From streaming music and audiobooks to live audio rooms and podcasts, every major player in tech is trying to own a chunk of the listening experience. Spotify is expanding beyond music streaming, YouTube is becoming an audio-only destination, and Apple Music is hoping to stand out with spatial audio while Tidal, Pandora, SoundCloud, and so many more scramble to set themselves apart.
The update to firmware version 4.467 is rolling out, letting the buds adjust ANC on the fly to keep you aware of your surroundings. Announced in August, the update also brings loud noise protection, clearer mic audio for Gemini Live, and head gesture controls to take or decline calls.
The OpenFit 2 debuted at CES 2025 earlier this year, but Shokz is already rolling out an updated version called the OpenFit 2 Plus. Their functionality is nearly identical to the $179.95 Open Fit 2, but the Plus adds the convenience of wireless charging, support for Dolby Audio, and a price bump to $199.95.
7
Verge Score
Good for side sleepers but ANC kills battery life.
The Pocket Scion isn’t just a rad portable synthesizer that creates soundscapes from organic matter (but it is that!) — it’s a vision of a better world, where the tech industry is a little less evil, and a lot more weird.
Sly Mr. Fox:
This is the exact kind of crazy we need more of. Less late-capitalist “AI”, more mushroom synths.
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Anker calls its Soundcore Nebula X1 Pro the “world’s first mobile theater station with 4K laser projection and 7.1.4 spatial sound.” I call it impressive.
The Dolby Atmos-certified projector on wheels creates a 7.1.4 soundscape with 7 horizontal channels, 1 subwoofer, and 4 overhead height channels with the help of these wireless speakers that detach from the unit. I already loved the mobile projector this is built around, so I can’t wait for Jen and Jess to get a listen from Anker’s booth at IFA.
As legal wrangling over generative AI and copyright continues, ElevenLabs has launched its latest AI audio product with Eleven Music. There are many AI music generators out there, but the company claims this one “is cleared for nearly all commercial uses, from film and television to podcasts and social media videos, and from advertisements to gaming.”
However, except for podcasts, most of those uses are banned for most listed service plans.
ChatAI will help other headphone brands quickly add wake words or button shortcuts to talk to an OpenAI-powered assistant.
Bragi was once one of the most exciting earbud manufacturers itself, but quit making hardware in 2019 with grand ambitions to sell audio AI instead.
