Wireless earbuds,Watch The Tax Collector Online like AirPods and Bragi Dash, are all the rage these days, but they all have one common problem: You can't hear ambient sound around you.
But with Sony's Xperia Ear Open-style concept wireless earbuds, you can hear all the wonderful (and terrible) sounds around you while looking like someone straight out of a sci-fi movie.
SEE ALSO: Samsung is attacking the Apple Watch with two new fitness wearablesFirst announced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, Sony brought them back out to IFA in Berlin and let me try them out. The company says it's making good progress toward a consumer release.
The pair that I tried was a working prototype, so the design looked a little different to the one they're aiming for.
Even so, I got a taste of the wireless audio future that Sony's working toward. Despite having its guts stored inside a finger-shaped housing that tucks underneath your earlobes, the Xperia Ear Open-style concept earbuds actually fit pretty great.
The ear tips themselves have an interesting design. Instead of in-ear buds that plug straight into your ears, providing a seal in your ear canals, the Xperia Ear Open-style concept buds have a rubber ring-shaped tip.
Like Sony's "Concept Prototype N" headphones, which also have an open-style ear tip, music is projected directly into your ears from the acoustic conductor inside its case.
Listening to music while still being able to hear noises around you is a really weird sensation and it feels like a mind trick. But it's really not too different from bone conduction.
Volume is automatically adjusted to your surroundings so that you can still clearly have conversations with others or hear traffic without needing to turn the earbuds off.
The sound quality was so-so and comparable to popular truly wireless earbuds. While they could've sounded better — Sony's still working on them so things could improve on the commercial release — it's just silly to expect audiophile-quality sound from a pair of small Bluetooth earbuds. Like, come on...
But since they're still prototypes, I can't say for certain if they suffer from any serious sound leakage like with bone conduction headphones. My coworker Lili Sams, who was standing about two feet away, couldn't hear the music I was listening to. But a foot and closer and she could.
Obviously Sony's got a target spec it wants to meet, but again, anything could change by the time the earbuds ship. Battery life is expected to be up to four hours on a single charge. The charging case holds an additional three charges and a 12-minute quick charge will juice up the earbuds for up to two hours of listening time.
There's a touchpad on the right earbud for controlling music, and Sony's even made it compatible with voice commands for Siri and Google Assistant in addition to its own Sony Assistant.
Sony says the Xperia Ear Open-style concept will be available in black and gold (to better blend into your hair, of course), but it stopped short at announcing price or release details. I'm not sure if ambient wireless earbuds will ever take off, but I'll be honest, it worries me that so many people blindly walk into the streets, distracted by their headphones, and might not hear oncoming traffic.
Topics Gadgets
Balenciaga's $1,100 fake paper bag is already sold outYouTube's VR 180 and Daydream cameras bring immersive video to traditional creatorsWhat's coming to Hulu in July 2017Gordon Ramsay insulted an American school lunch classicIKEA apparently sells a serving bowl of death that can set stuff on fireMcDonald's unveils MinionsBill Cosby plans to teach men to avoid sexual assault charges and WTF?The NBA Draft proves just how far men's fashion has comeTrump's terrible handshakes are given the ‘Mortal Kombat’ treatment they deserveRon Howard is a solid choice for Han Solo director. Here's why.Miguel Cabrera uses his glove to lovingly inspect a fan's beardThe Knicks used a fake internet holiday to savagely troll their suffering fansBalenciaga's $1,100 fake paper bag is already sold outCan we trust the 'Game of Thrones' trailers? Season 7 may surprise us.Author mom shares her inspiring method for talking to her children about body imageSteam Summer Sale is back and some huge games are super cheapNBC Sports is getting into esports, starting with 'Rocket League'Dude's fake police traffic stop proposal is certainly unforgettable, to say the leastFacebook is adding a new app, all about video creators'Downton Abbey' movie is not 'officially confirmed' yet, so calm down Air Canada shows it stands with refugees by helping reunite a Syrian family 'Veep' cast shows us how they really feel after their SAG Award loss Bryan Cranston knows what Lyndon B. Johnson would say to Trump, and it's not pretty Julia Louis Woman's pet snake got stuck in her gauged earlobe and we're screaming Looks like US Weekly didn't read the memo about not normalizing Trump Exit the 12th Doctor: Peter Capaldi says he's moving on What to do when you're so overwhelmed by the Trump presidency you can barely move Apple is finally fixing one of the Apple Watch's most annoying problems Tinder founder responds to Muslim ban: CEOs have a 'responsibility' to speak out Princess Diana is getting the statue she deserves, and hopefully it doesn't suck Why has this country become Tinder's favourite testing ground? Widower's ad looking for a fishing buddy is too sweet for words Forget touchscreens, this smartphone concept wants to use holograms What CEOs are saying about the Muslim ban, and what they actually mean Lyft catches up to Uber again, adds calendar integration The extended 'Beauty and the Beast' trailer we've been waiting for is here Comedian creates commercials for Obamacare registration since Trump pulled the ads Teen headed to space camp 'gutted' after being denied U.S entry Bryan Cranston will reprise Howard Beale in timely stage production of 'Network'
1.9852s , 10130.046875 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Watch The Tax Collector Online】,Pursuit Information Network