Microsoft may throw its hat into the wireless headphone ring, with a pair of earbuds that will serve as the little brother to last year’s Surface Headphones — let’s just call ’em the Surface Buds.
The company has reportedly been exploring more products to add to the Surface lineup, and is now planning to release its own pair of true wireless earbuds in relatively short order, according to Thurrott.
Microsoft’s wireless earbuds are reportedly being developed under the code name “Morrison,” likely a reference to legendary rock singer Jim Morrison; Microsoft’s Surface Headphones were called the “Joplin,” a reference to equally lauded rock icon Janis Joplin, when they were in development.
It’s not all that surprising to learn that Microsoft is developing a product in the wireless headphone space. Samsung recently launched its Galaxy Buds, Apple has had long-term success with its industry-leading AirPods, and even Amazon is reportedly working on its own true wireless earbuds with Alexa on board.
Rumor has it that the new Microsoft model (the official name is still unknown) will have Cortana integration, noise canceling, and great connectivity for music and video.
Depending on the price, the addition of noise-canceling could make the new Microsoft wireless model a very compelling product for some. Currently, there are no top-tier wireless headphones with active noise canceling, due in large part to the battery requirements of most modern noise-canceling tech. Wireless headphones are short on space, so adding a big enough battery to maintain the industry standard of 5 hours of listening time may be hard with such tech on board.
Then again, we know that Qualcomm has been hard at work developing significantly more energy-efficient chips for this particular genre of headphones, so there is reason to believe such a product is possible.
For our part, we’re excited to see the competition heating up in the world of true wireless headphones, as it virtually guarantees better, more affordable headphones are in the pipeline for all consumers.
There’s no word on specific launch or design details for the headphones, but many are speculating that the headphones could hit the market by the end of 2019.
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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