Audio

LG has updated the portable variants of its XBOOM speaker line-up. These new PL7, PL5 and PL2 models feature an equally renewed design that incorporates Meridian technology for their audio clarity. They can also be controlled via an iOS or Android app and respond to voice commands.

The Panasonic RZ-S300W are new TWS earbuds with a non-AirPod-clone form-factor and a unique finish. A further variant of the same (the RZ-S500W) have "Dual Hybrid Noise Cancelling Technology" with an ambient mode for "best-in-class" audio isolation. The OEM also has a 3rd pair of new buds launched under its high-end Technics brand.

Xiaomi has released a new XiaoAI Portable Speaker via Youpin that can also be ordered from Banggood for international customers. The mini Bluetooth speaker has a power rating of 2 W and is being offered to domestic shoppers for 49 yuan (US$7). The Xiaomi XiaoAI Portable Speaker with virtual assistant is priced at US$19.99 at Banggood.

Creative has launched the SXFI Trio in-ear headphones that feature an in-line SXFI Amp and a hybrid triple-driver system that yields a 100 dB SNR and 0.008% IMD. The in-line Super X-Fi Amp allows for holographic audio that simulates a 5.1 or 7.1 channel ambience even from stereo sources.

The eminent and apparently OnePlus-focused leaker Max J. has posted a new image of this OEM's inaugural TWS earbuds on his Twitter feed. This one shows the other side of these stem-toting accessories for the first time - and also paints them black. Therefore, it seems the product will have at least 2 color options on their launch.

Adidas has long been associated with sporting endeavors and this has spawned a range of accessories to make staying active fun. Its latest headphone accessory is called the RPD-01 is designed to be both sweat resistant and stay securely in place during physical activity.

Astell & Kern has taken the wraps off its latest high-end portable audio play and it comes with a unique twist. Instead of having a single high-quality DAC, the new A&futura SE200 comes with two high-end DACs from different manufacturers for a higher level of customization.

Harman Kardon has rolled out the latest iteration of its iconic Aura Studio line. The new speaker is the third in the series and offers 360-degree sound over a wireless Bluetooth connection.

Neopon are TWS earbuds, albeit not ones of the typical 'popcorn' or 'stem' form-factor found everywhere these days. Instead, they have been designed with an ear-hook that connects to the actual, oval ear-bud part via a short flexible cable. Therefore, their maker asserts that they may enhance comfort and wearing time while still providing all the potential up-sides of wireless audio.

LG has announced two pairs of TWS earbuds. Called the HBS-FN4 and HBS-FN6, the latter includes a self-cleaning charging case that LG claims can kill up to 99.9% of E. coli and S. aureus. The earbuds can last up to 18 hours between charges too, but LG forgot to include support for Qualcomm's high-resolution aptX and aptX HD Bluetooth codecs.

Realme has launched a new pair of affordable TWS earbuds in India. The Realme Buds Q has a 10mm driver, offers up to 20 hours of playback with the charging case, is rated IPX4 for dust and water resistance, and comes with a 119ms low-latency gaming mode. It will be available for sale on July 1st on Amazon and Realme's official website for INR 1,999 ($27).

Amazfit claims that its ZenBuds are capable of enhancing sleep or relaxation due to their noise-cancelling, health-tracking and other properties. The brand has finally announced details on how this version of the truly wireless (TWS) earbud will be premiered: as a reward on its upcoming crowdfunding campaign.

The FCC has confirmed multiple aspects of the Sony WH-1000XM4 ahead of its expected release this week. Sony, which is replacing its popular WH-1000XM3 headphones after almost two years, has dropped support for the Qualcomm aptX and aptX HD codecs. The WH-1000XM4 is expected to retail for US$349.99.

General Manager of Poco India, C Manmohan, has shared some information on the company's short-term plans for the Indian market. The Poco F2 Pro doesn't appear to be on the cards for an Indian launch, but the launch of the Poco M2 Pro is imminent. Also, the company's upcoming Poco Pop Buds TWS earbuds seem to be nothing new.

Samsung announced the Galaxy S20+ BTS Edition a few days ago, and it went on pre-order yesterday, with the purple Buds+ BTS Edition as a bonus. To absolutely no one's surprise, the phone has proven to be a masterstroke by Samsung, as it sold out within an hour.

Qualcomm has unveiled the RB5 platform, aimed at the consumer- and enterprise-grade robotic devices of the future. To this end, it is based on the QRB5165 processor, which can handle the imaging sensors, digital signals, machine learning and AI capabilities expected of these machines. It also supports up-to-date connectivity, 5G included.

Anker's latest dock allows the user to connect external monitors via both Thunderbolt 3 and HDMI ports at 60 hertz (Hz). It also has a range of other I/O besides, an SD card reader and a 3.5mm AUX port included. One of its type C ports also allows pass-through charging at up to 85 watts (W).

Samsung has announced BTS Editions of the Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy Buds+. The former will be available in 5G and LTE variants, while all devices will come with BTS photocards. The Galaxy Buds+ are available to pre-order now, with the Galaxy S20+ BTS Editions joining the earbuds on June 19.

The Sony WH-1000XM4 will have an IR sensor for pausing and resuming playback, The Walkman Blog has confirmed. Due to be released on June 23, Sony's new premium over-ear headphones will feature a MediaTek Bluetooth chip too, eliminating the possibility that the WH-1000XM series would continue to support Qualcomm's aptX and aptX HD codecs.

A user over on the XDA forums spotted a mention of the TWS OnePlus Buds in code for the Android 11 Settings APK, lending credence to rumors that OnePlus will soon be releasing its own pair of TWS earphones.

The Lamborghini Edition of the OPPO Find X2 Pro is a version of this phone with an appropriately car marque-themed finish and accessories. It has been released onto the German market via this country's Amazon site. It is in apparently extremely limited supply, but is available to order now.

The S900 is MediaTek's newest SoC that is custom-designed for smart TVs. It is powered by ARM's Cortex A-73 cores, and is compatible with the HDMI 2.1A standard, allowing it to deliver 8K videos at 60 fps and 4K content at 120 fps. The chip also uses machine learning to improve picture quality in real-time.

A Sony Authorized Dealer has confirmed that the WH-1000XM4 will retail for US$349.99, whenever Sony gets around to announcing its next-generation headphones. The WH-1000XM4 will be sold in black and silver too, just like the WH-1000XM3.

Danish high-end audio maker Bang & Olufsen has announced a partnership with Microsoft for the launch of the Xbox Series X console. Although not yet specifying exactly what it will produce as a result of the new deal, the company promises a ‘new audio proposition catered for the high-end segment within gaming”.

Aipower may be best known for its innovative Wearbuds product. However, it has also released a pair of standalone TWS earbuds with premium features such as active noise cancellation (ANC). The brand has put these T18NCs up for a flash sale, which ends on June 8, 2020.

With the NanoSound One, you can transform the Raspberry Pi into a versatile audio system with an integrated Hi-Fi DAC. The NanoSound One supports multiroom, Spotify and Tidal among other music streaming services.

House of Marley wants to help consumers celebrate Father's Day with a 30% sale off everything in its US online store. They include the brand's Exodus active noise-cancelling (ANC) headphones. This discount is in effect from today (June 5) until June 13, 2020.

Walmart has confirmed several specifications and the pricing of the Sony WH-1000XM4. Priced at US$348 on Walmart, the over-ear headphones are likely to cost US$349 at other retailers. LDAC returns, but there is no mention of aptX or aptX HD support. Walmart has confirmed that Sony will be bringing DSEE Extreme, Precise Voice Pickup and Multipoint connection technologies to the WH-1000XM4 too.

Tipster @evleaks unveiled leaked renders for Samsung's Galaxy Buds+ BTS edition. The purple TWS earphones are, alongside the Samsung Galaxy S20 BTS edition, targeted squarely at fans of the Korean K-pop group.

Vivo has unveiled its latest wireless audio product for the Chinese market. The Vivo TWS Neo supports Qualcomm's aptX Adaptive codec, Bluetooth 5.2, and even has a low-latency mode for gaming. The earphones retail at CNY 499($70) and are available for purchase on Vivo's official website. There is no word about its international release.

Mobvoi is a wearable and smart-thing OEM that makes the WearOS-powered TicWatch series. It has announced that customers who order from its own web-store using PayPal will get a 10% discount. This, for example, would bring the price of its latest Pro 2020 model down by nearly US$26.

A new market research report states that the gaming headset sector broke records in terms of US retail sales in April 2020. This study also found that 8 of the 10 best-selling devices in this category were from the brand Turtle Beach. Of these, its Stealth 600 has accrued the most revenue in 2020 so far.

Sony has launched a lightweight, compact camera with a 20.1MP 1.0-type Exmor RS CMOS sensor. However, it is not a new RX: the new ZV-1 was designed with content creators in mind. It has a side-mounted LCD touchscreen, as well as the OEM's latest directional mic that is compatible with its own wind-screen.

HP's new PC G6 is an all-in-one (AiO) so directed at interprofessional use-cases it even has a relevant term in its official product name. It is also accordingly equipped with Rooms, a feature of the Zoom service intended to remove the need to configure it to the AV system in question prior to starting a first meeting.

Redmi has launched a new pair of TWS earphones in India called the Redmi Earbuds S. It boasts of up to four hours of continuous playback on a single charge, splash resistance, and a 122ms low-latency mode for gaming. It is available on Xiaomi's website for Rs 1,799 (~$24.)

Creative has introduced the limited edition Sound BlasterX AE-5 Pure Plus Edition in a white variant with additional RGB lighting. The Sound BlasterX AE-5 Pure Plus Edition also supports Dolby Digital and DTS encoding and uses the Sound Core3D DSP and the ESS Sabre 32 Ultra DAC for 32-bit 384 kHz playback and 122 dB SNR.

The tipster Max J. claims that OnePlus is closer than ever to releasing its first pair of truly wireless (TWS) earbuds. He also asserts that they will be launched in about 2 months from today (May 24, 2020). However, those hoping for even a slight deviation from the norm in this device category may be disappointed in this leak.

OPPO has been busy teasing some new upcoming products on social media, including the OPPO Smart Band wearable and OPPO Enco W51 wireless earbuds. Specific details about the two products are currently scarce, but it is believed OPPO will launch the Smart Band and Enco W51 earbuds in June.

New market research has found that nearly 70% of all US households with broadband internet own and use at least 1 device along the lines of a smart TV, streaming box, connected DVR or console. This appears to underpin the strong role that online video has taken in home entertainment. It also suggests that OEMs in this space may be gravitating towards open-source software.

TCL is becoming increasingly well-known for its mostly affordable high-res TVs. However, it also does soundbars, the newest of which has won an award for its unique "RAYDANZ" design. The OEM claims that it allows the device to project sound effectively in the desirable directions.

According to a new document reportedly filed with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), Sony has invented a phone that has pop-up modules at both its top and bottom edges. These additional parts span the short edges of the main device, and largely function to hide front-firing speakers when not in use.

Dell has integrated a new form of potentially workflow-aiding AI into some of its new PCs. Known as the "Optimizer", it confers features such as Express Sign-In, Intelligent Audio and Express Response. They allow for next-gen behaviors such as an auto-lock as soon as the user walks away.

Redmi India has been teasing a wireless personal audio product that will soon be launching on the Indian market. Fans of the brand have been guessing what the device could be, with Redmi AirDots S TWS earbuds and the Redmi Soundbar 2.0 leading the charge as popular choices. Xiaomi recently released the Redmi AirDots S TWS in China for 99 yuan (US$14).

1More has introduced its new Dual Driver ANC Pro Wireless In-Ear Headphones. This new product is not truly wireless, but does improve on its predecessor through the addition of Bluetooth 5.0 and a Wind Noise Resistance mode on top of its active noise cancellation (ANC) spec. The buds are also rated for twice the battery life of their previous generation.

Realme has let it be known that it is to launch up to 8 new devices or accessories on May 25, 2020. Therefore, speculation is now rife that this event may debut the rumored X3 series. One of them is also now thought to be a gaming phone code-named "Blade Runner".

Sony has launched the HT-G700, a new partially-wireless 400 watt (W) soundbar system rated for up to 7.1.2-channel audio reproduction and effective room coverage. It supports standards such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X while using its HDMI eARC, and also incorporates a standalone sub-woofer for bass.

Sony has announced new additions to its SRS-XB line of wireless speakers. Their generation features programmable lighting strips in their IP67 housing and are engineered for "deep, punchy bass" and a 3D surround effect. There are 3 models in this line-up that are available to pre-order from today.