Earphones

There's a good chance that the headphone jack of your laptop or PC doesn't offer stellar plugged-in audio quality. Chinese hi-fi brand Fiio is aiming to offer a significant quality boost with a mechanical keyboard rocking its own DAC/headphone amp.

Earlier this year, we introduced solid-state micro-speaker technology from California's xMEMS Labs that's designed to replace coil-based drivers in wearable audio products. Now the company is aiming for satisfying low end with the Cypress speaker.

Smartwatches that can monitor a wearer's heart rate use light pulses to detect changes in blood volume. But research from Google proposes using ultrasound from an earphone's speaker driver to look for tiny deviations in the surface of the ear canal.

Back in 2017, Bose launched some earbuds designed to help folks get a good night's sleep. The formula was later improved, but then the product was discontinued. Now former employees are taking up the restful-sleep torch with the Ozlo Sleepbuds.

Back in April, xMEMS Labs revealed solid-state technology aimed at replacing coil-based speakers in audio wearables like in-ear monitors. Now the company has partnered with Creative Technology for an upcoming pair of true-wireless earphones.

High-end mobile audio brand Astell&Kern has launched the follow up to last year's UW100 true-wireless earphones, which boast key refinements aimed at delivering "uncompromising, exquisite hi-fi sound."

Following the now common pre-launch online leaks, Sony has officially announced the successor to 2021's WF-1000XM4 noise-canceling TWS earphones. The flagship formula has been improved, and everything squeezed into a smaller and lighter pair of buds.

How many speaker drivers do earphones need to deliver great stereo sound? One in each earpiece? Two? Six? The Knowles Corp has partnered with Ultimate Ears Pro for the release of the UE Premier in-ear monitors, which rock 21 drivers per earphone.

The UK's iFi Audio has announced the Go pod, a pair of Bluetooth-enabled DAC/headphones amp modules designed to transform any in-ear monitors with detachable cables into high-performance wireless earphones.

Though smartwatches and true-wireless earphones have only been around for a fairly short time, their respective marketplaces are already pretty crowded. To stand out, Huawei has combined the two for the Watch Buds.

There's no denying the convenience of true-wireless earphones, but audio quality can be less than stellar. Boutique in-ear-monitor maker Campfire Audio is promising an "out-of-this-world sound" from its first entry into the TWS space, the Orbit buds.

It's a brave move to launch a pair of noise-canceling true-wireless earphones on the same day that Apple announces an update to its mighty AirPods Pro buds, but that exactly what audio titan Bose has done with the QuietComfort Earbuds II.