Sony, Bang & Olufsen combatting Apple AirPods with new wireless earbuds
Two new wireless Bluetooth earbuds arriving from Bang & Olufsen and Sony, with the pair trying to match Apple in functionality and popularity, if not in price.
Bang & Olufsen unveiled the Beoplay E8 wireless earbuds on Thursday. Each earpiece has a 5.7mm dynamic speaker, connect to a host device with Bluetooth 4.2, with touch controls on the surface that projects from the user's ear. Battery life is rated by the company at about four hours.
The Beoplay app allows for fine-tuning sound, and to apply sound profiles for different user activities or environments.
The Beoplay E8 comes with five ear tips, a charging cable, and a leather charging case. Retail price is $299, with replacement earbuds available for $129. Shipments are expected in October.
Sony's WF-1000X has 6mm dome drivers, and implements the company's "Adaptive Sound Control" that observe the user's actions and automatically switches the noise cancellation feature on or off. Battery life is rated for three hours, with the battery case providing two charges.
Sony WF-1000X in charging case
Sony's offering is closer in price to Apple's AirPods, coming in at $199. The headphone connect app will be available at some point in October.
Apple's AirPods shipped to the public in December 2016. The $159 AirPods have a five-hour listening time, with the included charging case boosting the total to over 24 hours of listening time
Bang & Olufsen unveiled the Beoplay E8 wireless earbuds on Thursday. Each earpiece has a 5.7mm dynamic speaker, connect to a host device with Bluetooth 4.2, with touch controls on the surface that projects from the user's ear. Battery life is rated by the company at about four hours.
The Beoplay app allows for fine-tuning sound, and to apply sound profiles for different user activities or environments.
The Beoplay E8 comes with five ear tips, a charging cable, and a leather charging case. Retail price is $299, with replacement earbuds available for $129. Shipments are expected in October.
Sony's WF-1000X has 6mm dome drivers, and implements the company's "Adaptive Sound Control" that observe the user's actions and automatically switches the noise cancellation feature on or off. Battery life is rated for three hours, with the battery case providing two charges.
Sony WF-1000X in charging case
Sony's offering is closer in price to Apple's AirPods, coming in at $199. The headphone connect app will be available at some point in October.
Apple's AirPods shipped to the public in December 2016. The $159 AirPods have a five-hour listening time, with the included charging case boosting the total to over 24 hours of listening time
Comments
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sony-electronics-introduces-the-lf-s50g-wireless-speaker-with-the-google-assistant-built-in-a-smarter-way-to-enjoy-music-300511957.html
I used to be a huge B&O fan (and still have a wonderful sound system of theirs that I bought in 1991 that's in perfect working condition -- although the technology is now quite dated) and have a B&O system in my car that delivers great sound. But it's clear that they don't have the design chops that they used to. It's really sad to see.
And Samsung's own support community is inundated with complaints over the lack of battery life - BUT, I just read that they have announced the new version which has par battery life with the AirPods - until the new AirPods come out...
I’m fairly certain you don’t actually have AirPods because if you did you’d know they don’t look like qtips at all. They’re quite streamlined and work very well in the gym (several other folks wear them in mine now)
ha ha ha.
https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-airpods-earbuds-or-hair-dryers-15-of-snarkiest-tweets/
People can complain about the two sticks or qtips or whatever they want to say derisively but they work and the double microphones with automatic selection works great for calls and siri.
I love mine and also thought they were a joke when I first saw them. However the wife had interest and when we went to the Apple Store to purchase them, we tried them on and instantly bought two pairs. There is a clear reason why Apple can't keep them in stock. They work well and sell themselves.