deliver "all-day" battery life and conferencing app compatibility.

When Beats debuted the Studio Pro wireless headphones, they stood out to some as an affordable alternative to the Apple AirPods Max. While you may disagree with that, these noise-canceling headphones do offer many premium features for less. You now have the chance to get even more value by grabbing this 49% deal.

3M has launched the PELTOR WS ALERT XPV solar-charged, communications headset. This protective headset uses Exeger Powerfoyle solar cells to continuously charge the internal lithium battery in lit conditions indoors and outdoors to eliminate charging downtime.

Urbanista is advancing towards a truly cordless future. It has debuted the second-gen Phoenix true wireless earbuds and Los Angeles headphones. They bring a number of upgrades over their predecessors, and the good part is that they still rely on Exeger's Powerfoyle solar charging tech.

The 3.2.1-channel soundbar from Samsung features a wireless subwoofer as well as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support. Thanks to a coupon code, the HW-S800B can now be ordered with a massive discount of almost $500.

OnePlus has introduced its Buds 3 as the TWS counterparts for the new sub-flagship Ace 3 smartphone today (January 4, 2024). Nevertheless, the peripherals have launched with one or two of the highest-end specs of yesteryear, support for the LHDC 5.0 codec included. They are also IP55-rated and have touch controls.

JLab has officially unveiled two new products for its audio accessory lineup, which includes the JBuds ANC 3 TWS Earbuds. As a pair of third-gen earbuds, the buds bring improved battery life and aim to deliver better audio than the predecessors. The good part is that they are still reasonably affordable like their predecessors.

With a 24% discount, these earbuds offer active noise cancellation, transparent mode, adaptive EQ, spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, and up to 4.5 hours of listening time.

JLab has introduced two new products for its lineup. Among them is the JBuds Lux ANC Wireless Headphones. They are the brand’s first attempt at high-end headphones capable of providing premium sound without breaking your wallet. While we hear such claims from many brands, JLab’s new headphones do appear to have the potential to deliver.

FiiO is offering a new all-in solution for streaming digital media that offers high audio quality and a HDMI port.

The OnePlus Buds 3 will officially debut in the Chinese market on January 4 alongside the OnePlus Ace 3. As the successor of Buds 2, the new earbuds claim to feature good hardware with proper tuning, gearing them to “popularize flagship sound quality.”

iQOO has launched its first ever Watch today (December 27, 2023). The new wearable boasts a 1.43-inch AMOLED display powered by a custom OS for its health- and sleep-tracking features, and has the option of independent eSIM connectivity. The Watch is joined in its debut by new TWS earbuds of impressively long battery life for an attractive price.

The newly launched Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are currently at their lowest-ever price. With a 17% discount, the buds are down to $249 from their usual $299 tag. But note that this Christmas deal may remain active only for a limited time.

Noble Audio has launched the Falcon Max earbuds using solid-state drivers from xMEMS. The micro-electromechanical systems drivers are built using silicon on a microscopic scale rather than a conventional driver and cone. The result is superior audio reproduction with less distortion.

Neurotechnology firm Neurable has partnered with Master & Dynamic to create the MW75 Neuro, a noise-cancelling headphone with a built-in brain-computer interface, which will allow it to measure the wearer’s brain activity and thus help monitor focus or mental fatigue through the day. The headphone is based on Master & Dynamic’s flagship MW75 featuring 40 mm beryllium drivers and adaptive ANC.

The recently launched Jabra Elite 10 earbuds have just dropped to their record-low price. They are currently available for just $199.99, which translates to a $50 discount from the usual $249.99 price tag.