When Dr. Dre ventured into making his own line of headphones, the Beats brand made a considerable splash in the market, especially among younger people. With sleekly designed products with an aesthetic that proved irresistible to the younger demographic, Beats is now owned by Apple, so you can count on improved hardware and software capabilities.
One of its most popular offerings, the Powerbeats3 wireless earphones, is currently available on Amazon for a huge 40% off. Instead of its usual price of $200, get these rugged wireless headphones that are ideal for rigorous workouts for only $119.
The Powerbeats3 is a pair of wireless fitness headphones with a design that doesn’t deviate much from its previous iterations. The earbuds are housed on elongated elliptical plastics and attach to your ear via hooked rubberized ear tips with the famous Beats logo showcased on the sides. The hooked design prevents the buds from falling off, and they are water and sweat resistant enough to take them with you to the gym. Just don’t make the mistake of diving into the pool while wearing them.
These wireless buds are connected by a band with a rubber strip that has three buttons on it: The volume control keys and the play/pause/answer call key. The built-in microphone is also found in this strip. The control piece is found below the left bud, which is unusual since most banded earbuds have theirs on the right, so it might take some time getting used to. Unfortunately, the control piece seems rather flimsy. We would have liked a sturdier material like aluminum or a heavier plastic.
Inside the earbuds is Apple’s W1 chip — the same one that powers the original AirPods. This chip gives the buds a blip-free wireless connection with Apple’s AAC codec. Once you fire these earbuds up, your iOS device will automatically detect them for immediate pairing.
Beats headphones are renowned for their powerful bass and the Powerbeats3 is no exception. The bass can get overpowering sometimes though and might hurt your ears. We suggest listening at a lower volume. Mid and high range are fairly smooth and sound OK. Clearly, these buds don’t offer the most well-rounded sound, but if you’re all about that bass, these are perfect for you.
Battery life is terrific. With a single charge, the Powerbeats3 can last up to 12 hours max. They take a fairly short time to fully charge and can deliver a superb one hour of playback after just five minutes of charging.
The Powerbeats3 wireless earphones offer excellent battery life, a secure fit for workouts, and a very reliable Bluetooth connection. Unfortunately, the build quality is a little questionable and the bass is frequently overpowering. If it’s an over-ear headphone you want, check out the Beats Solo3.
For more options visit these pages for our best noise-canceling headphones, true wireless earbuds, and wireless headphones. And don’t forget to check out our guide to the best Labor Day sales for 2020.
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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