Few would dispute that Sony’s flagship wireless WH-1000XM4 active noise-canceling (ANC) headphones have been among the best on the market since they came out in August 2020. But Sony has improved upon them, offering its fifth-generation WH-1000XM5 headphones on Thursday.
The redesigned cans flaunt several impressive improvements over the previous model, making the XM5s an even worthier competitor to AirPods Max and other premium headphones.
Sennheiser first put out its top-tier Momentum True Wireless earbuds in 2018 to rave reviews about sound quality. Next came a 2020 update and now, with a new release, we see a substantial redesign with the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds.
They offer substantial upgrades at a lower-than-expected price, compared to the starting price of their predecessors.
The German maker released the new flagship buds along with its new Sport True Wireless earbuds for athletic types who want to filter out the sound of their own huffing and puffing.
Sony’s WH-1000XM4 over-ear noise-cancelling wireless headphones are considered one of the best sets of cans in the business. Now a new leak shows what may be in store for the audio giant’s next version, the WH-1000XM5, in terms of a sleek new design and key specs.
Danish audio legend Bang & Olufsen has struck out in a new yet familiar direction with its latest true wireless earbuds, the Beoplay EX. It’s the company’s first set of earbuds with stems, which makes them look a lot like AirPods Pro.
As a premium offering, Beoplay EX boasts all of the expected features, like active noise cancellation (ANC). The buds also claim top-notch sound and demand a high price for it — $399, considerably more than AirPods Pro and other major contenders.
A while back, German audio powerhouse Sennheiser began teasing the April release of its new, top-tier Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds. But then retailer Lufthansa WorldShop went ahead and (briefly) posted a detailed listing for the new buds ahead of Sennheiser’s official, and yet to come, release.
So now we know a bunch of the new buds’ specs as well as pricing details.
One of the impressive features of the growing number of moderately priced, high-quality earbuds on the market is just how long playback lasts between charges. That’s in part because the case where you store them also charges them. But Audio-Technica just rolled out a new set of earbuds that really moves the needle on battery life.
The company’s new ATH-CKS50TW Solid Bass Truly Wireless Earbuds claim up to 20 hours of continuous playback on a single charge, or 50 hours counting the case’s charge. All that, plus the new buds feature low latency and active noise-cancellation (ANC).
Nothing, the audio brand from OnePlus founder Carl Pei, just updated its Ear 1 true wireless earbuds to include Siri voice support. That makes the inexpensive earbuds a little more competitive with competitors like AirPods and AirPods Pro. After all, the Ear 1 buds already have a lot of premium features.
Building on other versions of ANC earbuds released in 2021, Belkin rolled out its new SoundForm Immerse Noise Cancelling Earbuds in Las Vegas this week — and they promptly became a CES Innovation Award 2022 Honoree.
The new buds challenge aging champ AirPods Pro, due for a revamp, not only with hybrid active noise cancellation (ANC) with Hear-Thru mode, but they work with Apple’s vast Find My network. And they flaunt a number of premium features.
Belkin introduced other products at CES, too, of course.
I think it was a Kickstarter campaign that first drew my attention to the Yobybo X-Boat Pro noise-cancelling earbuds, “the first open-casing true wireless stereo headphones with LDAC,” the company said, referring to Sony’s hi-res codec. Well, while the sleek “open” case is super-cool and the buds’ sound is vibrant, some earbuds just aren’t for everyone.
Is it just your imagination, or are there billions of affordable earbuds boasting great sound quality on the market now? Well, maybe not billions, but many. And now Chinese audio brand Tronsmart adds its new Onyx Prime True Wireless Earbuds to the mix for $69.99.
Nothing released its first Ear 1 earbuds in late summer 2021 with a partially transparent design, a cool transparent case, good sound quality, active noise cancellation (ANC) and wireless charging. Now the company’s rolling out the new Ear 1 “Black Edition,” which retains the interesting design and tech elements in a cool new look.
And Nothing, created by OnePlus founder Carl Pei, added the product is now carbon neutral and you can buy the product — still $99 — with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. So there’s that.
Beats released a new version of its Beats Studio Buds on Tuesday in a joint effort with the trendy mens fashion store Union. The limited-edition wireless earbuds commemorate Union’s 30th anniversary. You can snap them up at the store’s Los Angeles and Tokyo locations and, as of Wednesday, online.
In my recent review of Earfun’s Air Pro 2 wireless active noise cancellation (ANC) earbuds, I said they packed good enough features — sound quality, active noise cancellation, comfortable fit — to be worth their affordable price tag. With the new EarFun Free Pro 2 wireless ANC earbuds, that’s even more the case. Especially because the same high quality comes in an even smaller package.
With the new Jabra Elite 7 Pro earbuds, I seem to have found near-ideal audio with active noise cancellation (ANC) for both music and phone calls. The compact earbuds offer surprisingly expansive sound and are incredibly comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
Soundcore by Anker rolled out the new version of its top earbuds, the Liberty 2 Pro set. The new Liberty 3 Pro Earbuds are 30% smaller and, like their predecessors, have no stem. But they feature a more powerful driver, personalized active noise cancellation (ANC) and a more comfortable fit, the company said.
Audio engineer Axel Grell designed Sennheiser’s much-admired HD580 and HD800 headphones. Then he left the company in 2019 to start Grell Audio. And now he offers a pair of premium, true wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation (ANC) called Grell TWS-1 for the not-too-lofty price of $199.99.
Like many true wireless earbuds manufacturers, Sennheiser offers active noise cancellation (ANC) — but until now it hadn’t done so in its affordable CX line. The new Sennheiser CX Plus True Wireless earbuds come in at a price of $179.95.
Razer first introduced its gaming-centric Hammerhead True Wireless earbuds in 2019. The new version, released yesterday, includes active noise cancellation (ANC), the company’s signature Chroma RGB Lighting and a few other enhancements.
OnePlus is rolling out another Apple-esque product at a lower price point — a new set of Buds Pro that improve on its original Buds with active noise cancellation (ANC) and some upgraded audio features. They look a lot like Airpods Pro, actually, except with silver stems rather than white ones.
Last week Anker added the new Life P3 active-noise-cancelling (ANC) wireless earbuds to its Soundcore lineup — in an array of bright colors for an affordable price.
Seems like a lot of companies are upping their ANC, true-wireless earbud game.
Beijing-based Edifier built a reputation for producing high-quality speakers and headphones. Now, with the upcoming release of its Neobuds Pro hi-res, wireless, noise-canceling earbuds, it looks hungry to capture market share from top contenders like Apple’s AirPods Pro and Sony’s new WF-100XM4.
You don’t need to dig into the Settings app every time you want to change the noise canceling settings of your AirPods Pro. There are two other ways to toggle setting which are much, much faster. Let’s check them out.
Huawei’s newest AirPods clones have beaten Apple to active noise cancellation (ANC).
The new feature is rumored to be on its way to next-generation AirPods in 2020. But if you can’t wait, the latest FreeBuds have you covered — and they beat AirPods in other areas, too.
