There are two ways to consider the conundrum that is the charging situation with the Apple AirPods 4, which won’t come with a charging cable.
On one hand, that’s bad — if you don’t already own a good USB-C cable. That’s actually a possibility. Yes, in 2024. There’s a very real chance that someone who has only owned an iPhone that has a Lightning port may purchase these earbuds. And there’s a very real possibility that said purchaser has only owned AirPods that also charged via Lightning. You can scoff at such a person all you want, but you’d be wrong to do so.
On the other hand, this is a very good thing. Because there’s a better-than-average chance that you — person who’s buying AirPods 4 — already have a USB-C cable on hand. It’s long been the standard on Android. It’s long been included with non-Apple earbuds and headphones. Hell, I spent more money than I should have to replace an otherwise perfectly good mouse when a new version was released with USB-C. The reversible connector isn’t perfect — the various options for charging and data speeds can be maddening when you grab something that doesn’t work the way you think it should. (And don’t get me started on Thunderbolt.)
There’s one other major caveat here. There actually are two flavors of AirPods 4. Apple’s playing more than a little bit of sleight-of-hand with the name. The $129 model doesn’t include active noise cancellation — and the case does not support wireless charging. You’re going to need a USB-C cable to charge these AirPods 4. If you want wireless charging and ANC, you’ll need to pony up the extra $50.
Personally, I think the convenience of wireless charging — and the inclusion of ANC — is worth the extra $50. (We’ll have to see how much of a difference there ends up being between the AirPods 4 with ANC and the AirPods Pro.) I only ever charge my AirPods Pro case wirelessly, because I don’t ever have to charge them more than once a day.
In all likelihood, Apple will do whatever it can to upsell folks to the $179 version of the AirPods 4. If someone goes cheaper, fine. Either way, eschewing the charging cable means less material, less shipping weight, and ultimately less cost for Apple. Less post-consumer waste, too.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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