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.
Borrowing the design of Bose’s open-style earbuds, the JVC Nearphones attach to the side of your ear and position a 10mm driver inside so you can hear your music plus everything else around you. They’re smaller and lighter than the $299 Bose Ultra Open, and at $99.95 they’re a more affordable solution if you find regular earbuds uncomfortable.
DJI will potentially reveal its Mic Mini during a “Carry Less, Capture More” event teased on its website for November 26th. But leaker @Quadro_News has shared unboxing and hands on videos comparing the new DJI Mic Mini hardware to the DJI Mic 2 so you can see how much smaller the microphone transmitters, wireless receiver, and charging case really are.
The company recently partnered with Kith for its Ultra Open Earbuds, but this time Ronnie Fieg is helping to redesign Bose’s 901 speakers which originally debuted in 1968, but were discontinued in 2016.
We don’t know pricing or availability details, but Fieg, who’s working with furniture designer Mark Jupiter, shared images on Instagram of the limited edition and wonderfully retro redesign.
Reliable leaker @JasperEllens has shared more images and details of DJI’s next compact wireless mic system. The DJI Mic Mini on its own, which connects directly to devices over Bluetooth, will start at €59 (around $63) but will also be available with a wireless receiver for €89 (around $94). A bundle featuring two mics, the receiver, and a charging case will be €169 (around $178).
0The hardware is chunky and the software is clunky, but this is the best portable audio player I’ve ever heard.
The images shared by @Quadro_News and @JasperEllens seem to indicate DJI could soon be announcing a follow-up to its wireless Mic 2 system that debuted earlier this year. Details on functionality and pricing aren’t known yet, but the clip-on DJI Mic Mini will potentially be smaller, lighter, and more discreet than its predecessor, and available in black or white.
After expanding from smartphone cases to wireless earbuds, Speck has introduced its Gemtones Infinity Speaker featuring Bluetooth 5.3, RGB LED lighting enhanced with an infinite mirror effect, and the ability to sync and pair up to 50 of them.
It’s available in three sizes with 10W, 20W, and 25W of power and ranges in price from $79.99 for the seven-inch Mini to $129.99 for the 11-inch Max.
B&W’s iconic Zeppelin iPod speaker has evolved over the years, culminating in today’s new £699 / $799 Zeppelin Pro Edition. It now comes in gold and gray finishes, a more colorful downlight to set the mood, and new tweeters paired with midrange drivers and a subwoofer that are said to improve the overall sound. It can be used in a multi-room setup and supports AirPlay2, Bluetooth aptX Adaptive, and Spotify Connect.
At $449, this all-in-one Google TV projector is a good choice if portability is important and you already own a battery with USB-C PD 3.0 output. The speaker is good enough, and the auto-positioned 1080p image looks best at night but remains watchable during the day. A $499 bundle incudes a wobbly PowerBase Stand for about two hours of playback. Mine toppled over onto concrete but the projector survived!
The new “Series” category should make it easier to filter narrative-driven shows (which are like audiobooks, but broken down into episodes) from other styles of podcasts.
Apple Podcasts is also launching a “Top Series” chart to track the most popular offerings, and a “Series Essentials” spotlight to showcase a series every month that defines the category — starting with Tristan Redman’s Ghost Story.
[Apple Newsroom]
Elago has updated its AW5 Hang Case so that the silicone Game Boy homage is now compatible with the Apple AirPods 4 featuring active noise cancellation. The $18.99 case doesn’t play any retro games, but it will help protect the AirPods 4’s charging case from scuffs and damage if dropped, while still allowing features like wireless charging and Find My to continue to work.
For audiophile’s wanting both higher quality audio and the convenience of wireless headphones, FiiO’s $44 BT11 dongle adds Bluetooth 5.4 support to phones like the iPhone 16, plus codecs like aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, and aptX Lossless.
You’ll also need a subscription to a high-res music streaming service, and headphones that support those HD codecs, to actually take advantage of it.
The second-gen AirPods Pro with USB-C introduced last September are now available in Apple’s Certified Refurbished online store for $209 — $40 cheaper than a brand new pair.
But they’re also available new from Amazon and Best Buy for $189.99, and have sold for cheaper.
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