Tag: wireless earbuds

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Mobile Syrup

Carl Pei says bigger companies are hindering ‘Nothing’s’ supply chain

Carl Pei, former OnePlus boss turned CEO of his own tech startup, ‘Nothing,’ has shared that an unnamed tech giant is making it harder for his company access key earbud manufacturing components.

At no point does Pei hint at what company it might be, but I’d expect it would need to be a large tech giant in order to influence how the supply chain flows to a company as small as Nothing. Specifically, Pei says, “To add to the fun, we’ve also had a major incumbent attacking us in the supply chain trying to block our access to key components. We should take that as a sign of respect.”

Also, in his blog post, Pei says that Nothing has shipped out 180,000 of its Ear (1) earbuds with 140,000 more orders to fill. He also claims that he thinks the company will push out 600,000 units of earbuds.

I hope that Nothing can sell that many and continue to make cool-looking tech products, but, unfortunately, the reviews for its Ear (1) Buds haven’t been overwhelmingly positive and they’re constantly out of stock.

Source: Nothing

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Apple’s MacBook Pro (2021) and AirPods (3rd-gen) are now available in Canada

Apple’s new MacBook Pro (2021) and its AirPods (2021) are now available in-store and online in Canada.

The new MacBook Pro features Apple’s powerful M1 Pro and M1 Pro Max chip, the return of integral ports like the SD card slot/HDMI port/MagSafe 3, and is nearly a full redesign of the “Pro” laptop. Apple’s new MacBook Pro starts at $2,499 for the 14-inch and $3,139 for the 16-inch in the Apple Store and more.

For more on the new MacBook Pro, check out my review of Apple’s new laptop.

Along with its new laptop, the tech giant’s 3rd-gen AirPods are also now available. Though the new wireless earbuds are very similar to their 2nd-gen counterpart, Apple’s new AirPods feature a new design. improved sound quality, IPX4 water resistance, ‘Adaptive EQ,’ ‘Spatial Audio,’ head tracking and more.

Apple’s 3rd-gen AirPods are available for $239 at the Apple Store and more.

For more on the AirPods (2021), check out Brad Bennett’s review of the new wireless earbuds.

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Huawei reveals Watch GT 3 and FreeBuds Lipstick

Yesterday, Huawei announced that its Nova 9 (not coming to Canada) and P50 (potentially coming here) will both launch globally. However, the company also announced the Huawei Watch GT 3 and FreeBuds Lipstick earbuds.

The Watch GT 3 is launching in 46mm and 42mm variants, and Huawei says they offer a “timeless elegance.” Both watches can measure more than 100 workout modes, sport a built-in workout planner with improved location tracking and a 5th generation heart rate monitor.

Additionally, the watch features SpO2 monitoring, sleep tracking, Bluetooth and is compatible with both Android and iOS devices. Further, Huawei says that the Watch GT 3 46mm can reportedly last 14 days, and the smaller variant can last seven days.

On the other hand, the FreeBuds Lipstick comes in red and sports a high-grade stainless steel enclosure that looks like a lipstick case. The earbuds are compatible with Android and iOS. The FreeBuds Lipstick seem identical to the FreeBuds 4 in several ways, including their 14.3mm dynamic driver, with a frequency range spanning up to 40kHz and four hours of playback with an extra 22 hours with the case.

It’s possible we’ll see the Watch GT 3 and FreeBuds Lipstick release in Canada. MobileSyrup has reached out to Huawei for confirmation.

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Apple reportedly plans to release AirPods that can take your temperature

Apple is rumoured to have plans to bring more health-focused features to its AirPods.

According to The Wall Street Journal, potential health features could include taking the wearers’ temperature, monitoring posture and improving hearing. The Wall Street Journal says that the new ‘Conversation Boost’ feature that was recently added to the AirPods through an update could relate to the rumours surrounding hearing functionality.

These features “aren’t expected by next year and might never be rolled out to consumers or the timing could change,” says The Wall Street Journal. With this in mind, health features likely aren’t coming to the rumoured 3rd-gen AirPods that will reportedly be revealed on October 18th. Based on how Apple typically positions its wireless earbuds and headphones, this functionality sounds like it’s more destined for the next version of the company’s AirPods Pro.

It’s important to note that rumours surrounding Apple’s health tracking ambitions often don’t come to fruition. For example, last month rumours indicated the Apple Watch Series 7 would get the ability to monitor blood pressure, blood sugar and temperature, but that didn’t happen.

As such, it could be several years before these health features make it to a pair of Apple’s AirPods.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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Apple will likely finally reveal its 3rd-gen AirPods at its ‘Unleashed’ event

After months of rampant speculation, we might finally get to see Apple’s next-generation AirPods look like at the tech giant’s upcoming October 18th event.

The new AirPods will likely be smaller than the 2nd-gen version, with a design that looks very similar to the more recently released Apple AirPods Pro. However, if these rumours are accurate, the new AirPods won’t feature silicon ear tips and will still look very similar to previous AirPods.

Beyond that, it’s unclear what other features will come to the new AirPods or if they’ll actually be revealed at Apple’s event. Some rumours indicate that the 3rd-gen AirPods will include some form of noise-cancellation. Leading up to the iPhone 13’s reveal, rumours indicated we’d see the 3rd-gen wireless earbuds, but they didn’t appear.

Still, these earbuds have been rumoured for such a long time that unless Apple has plans for a third event this fall, I’d expect we’ll finally see them on the 18th.

Source: @PandaIsBald (Weibo) Via: MacRumors

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Amazon finally brings its Echo Buds 2 wireless earbuds to Canada

After announcing the second-gen Amazon Echo Buds back in the spring of 2021, Amazon is finally bringing its wireless earbuds to Canada.

You can pre-order the wireless earbuds on Amazon.ca for $154.99 in either ‘Black’ or ‘White,’ and they release on October 21st.

Amazon’s Echo Buds 2 feature active noise-cancelling, placing them in direct competition with the Galaxy Buds 2, Beats Studio Buds and other pricier wireless earbuds. The plus side with these buds is that if you’re a big Alexa user, you can access that digital assistant hands-free directly through the wireless earbuds.

Yes, they do look like smiling cartoon whales.

Amazon says that the Echo Buds feature five hours of listening and like all wireless earbuds, can recharge a few more times in the included case. To control play/pause behaviour each earbud features a touch-sensitive zone. While this isn’t my favourite way to control wireless earbuds, it typically works quite well.

The earbuds are also IPX4 rated, allowing them to withstand light splashes of water. Amazon’s first-gen Echo Buds didn’t release in Canada.

Source: Amazon 

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Google’s Pixel Buds A-Series are on sale at Best Buy for $119

Google’s Pixel Buds A-Series, the entry-level version of the tech giant’s wireless earbuds, are now on sale for $119 — down from their regular price of $139 ($20 off).

While not a sizable discount, this is the first A-Series Buds price cut I’ve seen. The price drop seems to be across the board, and includes retailers like Best Buy, Staples, the Google Store and more.

While I found that the Pixel Buds A-Series doesn’t sound quite as good as the more expensive Pixel Buds (2020), they’re still a cost-effective option if you’re looking for a new pair of wireless earbuds.

Even better, they don’t suffer from the intermittent Bluetooth connection issues that their more expensive counterpart do; in fact, you can’t even purchase Pixel Buds (2020) from Google anymore.

For more on the A-Series Buds, check out my in-depth look at the budget wireless earbuds.

Google’s Pixel Buds A-Series are on sale for $139.

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