Headphones

Following the recent debut of its Momentum 5 headphones, Sennheiser is joining companies like Bose and Sony with a new pair of open earbuds worn on the back of the ear. The Accentum Clip offer up to nine hours of battery, and while they won’t launch in the US, they’ll be available in Canada starting July 23rd for $269.95 CAD.

Your headphones’ microphone matters. A lot. And yet we never know how we sound to others, or whether we’re clear to our AI assistants! So every once in a while, we like to grab a bunch of headphones and put their microphones through some tough real-world tests. This time, with the help of The Verge’s John Higgins, we discover the best-sounding mic we’ve ever tested. And no, it’s not on a pair of AirPods. Not even close.

If you’re in the US, you can now find the Nothing Phone 4A Pro, Phone 3, Headphone A, and Ear 3 in person at over 500 Best Buy stores across the country, giving you a chance to toy around with the devices before you buy one.

As spotted by Android Authority, the Pixel Buds app is getting updated with a new icon in the same style as the recently-updated Google Workspace icons. Google is also tweaking the app’s landing page, which will now show all the Pixel Buds headphones paired with your phone on one screen.

Look, I’m not saying Sony’s audio naming scheme is good, per se, but you can’t deny it’s distinct. Is it really willing to throw that away?

Charli xcx just invested in Nothing and was announced as the company’s first global brand ambassador. For their first promotion together the startup claims it had the singer wear the Nothing Headphone A for five days straight to test their 135-hour battery life.

The Moto Buds 2 Plus will cost $149 — $20 more than the Moto Buds Plus released in 2024. The new buds will have Sound by Bose, two 11mm dynamic drivers with a Knowles balanced armature, support the LHDC5 low-latency audio codec, as well as Moto AI with compatible Motorola phones.

The best (currently) noise-canceling earbuds will feel even more premium with Sony’s new $39.99 case covers that wrap the WF-1000XM6’s charging case in a smooth vegan leather finish. The cover is available in black and light gray, and while it makes the case slightly larger, it doesn’t inhibit wireless charging.

When Victoria Song reviewed the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, she found a lot to like about their slimmer ear hook and wireless charging, even before their iOS 26 upgrade. Now, Beats is launching this color-splashed collaboration, which is at least bright, even if it lacks the internal hardware updates of Apple’s new AirPods Max headphones.

Apple’s original AirPods Max are pretty extraordinary headphones with some very obvious flaws. More than five years on, we’re finally getting a sequel — which fixes absolutely none of them. Make it make sense, Apple.