Headphones were the original piece of wearable technology and they remain as essential today as ever. But they are starting to change rapidly now, as things like noise cancelling and Bluetooth wireless technology enable the dream of completely cable-free living. What will the best headphones of the future look like?
Seen in leaks last month, the Buds On are Samsung’s first foray into open earbuds, joining the likes of Sony and Bose. They’re powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S7 Gen 1 chip, and have 9.5 hours of battery per charge. South Korea gets them first, on October 27th for ₩299,000 (about $220), with more markets to follow.
The Zone Vibe Pro wireless headphones cost $259.99 and come in several colors (black, white, blue, pink), and have a very plain design that some may like. They’re meant to be a stylish alternative to IT-supplied work headsets, and they feature mics that can suppress noises from an open office environment.
I tested them out, and the sound quality and active noise cancellation were better than expected, but still not on par with my trusty Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones. To me, their most impressive feature is that they support replaceable straps, pads, and batteries.
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After a recent software update, the custom EQ option is now available on a handful of supported AirPods, 9to5Mac reports. You can find it in the Settings app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac — on my MacBook Air the new Equalizer feature was under Audio & Routing in my AirPods Pro 3 settings.
As confirmed by Beats product manager Jeff Bruksch, the new Beats 360 headphones use a true wireless architecture with each earcup containing its own battery, antenna, and processing components. It allows Beats to “significantly reduce the cabling between the two sides,” according to Bruksch.
Because we don’t have the traditional system including a charging case, we have a cable for power supply and power management between the left and right sides so that you don’t have to charge both sides and the left and right sides power on/off together.
Having a cable for power management only explains the lack of audio support through the USB-C.
First announced during the Fairphone 6 Plus launch last month we finally have more pics of the Fairbuds 2 that will launch later this year thanks to leaks shared by NieuweMobiel. Pricing and the level of repairability still isn’t known, but the redesigned Fairbuds 2 appear to have a stubby stem and a larger charging case.
Supposedly galled the Galaxy Buds On, SammyGuru found an image of the earbuds in the Samsung Buds Manager app. Other images hint at features including automatic volume adjustment, voice memo recording, and head shaking and nodding gesture controls. Clip-ons are the new industry trend, with Bose, Sony, and Nothing already on board.
We called Nothing’s first pair of over-the-ear headphones “head-turning,” thanks to an aesthetic that reminds you that Bluetooth headphones are computers these days. Now, Nothing is reportedly preparing to launch a new pro model, according to Dealabs. The new headphones are rumored to include a new triple driver architecture, 10-microphone adaptive ANC, and up to 60 hours of battery life. Dealabs claims the Nothing Headphone 1 Pro will launch on September 29th, priced at $399.
We’re ready for the long-rumored foldable iPhone, along with any new Apple Watches, AirPods, and other surprises.
In addition to improved AI capabilities that are better at understanding and translating longer multilingual conversations, Timekettle’s new $379 W4 Plus earbuds can translate videos from YouTube, Netflix, and other platforms while you’re wearing just one of the buds. Last year’s W4 required you to wear both, with one playing the original audio while the other played the translation.
The $53 Open Sport 2’s semi-in-ear, open-ear design is sleeker than the $80 Open Sport, with a thinner capsule while keeping the ear hooks. They’re IP55 rated, have nearly twice the battery life as the Open Sport — JLab claims over 44 hours — and will be available later this year.
They’re closed-back cans with 45mm drivers and active noise cancellation. A separate upgrade package includes a low-latency USB-C dongle and detachable boom mic, which sounds like a nice option for gamers. The Aventho Y are $150 and come in black, blue, light green, and peach.
Following a teaser earlier this week, Nothing’s CMF sub-brand has revealed the Buds Neo wireless earbuds with 12.4mm drivers, active noise canceling, Bluetooth 6.0 support, and up to 11 hours of battery life on buds alone, 52 hours with their charging case, or up to 30 hours with ANC. They’re priced at 1,999 Indian rupees, or around $21.
AirPods with cameras showed up in a video found in a release candidate of the upcoming macOS Tahoe 26.7 update, but Bloomberg reports that the headphones aren’t in the cards for 2026.
Buds Neo, that is, which are being teased by Nothing’s budget-friendly CMF sub-brand, just two weeks after it launched the CMF Clip Pro open earbuds. It posted the below image on X yesterday as a “hint of what’s next.” A new video posted today also shows colorful Smart Dial charging case configurations, and a short message: “Buds Neo. 20 August.”
It’s not a brand-new set of earbuds, but in addition to a new olive color, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 will get a firmware update that can improve ANC based on how the buds sit in your ears. Expect the update to roll out sometime in September.
Snyder on the company’s move into luxury audio, licensing the Bose brand, and what happens to great sound in the AI era.
Sony’s quest to bring good cybersecurity practices to its headphone names continues with the rumored WH-1000XM4C.
Zack Simpson:
My biggest gripe with the WH-1000XM4 was that it didn’t have enough letters and numbers in its name. Big fan of this change!
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Leaker OnLeaks has shared renders of the second generation QuietComfort headphones, which appear to be launching in six colors with contrasting ear cups and more synthetic leather detailing. More worrying: I can’t spot a headphone jack anywhere on these, suggesting that wired audio might be limited to USB-C.
Right now, I can see two images and a video on CMF by Nothing’s X feed about its Clip Pro earbuds that include hard-to-see disclosures about the use of AI: “Contains AI-generated imagery. Any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental.” 9to5Google reports that some other images have been deleted as well.
Android Authority points to a report from Smartprix that says Nothing’s “repositioning itself as an AI-first company,” with a slate of upcoming devices that includes AI-enabled earbuds and a smart speaker from its CMF brand. Nothing’s also reportedly planning to launch a new smartwatch and second-generation Nothing headphones.
Company announces clever modular or replaceable hardware; company uses proprietary tech for the purpose; the hardware becomes obsolete when replacements dry up. Let’s hope Glorious’ hot-swappable headphone batteries don’t suffer the same fate.
bennyfactor:
if these batteries could be the exact same shape as either one of the skinnier sony infolithiums, or one of the long-running pager / dumbphone battery formats, so that there would be a definite aftermarket of batteries for it, it’d be perfect. My concern with something like this is if you don’t buy like 3 spare batteries at the same time you get the headphones, you won’t be able to find any for sale a few years later.
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