Audio - Page 10

Xiaomi has launched two new devices, the Mi X5 and the Mi AI Speaker.

Xiaomi's AI speaker includes a six-microphone array for echo cancellation and voice control and is designed to be the hub for all of Xiaomi's smart home products. The speaker works like Amazon Echo, meaning you can ask it questions, play music, or set reminders.

Using a companion app, you will be able to install add-ons to bring additional features to Mi AI over time.

Logitech has just announced it is buying gaming headset maker Astro in a deal worth $85 million, with the two making it official next month.

Ujesh Desai, VP and GM of Logitech G brand said that Astro's console-oriented gaming headsets will be a "perfect compliment to Logitech G's focus on PC gaming". Logitech has released a press release talking about the Astro acquisition, where they said: "With the addition of Astro, we're investing in an adjacent gaming market - the console gaming market - to help accelerate the long-term growth of our gaming business. In FY 2018, we expect the acquisition of Astro to add approximately two points of growth to the to p line, and to be slightly dilutive to the bottom line in the first year, as we integrate the business and invest to expand Astro internationally".

Astro co-founder and president Jordan Reiss has talked about the acquisition of his company by Logitech, where he said: "The whole team at Astro has always held Logitech and Logitech G products in the highest regard, so I'm ecstatic we are joining forces. Astro's brand strength combined with Logitech G's unrivaled technology and global distribution network is going to bring our products to even more gamers around the world".

Netflix has embraced Dolby's next-generation Atmos sound technology in a bid to create a true theater-like cinematic experience for living rooms across the globe.

Streaming titan Netflix today announced that it will be integrating Dolby Atmos sound quality into key titles across its library of content. Dolby Atmos support debuted today with the release of Okja, and the company aims to match the impressive visuals of 4K HDR with high-end sound quality.

"I'm excited for Netflix members all over the world to be able to get a theater-quality experience in the comfort of their own homes while watching Okja and the other excellent titles to come," Netflix Chief Product Officer Greg Peters said. "Over time, we plan to add support to more devices, making the experience more accessible to Netflix members everywhere."

The world went a little crazy when Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 smartphone was exploding last year over faulty batteries, and now its main competitor is experiencing similar exploding products.

Beats, which is owned by Apple, has been in the news with an Australian woman waking up on a flight between Adelaide, South Australia and Hong Kong by the sound of an explosion, and a burning sensation on her face. Adelaide Now reports: "The woman, whose face, hands and hair were burned, had sought to be reimbursed to replace her headphones and several items of ruined clothing".

The report continued: "She says she bought the headphones duty-free in 2014 and the AAA batteries in Australia. She says she was extremely disappointed with Apple's decision". The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, said: "The headphones don't work without batteries, yet nowhere on the headphones - or their packaging - did it specify which brand of batteries should be used".

Today HyperX announced that it has smashed the 2 million headsets shipped milestone.

HyperX audio headsets are a popular choice for gamers on a budget, with their HyperX Cloud II Pro headsets providing amazing audio for a fraction of the price of its competitors. The company's latest Cloud Stinger headset just won the iF Design Award for its quality build and audio performance in an attractive price ratio.

Due to this popularity the Kingston audio division reveals its shipped more than two million headsets in the last three years. "Since the original Cloud launched in 2014, HyperX has shipped over two million headsets around the world within three years," HyperX revealed in the latest Cloud Stinger press release.

The rumors about the Samsung Galaxy S8 have been floating around for a while now with the biggest one being that the Korean giant might remove the headphone jack. However, it is very unlikely that those rumors were true. The latest photos show a headphone jack, and it seems that the company decided to stick with it.

We previously reported that Samsung might also launch a new and improved wireless headset with their next flagship, better than their current earbuds.

The latest reports confirm this rumor. According to SamMobile, the company will launch the new Samsung Level In ANC wireless headphones with Active Noise Cancelling feature alongside the Galaxy S8.

LG is moving forward with its entertainment products, with a tease of its new MusicFlow wireless speakers that will have built-in Google Home and Google Multiroom support - not only that, but they will also have "Chromecast built-in" - perfect.

Better yet, LG will make their older line up improved with an over-the-air update, baking in the Google goodness through the OTA update to previous-gen MusicFlow speakers. LG added it has worked closely with Google for the Multiroom configuration, so they added Home support at the same time.

LG wrote in a forum post: "We have prepared Google Multiroom functionality. During preparing for that, we also discuss with Google team about Link with Google Home device function. And, we decide to update two major functionalities, 'Google Multiroom' and 'Link with Google Home device' at the same time".

CES 2017 - Considering smartphone-makers are borrowing Apple's "bravery" by nixing headphone jacks on new smartphone models, companies are starting to look into wireless earbuds. Now Sony has taken a move from Apple's playbook with its own wireless earbuds.

Instead of "bravery" or modern technological advancements, Apple's wireless AirPods conjure up other mental images--ridiculous cash-grab, to name one--but now that upcoming phones will start shipping without 3.5mm headphone jacks, the easy-to-lose audio buds are a trendsetter. Sony is next in this new forefront with its own wireless earbuds.

Sony's wireless buds come with a case that juices them up with on-the-go recharging, and are much more stylish than the Airpods, which look like two Oral B toothbrush heads. Sony's proprietary take on Apple's Airpods are just in their prototype stages, and don't have a release date or price just yet, but we should see more info drop later this year.

CES 2017 - Tesoro today announced that its new Tuned In-Ear Pro headphones will join the company's fleet of gaming hardware and peripherals.

Tesoro's latest In-Ear Pro headphones are made to combine portability with performance, offering 9.2mm dynamic drivers for impressive sound capabilities across iOS, Android, and PC devices. A steel frame ensures the headphones are protected, and the outer edges are magnetic for easy storage. A tangle-free cord ensures you don't spend time fighting knots while on-the-go, and the 3.5mm headphone jack plugs into most devices on the market.

The headphones will be available for $34.99, but no release info was announced. Check below for a breakdown of available features and full specifications.

The rumors about the Samsung Galaxy S8 have been floating around for a while now with the biggest one being that the Korean giant might remove the headphone jack.

Whether or not this rumor is true, there are now new reports saying that Samsung will launch a new and improved wireless headset with their next flagship, better than their current earbuds. According to SamMobile, Samsung will launch wireless earbuds with the Galaxy S8.

It is not certain at this point if the wireless earbuds will come with the Galaxy S8 or if Samsung plans to sell them separately. However, if the rumors are true, it seems that Samsung plans to compete with Apple's AirPods and may or may not be connected together.

LG will be teasing something really quite futuristic during CES 2017 next week, with an easily-named "Levitating Portable Speaker"... which is exactly what it sounds like - a levitating speaker.

The upcoming Levitating Portable Speaker is an egg-shaped Bluetooth unit that has a round base, something LG calls the Levitation Station. The aptly-named Levitation Station (seriously, give that person a raise) includes electromagnets that provide the floating effect, as well as a subwoofer for bass. LG touts 360-degree sound with a 10-hour battery life, and it's also rated IPX7 for water resistance.

The coolest thing out of it all is that the speaker will automatically descend into the base when it needs to recharge, and I will buy one as soon as I can to test that out. Awesome stuff, LG.

Apple's AirPods, the wireless ear buds that are somewhat of a replacement for the lack of a headphone jack on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, are finally available for sale and shipping, the company announced.

The AirPods are available to order online and will be arriving at Apple stores next week.

The company had some unspecified problems with the AirPods, and they missed their initial deadline of October. Back then, Apple said that AirPods aren't ready for customers without further explanation.

Apple's AirPods, which were scheduled to go on sale late October (that ship has sailed), were first postponed because according to Apple's spokesperson "they need a little more time before the AirPods are ready for customers."

Although a new date hasn't been given, users expected the delay wouldn't be a longer than a month, or at least the wireless ear buds that are somewhat of a replacement for the lack of headphone jack on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus would be ready before Christmas.

However, according to MacRumors, that might not happen. They report is that Apple is aiming towards January 2017 for the AirPods launch.

Apple's AirPods, wireless ear buds that are somewhat of a replacement for the lack of headphone jack on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, were supposed to go on sale late October, which is this week. However, that's not happening.

The company says they aren't ready for the customers and won't go on sale just yet.

A spokesperson confirmed this to iMore.

Smartphones, including the iPhone, almost entirely replaced the MP3 players, but Apple's iPod earned its place in history because it forever changed the world of music.

Steve Jobs introduced the iPod at a very humble presentation on this day, October 23rd, 15 years ago. The iPod, which had 5GB of storage and allowed you to carry a thousand songs in your pocket, along with iTunes, started a revolution in the way we buy music and movies.

The first iPod was the size of a deck of cards, with an aluminum back and plastic front end. It had a rather modest screen compared to today's standards, and its price was $399 for a 5GB model, FireWire port included.

Amazon's second-generation version of the Echo Dot is out now and features a much lower $49.99 price point (versus the previous $89.99), despite the product selling out recently.

A puck-like device, it adds the Alexa voice assistance to any speakers you have around the home, allowing you to control your media with just the sound of your voice.

The new version features a redesigned voice processor, and spatial perception tech that detects multiple uses of the Dot, so that if you like, you can have different Dots for different devices, and control them all independently, with no extra effort on your part. The technology is also being rolled out for first generation devices.

All of the attention at the PlayStation Meeting today was for the new and improved PS4 Pro console from Sony, which rocks 4K capabilities, faster internals, but it lacks a 4K Blu-ray player which has Microsoft trolling Sony on Twitter.

Sony also announced a new Platinum Wireless Headset for the PS4, with Sony teasing it as a "high-end gaming headset" which is made from a "premium construction and materials for extra comfort". The new Platinum Wireless Headset has positional 7.1 virtual surround sound which is powered by SIE's proprietary 3D audio technology.

There will be certain PS4 games that support 3D audio that will work on the Platinum Wireless Headset, throwing surround sound at your ears from all directions. The new headset also features multi-position, hidden noise-cancelling microphones for super-clear voice communications, and it's also compatible with the PlayStation VR headset, and mobile devices with its included 3.5mm cable.

Apple is expected to have its new iPhone 7 smartphone with a single Lightning connector on it, with the 3.5mm audio jack being removed, and now it's beginning to make much more sense, thanks to the rumors from KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo.

Kuo is reporting that the new iPhone 7 will not only see the headphone jack missing, but it'll include EarPods that will use the Lightning connector. But the goss gets better, with Apple reportedly working on its own wireless technology that will work on a higher-end set of headphones. Kuo said: "We believe Apple will position Beats in the midrange market once it launches Apple's own-brand Bluetooth headphones, in order to maximize profit with a dual-brand strategy".

The report from Kuo continues: "We also believe Apple will have its own-designed Bluetooth-like communication chip, given its higher requirements for power-saving, communication specs, and potential rapid growth of Bluetooth headphone shipments". The wireless headphones might be called AirPods, meaning that the EarPods could be the new Lightning-powered wireless earphones, while an actual pair of over-the-ear headphones could be unveiled by Apple.

I'll be honest. With a flurry of meetings to attend during E3 and free time nonexistent, I wasn't initially excited about seeing Astro's updated A50 wireless headphones. Don't misunderstand me, I'm a fan. I've used the crap out of my 1st generation pair for gaming, Rock Band, and VR sessions. But when I hear "updated," I envision a few new bullet points to put on the retail box for marketing purposes, just barely justifying a new version. This is thankfully not the case with the new Astro A50s.

I went hands-on and ears-on with an Astro engineer during E3, and walked away super impressed. My only criticism? Astro probably should have stamped these with a brand new model number because they're a substantial improvement over not just the originals, but even the most recent iterations.

The staples are still here: Dolby 7.1, superior sound, 5GHz wireless, and compatibility with PC, PS4, and Xbox One. And they're still one of the most comfortable gaming headsets I've ever put on my head.

Bose's celebrated QuietComfort headphones are going wireless. Like its predecessor, the new QuietComfort 35s feature patented noise-canceling technology.

Also included: custom Bluetooth said to offer a strong and consistent connection wherever you are, mics inside and outside the cups that respond to unwanted noise and filter it out practically immediately, a new EQ said to "balance sound at every volume, for any genre", and handy buttons for power, volume, play/pause, and answer/end calls on the right cup.

As for battery life, you get up to 20 hours from a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.