In a few short years, true wireless earbuds have gone from a curiosity to a downright necessity, at least for some people. Sol Republic was early to the party, releasing its Amps Air in 2016, and while we had some issues with them, the earbuds proved to be incredibly popular. With that being the case, it’s no surprise that the company is iterating on that design, offering a new an improved take on them in the Amps Air 2.0.
New color options aside, the Amps Air 2.0 don’t look radically different from their predecessors. That doesn’t mean that things haven’t changed. First off, the headphones are now IPX4 tested, meaning they are both rainproof and sweat resistant. The Amps Air 2.0 also now use Bluetooth 5.0, meaning they pair faster and can operate at a range of up to 15 meters.
“With the explosions of truly wireless earbuds after our relatively early launch of the Amps Air in 2016, we saw the need to update our most popular earbuds to deliver the best performance possible,” Sol Republic director of product development Josh Poulsen said in a statement. “We took the 1.0 and improved many of the touchpoints and upgraded the ‘engine under the hood,’ so to speak, for a much better consumer experience. We listened to the feedback and delivered improvements.”
While some things have changed radically, not everything needed to. The included charging case, for example, still has the ability to charge both your earbuds and your phone, and is still claimed to be able to charge the Amps Air 2.0 up to 15 times. With the three hours of battery life in the earbuds, that means a theoretical maximum battery life of up to 45 hours. Minor changes to the case come in the form of a more form-fitting seating for the earbuds and smoother lid operation.
We haven’t had the chance to try these ourselves yet, but alongside an improved microphone, Sol Republic also mentions new true stereo sound as a new feature. Hopefully, the audio issues that bothered us about the Amps Air 1.0 have been remedied in this new model, as there was plenty to like about the previous set.
The Amps Air 2.0 is available now in four different colors via the Sol Republic website as well as retailers including Buy Now , priced at $180. To make sure this is the right choice for you, take a look at our lists of the best earbuds or the best true wireless earbuds you can buy to see how the competition compares.
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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