Month: June 2024

The next major upgrade for Apple’s AirPods line could be cameras borrowed from Face ID in the iPhone.

Apple is rumored to be planning to add a new model to its line-up of the best AirPods: specifically, AirPods with infrared cameras installed, which can be paired with a Vision Pro headset and create a spatial audio experience that changes as you move your head.

This comes from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is right more often than not when it comes to Apple predictions. However, the IR-enabled AirPods aren’t going to be available anytime soon, with mass production said to start in 2026.

It’s worth noting that back in February, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also reported that AirPods with cameras were being looked at by Apple. That’s two good sources to back up this rumor, though of course Apple’s plans can always change.

The camera system inside the AirPods will be similar to the tech used for Face ID on the iPhone, according to Kuo. They would be enough to detect when someone is turning their head – so certain sounds could be increased or decreased accordingly. If you’re in a virtual 3D environment, that kind of audio trickery can be very effective.

What the future might hold

The Apple Vision Pro (Image credit: Apple)

Something else that the cameras might be able to detect are hand gestures, Kuo says. Gestures can already be used for actions inside the Vision Pro, but as our Apple Vision Pro review makes clear, there’s absolutely room for improvement in this area.

While sales of the Vision Pro don’t seem to have been particularly significant, Apple is said to be pressing ahead with a cheaper model – which coincidentally (or not?) is also said to be arriving on the consumer market at some point 2026.

When iOS 16 arrived in 2022 it brought with it a Personalized Spatial Audio feature for the AirPods, which worked with the help of an iPhone for the 3D scanning. These immersive experiences would seem to be something Apple is particularly interested in.

No doubt we’ll hear more rumors and leaks about AirPods with cameras in the months ahead. In the meantime, the standard AirPods models are also supposed to be being refreshed this year or next, so we can apparently look forward to the 4th-gen standard AirPods and the Apple AirPods Pro 3 in the not-too-distant future.

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Our pick of the best true wireless earbuds we’ve tested in 2024, plus the top trends we’ve seen and what we predict is on the way.

The best wireless earbuds of 2024 so far have been impressed us a lot by packing top audio tech into teeny-tiny designs. We’ve seen a rise in open-ear designs that allow you to stay aware of your surroundings, advances in noise-cancelling technologies, and audio excellence that proves wireless earbuds are here to stay.

In this guide, we’ve rounded up all of the biggest launches from 2024 so far, including what we thought of the wireless earbuds during our testing, which bigger trends they reflect, and how these designs might be improved in the future. 

We’ll then take a look ahead at which brands we know are bringing out new wireless earbuds in the second half of the year, as well as some predictions about what we might see soon and where the super popular wireless earbuds form factor is heading next. 

Whether you’re a hardcore audio tech fan, or simply thinking about buying a pair of wireless earbuds, this guide will give you a temperature check of the highlights so far – and what’s coming around the corner…

Wireless earbuds in 2024: what have been the biggest launches so far this year?

(Image credit: Final)

We’ve tested so many wireless earbuds over the past six months that it’s challenging to know where to begin. But where better place to kick off our summary than with some incredible earbuds that sound excellent – because that’s what’s most important here, right?

When we first got our hands on the Final ZE8000 MK2 (above) we were unconvinced by the claims that these buds deliver ‘8K sound’, but we were wrong. In our Final ZE8000 MK2 review our reviewer wrote: “I truly think this is among the most nuanced, detailed and just best audio you can buy in a set of true wireless earbuds.” In terms of sonic excellence, also take a look at the gloriously expansive and agile Cambridge Audio Melomania M100 with some best-in-class ANC to boot.

We’ve also seen several brands launch buds that boast Dolby Atmos sound as their big selling point. If achieving an incredibly powerful and immersive audio experience is a priority for you, then you’re going to want to take a look at the LG Tone Free T90S and the Jabra Elite 10. The latter in particular are a highly-accomplished pair of wireless earbuds, with our Jabra Elite 10 review praising their solid feature set, comfortable fit and excellent Dolby Atmos performance. 

But we know not everyone needs immersive or audiophile-grade sound, or has the budget for it. Luckily, we’ve also tested some great mid-range wireless earbuds that still tick all of the boxes.

(Image credit: Future)

Our recent Nothing Ear (a) review showed us why we love this cool brand so much. At only $99 / £99 / AU$169, the Nothing Ear (a) are incredibly well-specced, with a sound we described during our testing as “fun, zealous and expansive”, a great-looking transparent design that Nothing is becoming known for and top ANC. Nothing also launched the third-gen of its Nothing Ear wireless earbuds, too. Expect some seriously Earth-shaking bass, excellent sound personalization and a comfy fit. Did we mention how much we love the Nothing brand?

One of the biggest developments in wireless earbuds in 2024 so far has been the number of audio tech companies bringing out open-ear designs. These are designs that don’t cover your ear, like the best over-ear headphones, or fit inside your ear, like many of the best true wireless earbuds. Instead, these wireless designs use what’s called air conduction technology and place a tiny speaker above your ear canal instead.

The design of these buds is difficult to get right – there’s nothing to ‘anchor’ them in place – but we’ve been testing many of these open-ear designs in our best open ear headphones guide and highly recommend taking a look at our Shokz OpenFit review and Bose Ultra Open Earbuds review for our current top picks.

Wireless earbuds in 2024: what launches are we expecting during the rest of the year?

(Image credit: Samsung)

It can be tricky to know which launches to expect in the future because we only tend to hear the biggest news and rumors about the biggest tech brands. That’s why one of the most major launches we’re expecting in the second half of 2024 comes from Samsung.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are going to be the next version of Samsung’s flagship wireless earbuds and an upgrade on the already stellar Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. Although Samsung hasn’t said anything official about these buds, we’re expecting them to be announced at its next Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event on July 10, and for them to pack some great, high-res sound quality with improvements on AI, ANC and noise-cancelling. 

Rumors also suggest they might have a transparent Nothing-like case and long Apple AirPod-like stems. As well as the Pro version, we’re also expecting a new version of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3. Expected to be announced at the same time, they’re successors to the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2.

(Image credit: Beyerdynamic)

As air conduction tech was hugely popular during the first half of 2024, we can expect that trend to continue into the second half. We predict that several brands will launch open-ear designs, but what we know for sure is that Beyerdynamic’s first open-ear headphones (above) are on the way, and will promise hi-res audio quality without cutting you off from the world. 

Another trend our spidey senses are noticing is upgrades to the charging cases of our wireless earbuds. Sure some have built-in features, like cleaning tech and even a screen. But this could become more of a thing in the second half of this year. 

For example, the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 and the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 earbuds will boast a smart case with Bluetooth LE audio. This means that a Bluetooth LE audio chip in the case will enable you to connect audio sources to the case via its 3.5mm jack. The case itself will then be capable of streaming audio to the earbuds in your ears. 

(Image credit: Iyo)

Finally, expect more and more buds to integrate AI in interesting and innovative (and maybe in some cases totally unnecessary) ways. The Iyo One (above), a pair of wireless earbuds heading our way later this year, claim to be “the first audio computer”, which includes real-time language translation, coaching you through workouts, life organization and audio features, like spatial audio, head tracking and AI-enhanced voice boosting. But hold up. 

While the Iyo One is certainly interesting, plenty of other brands are doing things with AI. For example, Apple will be bringing Apple Intelligence to products, including its AirPods, later this year. And some other companies are already combining earbuds with AI, like the way Nothing is doing interesting things with its Nothing Ear integration with ChatGPT. 

As with every other product category, the challenge will be determining whether AI is actually enhancing our experience with our wireless earbuds or just over-complicating things for the sake of sticking “AI” on the box. Expect to see a bit of both as we move into the second half of 2024. 

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Seagate’s largest hard disk, the 25TB Exos X26z, is finally available to buy, but it doesn’t work in Windows or macOS.

We wrote about the Exos X26z, the largest hard drive Seagate makes, back in December 2023. The 25TB enterprise HDD is a host-managed shingled magnetic recording (HM-SMR) unit that doesn’t work with Windows or macOS. The Linux-compatible drive was created exclusively for Seagate’s largest enterprise customers and has always been famously hard for anyone else to get hold of.

In fact, when Storage Review did manage to get one to test, the site had to go through eBay as it wasn’t available to purchase directly from Seagate or any of its official partners.

That has changed now, as you can buy the Exos X26z online through ServerPartDeals, and it won’t cost you a fortune to do so either. The 25TB 3.5in 7.2K RPM SATA 6Gb/s drive is currently retailing for $319.99 (with discounts available for bulk orders).

Stop, HAMR time!

The drives for sale are “Manufacturer Recertified”, with a two year warranty. “New” and “Seller Refurbished” drives are listed (for $359.99 and $299.99 respectively) but they are currently sold out with no word on when the stock will be refreshed.

The Exos X26z is only really of use for the largest hyperscalers and increases the capacity per slot by 25% versus conventional hard drives. In the tests that Storage Review ran on the HDD – pitting it head-to-head with Seagate’s 20TB IonWolf Pro drive – the Exos X26z performed well, but it’s important to remember that since then Seagate has launched drives which use advanced hard-drive recording (HAMR) technology.

Seagate has said that its future drives, fueled by HAMR, will be able to break data capacity barriers. The company is ultimately eyeing 50TB, and unlike the Exos X26Z HDD, those drives won’t be quite so elusive when they eventually arrive.

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