From streaming music and audiobooks to live audio rooms and podcasts, every major player in tech is trying to own a chunk of the listening experience. Spotify is expanding beyond music streaming, YouTube is becoming an audio-only destination, and Apple Music is hoping to stand out with spatial audio while Tidal, Pandora, SoundCloud, and so many more scramble to set themselves apart.
Spend a few minutes watching this video from Caleb Denison at Digital Trends. Many of us (myself included) will never own a $7,000 pair of audiophile loudspeakers, but this is about something much more relatable than that. It’s a touching look at the bond created by a shared passion. In this case, that’s audio gear — but you can apply it to just about anything.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy Watch 7, Galaxy Ring, and Galaxy Buds 3 revealed at Samsung’s Unpacked event went on sale globally today, though some regions / carriers may vary.
The exception is the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, which are delayed (until August 28th in the US) due to quality issues with the removable ear tips.
They won’t even be announced until next week, but this Redditor says they walked into a US Walmart, paid $250, and walked out with the Apple look-a-likes.
Verdict: the controls are the same as the AirPods Pro, but the new Galaxy Buds are more comfortable with better sound and ANC than the first gen Pros. We’ll see after they become official on July 10th.
Embracing sustainability with a design made from a single block of milled aluminum, Nocs Labs’ $1,289 Monolith x Aluminum is an 8.8 pound wireless speaker featuring Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and support for Spotify and Tidal. Its five drivers include a pair of four-inch woofers all powered by a 15 hour rechargeable battery, and up to eight of the speakers can be paired for synced playback.
Apple’s new Beats Pill has already leaked and said to include up to 24 hours of battery life, better bass, water and dust resistance, faster and more reliable device pairing / switching, and integrated Find My tracking on both Apple and Google’s networks.
Here’s our first listen of the Beats Solo Buds.
That’s according to Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark, after making the world’s first phone call that utilized a codec for Immersive Voice and Audio Services (IVAS) from the upcoming 5G Advanced standard to improve call quality with three-dimensional sound.
Nokia says the technology is “now becoming standardized” and that most phones with at least two microphones are capable of supporting it, but widespread availability may take a few years.
Sounds like it’s mostly knockoff Apple Earpods. Wired explains:
What’s going on is this: The plug on the buds using this workaround goes into the Lightning slot, which then doubles as a Bluetooth receiver that receives power from the port but routes its signal through the phone’s Bluetooth. That means your wired connection is actually wireless.
If you can, play Hellblade II with headphones to fully experience the depth of the game’s unique storytelling.
