Sonos is a well established brand in the domain of wireless home speakers. They have been boosting their repertoire with all types of speaker configurations (subwoofers to soundbars) so it is very welcome that they now spruce up their 'base' unit, the Sonos Play:1 with a follow up called the Sonos One. Visually, it looks very much the same as its predecessor. What makes this an interesting proposition is you'll find that this is the first Sonos product to integrate with the Amazon Alexa digital assistant. 

Type - Smart Speaker (Wi-Fi)
Price - USD 289 / SGD 349

Target Audience
You want to plonk a great sounding speaker in your living room powered by a voice assistant.

The Apple AirPods need practically no introduction. These were the truly wireless earbuds that were introduced to much fanfare last September as loads of folks anticipated their entry into the Apple ecosystem. And since then, they finally hit the shops around Dec 2016 and there have been a load of reviews on these.

Now what makes it interesting is to see how these fare against the world! Ok, what we mean is how they compare with its truly wireless earbud peers. 

But first, let's review them. A trip to Holiday Villa Johor Bahru provided a good occasion to test the buds and a spot to take some shots! 

Read - Advent of Truly Wireless Earbuds

Type - Truly Wireless Earphones 
Price - USD 159 / EUR 179 / SGD 238

Pros (+): Supremely comfortable fit; Simple to use; Great battery life.
Cons (-): Non-existent noise isolation

In The Box
The Apple AirPods unsurprisingly come in one color combination - white. That's classic iPod gloss white if you want specifics. 

In typical Apple style, the box is incredibly sturdy and sized at a compact 99 x 99 x 34 mm, ideal for two things - cutting on shipping costs and hardy enough to pass drop tests (not that we tried :). 

The unboxing is like what you'd expect from an Apple product - impeccably neat and premium. The top lid pops upward to reveal a booklet with the distinctive line - Designed by Apple in California. 

Lifting this away will showcase the AirPods charging case nicely wrapped in a protective sleeve.

Popping out the packaging contents, we get:

• Apple AirPods
• Charging Case
• Charging Cable (USB to Lightning)
• User Guides

Design
The Apple AirPods come adorned in signature iPod gloss white and both earbuds weigh 8g, marginally lighter than the Samsung Gear IconX (12g) and Bragi The Headphone (12.5g). What differentiates these from other truly wireless buds is its long cylindrical side that that the other manufacturers clearly do not have. One practical benefit is the earbud weight is more evenly distributed, as the battery takes up the bulk of the space within. And of course, it makes it easier for the buds to be removed / inserted.

If you are familar with the default buds (EarPods) that come with your iPhone, you'll find that the overall AirPods aesthetic is much the same. General differences include the subtraction of the cable (obviously), dual optical sensors and a chrome edge at the bottom complete with a microphone. We'll talk more on their purpose in the Features section.

Charging Case:
The case measures a petite 44 x 21 x 54mm and doubles up as a charger when the buds are stored within. It's nicely styled and its magnetic clasp allows it to shut reassuringly.

Features
While the Apple AirPods look seemingly basic, they are anything but. Once you poke your nose into what they have to offer, you'll realize that there's a myriad of features awaiting especially if you're an iOS user. 

Playback / Voice Commands:
While there are no physical buttons on the AirPods, you can actually double tap the exterior of either earbud to enable a function depending on phone you are using.

• Siri devices - This activates Siri so you can give voice commands to control playback (eg. turn up the volume) or useful information (give directions / weather check). When calls come in, you can pick them and if you find Siri annoying, you can go to the settings to render a double tap as a play / pause function. 
• Other devices - There's a singular function - double tapping the exterior of the buds will play / pause music playback. This is arguably more useful than sending voice commands in a packed train with others staring at you quizzically.

Automatic Ear Detection:
The AirPods can detect when they are slotted into your ears thanks to dual optical sensors on each bud. You can even test out their effectiveness by double tapping the side of the bud when covering the sensors with your fingers vs removing your fingers. Even if you cover just one of the two optical sensors, the AirPods take it that the earbuds are not inside your ear.  

• iOS - On your iPhone, music will pause when you take both buds out of your ears. They will pause and resume playback if a single bud is removed. If you want music to continue even if you remove the buds, you can disable this in the AirPods Settings.
• Android - The play resume / pause function doesn't work when using an Android like what I tested with the Sony Xperia XA. However, there's no way to accidentally double tap the earbud when they are not in your ears.

Chilling with the AirPods at the Holiday Villa infinity pool

Pairing:
If you're used to the manual way of Bluetooth pairing, the AirPods offers a refreshingly simpler method of connecting to your music device (at least if you're in the Apple ecosystem).

• iOS 10.2 / watchOS3 / MacOS Sierra Devices - Apple's W1 chip may sound like a fancy marketing name but pairing is where you begin to discover its usefulness. All you need to do is open the AirPods charging case next to your device and there will be a setup prompt on your screen. It's that easy.   
• Other Devices - If you have another product like an Android phone, you'll need to manually pair via Bluetooth. Turn on your phone Bluetooth, pop open the charging case, select 'AirPods' and you're good to go.

Tip - If you have difficulties in pairing, insert the AirPods back into the case and hold the circular Setup button on the back of the case until the LED starts to flash white. You can then restart the pairing process. 

Status Light Notifications:
The status light LED is only found inside the charging case between the two buds. The charge status reflects the AirPods if one / both are inserted else it will show the Case status. Here's an idea what they indicate. 

• Green - Fully charged
• Amber - Not fully charged / Charging in progress if USB cable connected
• Amber (blinking) - You may need to setup AirPods again
• White (blinking) - Pairing mode

Sound Notifications
There are no voice notifications though there will be tones to indicate when the AirPods are successfully connected to your music device or when the charge in the buds is low.

Microphones:
There are two microphones on each earbud. If you notice the bottom of the AirPods, there is a chrome edge and within it is one of the microphones. The second is a small circular hole located on the outside of the earbud.

Apple does inject some hype about two beam-forming microphones. What does 'beam-forming' mean? You can actually read more on this over here. For the AirPods, the purpose of the beam-forming microphones is to extract voice input from ambient noise so the AirPods user is able to speak loud and clear to the recipient of a phone call. 

App Support:

• iOS - It would not be accurate to say that the AirPods have no app support. In fact, the support is integrated with iOS 10. If you pop the AirPods charging case open, a prompt will initiate from your iPhone and settings can be configured accordingly. The good thing is the AirPods firmware can be updated. Most recent is from 3.3.1 to 3.5.1 on Feb 1, 2017. Any significant change? Can't really tell from our end though feel free to buzz if you find something. 
• Android - There's no dedicated app for Android though to be fair, Apple never did mention such compatibility on the packaging.

Performance

Sound Quality:
The Apple AirPods sound quality is quite decent, that is if you do your listening in a relatively quiet environment. I was feeling nostalgic so I decided to give a listen to Kitaro. If that name does not ring a bell, Kitaro is a Japanese artist that specializes in epic instrumental music (some call it 'new age'). He made an equally epic performance compiled in the Live In America (1991) album and with that, I tried his magnum opus, Matsuri. The treble comes out not quite sparkling but nonetheless clearer than many in-ears while bass from the drums came out reasonably well. I reckon these aren't sealed in-ears which likely contribute to the drop in the impact of the low frequencies. 

Calls:
Making a few calls, I did a sound check in several locations of incremental ambient noise level. One was in at the Holiday Villa JB infinity pool with a few folks splashing around (low ambient sound) and another was in the heart of KSL Mall (high ambient sound). In those locations, I checked how well the recipient could hear me and the result was positive - they could hear me loud n clear, despite the noisy crowds in the second instance. 

Noise Isolation:
Like the EarPods, noise isolation is non existent. Environmental sounds aren't filtered at all and basically, you can safely listen to music while jogging. The flipside is when you're commuting, all the ambient sound from the trains will hit you so you'll have to increase the volume quite a bit to appreciate the sound.

Fit:
This was probably the most comfortable pair of truly wireless buds tested. When slotted in and when the music paused, there were moments where I actually forgot there was something in my ears.

Charging:
To charge the AirPods, all you have to do is slot them in the Charging Case and they are magnetically latched within. If you're wondering how it works, there are two contact points deep inside the two holes of the case that link with the chrome edge of the AirPods to initiate charging.

A full charge of the AirPods through the Lightning cable will provide 5 hours playback / 2 hours talk time while a quick charge of 15 minutes will get you 3 hours / over 1 hour talk time. The charging case states 398mAh of power so we're going to make a guess that that's the total power within the case only. If you use the full capacity of the case in tandem with the AirPods, Apple claims you can get up to 24 hours playback / 11 hours talk time. 

Update (6 June 2017):
I decided to completely drain both the buds + case just to check the charge times. Here are the results based on charging through a MacBook Air USB port. As you can see, the charging speed of the buds is really fast. 
Charging Case (100%) - 1h 25min
AirPods (80%) - 15min 
AirPods (100%) - 22min

Putting all these figures in perspective and considering just the buds at full charge, the playback on the AirPods last above the average. They come up short against Bragi The Headphone (6 hours) but easily edge the feature-filled Samsung Gear IconX (1.5 hours) and Erato Apollo 7 (3 hours). 


Overall
The Apple AirPods are a great pair of truly wireless earbuds to own. They are really comfortable to wear and sound drop offs that some truly wireless in-ears unfortunately have are not experienced in these buds. Now noise isolation may be non-existent and options are limited for Android users but if you are a user of Apple products, the AirPods is certainly a convenient, reliable and stylish option for consideration.




Apple AirPods and Truly wireless earbuds compared

In a subsequent part, we will look at a comparison between some of the best truly wireless earbuds in the market. We will look at some of them within the same price range such as the Apple AirPods, Samsung Gear IconX and Bragi The Headphone. 

Stay tuned!

Where To Buy
The Apple AirPods are available from the Apple Online Store and take a 6 week turnaround to deliver.

Credit to Apple for an evaluation unit.

Beats is a company that needs little introduction to the MTV (or now YouTube) generation. If somehow you have been living under a rock, the quick summary is that record producer Jimmy Iovine teamed up with rapper Dr Dre in the 2006 to come up with the brand that now manufactures the best selling headphones in the world thanks to a whole string of tie ups with big time celebrities. With Apple acquiring them in 2014, they came up with a trio of headphones in late 2016 of which the BeatsX headlines the range. Being the company's first neckband headphones, we eagerly put the BeatsX through the paces with a thorough review!

Type - Neckband Headphones (Wireless)
Price - USD 150 / EUR 150 / SGD 198

Trivia - The BeatsX is the first Beats headphones with a Lightning connector.

Read - Beats and Apple's 2016 Audio Lineup

Pros (+): Excellent ear fit; Comfortable neckband; Compact carrying case.
Cons (-): Cable needs to be adjusted to reduce microphonics; No voice notifications.

In The Box
The BeatsX comes in 4 colors - Black, Blue, Grey and White. For the purposes of our review, we got the Black variant.

The packaging is quite similar to their Powerbeats range. You need to tear a strip from the bottom of the packaging and pop open the lid like a clamshell to get access to the BeatsX. 

Unveiling the packaging contents, you'll get:

• BeatsX neckband headphones
• Charging cable (USB to Lightning)
• Carrying case
• 4 x Silicon tips (S / M / L / M double-flange)
• 2 x Wing tips (M / L)
• User Guides
• Warranty Card
• Apple Music Card (3 months free)

Design
The BeatsX are neckband headphones (did we already mention that?) and are characterized with a malleable portion, called Flex-Form cable, that is designed to wrap around your neck, quite unlike the traditionally solid collar neckbands like the LG TONE or Bose QuietControl 30. Punctuated by two elliptical plastic protrusions at either side, these function as stabilizers and serve as the charging point (on left) and hold the power button that incorporates an LED for notifications (on right). The flat-type audio cables (non-retractable) lead out from the stabilizers to the earbuds. When not in use, the earbuds can magnetically latch together but if music is playing, well the beat goes on.

Lightning Port:
The clearest indicator that we are dealing with the first new Beats headphones under Apple's wing is the Lightning port on the BeatsX. Why so? Sure there were two other Beats products launched on September 2016, namely the Powerbeats3 Wireless and Solo3 Wireless. However being legacy Beats products with internal upgrades, the overall aesthetic of these two remains the same so that explains why they are still using the micro-USB interface. Is having the Lightning port a big deal? Well, if you're an Android user, that's one more cable to carry around. If you're an Apple, that's one less :)

Carrying Case:
The compact rubberized carrying case is undeniably well designed. While the oval shape looks similar to the Powerbeats case, that's where the similarities end. The BeatsX case has a small slit at the top where you have to wind the neckband once to slot it nicely within. It's very convenient as you no longer have to zip the casing (as what is done for the Powerbeats) while juggling the earphones. 

Features
The in-line remote, marketed as RemoteTalk, sits on the left audio cable. The 3 buttons for playback / call and volume control click firmly upon actuation. You have to double and triple press the center button to skip tracks forward and backward.

Bluetooth:
The pairing process is straightforward - 

• For iPhones running iOS10 / Macs with Sierra (10.12), just hold the BeatsX power button and a pop up confirming the BeatsX pairing appears. 
• For other devices (Android phones, for example), turn on your smartphone's Bluetooth, hold the BeatsX power button until it flashes white, select 'BeatsX' from your phone and you're done. 

Note that the neckband headphones only link to one device at any one time.

Notifications:
There are useful LED notifications that indicate power (white), pairing in progress (blinking white) and low power / charging (red). Sound notifications are basic as you'll only hear power on/off and when the battery is low while voice notifications are unfortunately non-existent.

App Support: 
Interestingly, there is NO app support for the BeatsX hardware. It's quite surprising given quite a few manufacturers have forged ahead in this domain and that the Beats Pill+ app had been developed previously. In a sense there is app support but from Apple Music - Apple / Beats throw in a free 3 month subscription to Apple Music that can be found on a card within the packaging.

Performance
Let's talk about the different ear and wingtip experiences first:

Eartips and Wingtips:
Beats provides a decent range of 4 eartips (S / M / L / M double-flange) and 2 wingtips so you can customize the fit to your ear accordingly. After some fiddling, I found the default M eartip and L-size wingtip worked best in terms of fit and noise isolation. Frankly, if used by themselves, the eartips were actually sufficient for my purposes as they lodge in the ears snugly. 

The wingtips are interesting 'cos other manufacturers usually use a single material but for the BeatsX, they use a rubberized texture for the wing while the circular portion is made of hard plastic. While inserting them, do make sure you are slotting them to the correct side else you'll have some difficulty removing them. If you want that added layer of assurance, well, that's what the wingtips are for.
How To Wear:
It may seem like a no brainer. It's simply a matter of slinging them around the neck and you're good to go? Wrong. It's not complicated though you realize what the issue is after attempting to run for the bus. The audio cable linking the neckband to your ears should be twisted AWAY from your neck as opposed to toward. The reason is the microphonics (or cable rustle) is blatantly apparent when this same cable brushes against your neck. To prevent this, do a simple twist of the cable away from the neck and you're good to go. 

In case we didn't emphasize this earlier, this is NOT a solid collar neckband but a malleable one. There is an excess of wires stemming from the relatively long audio cables. If you don't like cables, the BeatsX may not be for you. That said, do try it out to see if the speed of wearing them suits you.

Sound Quality:
In true Beats style, the BeatsX is a bass hitter with decent treble clarity, completely unlike the Powerbeats2, with it's overwhelming low frequency emphasis. A sample of One Republic vs Alesso's If I Lose Myself (EDM) reinforces this notion. Even taking a slower paced electronica track, the build up in Disasterpeace's beautifully creepy Detroit (from It Follows OST) give the impression that the highs and the lows are able to gel quite seamlessly. 


Charging:
The BeatsX delivers an 8 hour battery life on about at 90 minute full charge and if you simply can't wait, then a 5 minute charge gives you a very healthy 2 hour playback time. Compared to its neckband headphone peers such as the Sony MDR-XB70BT (9 hours) and the Bose QC 30 (10 hours), this is actually an decent but average figure.

One of aims of the W1 chip that Apple has been talking about is to provide an increased battery life for its wireless devices. While there is no benchmark for the BeatsX (being a new product), the Solo3 Wireless and Powerbeats3 have indeed seen a battery life boost from their predecessors. 

Overall
The BeatsX neckband headphones do add a spark of color to the range of Beats / Apple portable audio gear. Sure, there are no voice notifications and the audio cables may be little long. However, if you get to the basics of what you may need, the ear fit is more than comfortable for train journeys to work and a more than decent sound profile to engage.  

Where To Buy
The BeatsX is available from Apple Stores worldwide at the following price points - USD 150 / EUR 150 / SGD 198. 

Alternatively, if you think this review has been helpful, feel free to purchase from our Amazon affiliate link. 

Credit to Beats, Apple for an evaluation unit. 

This was an incredibly exciting week for audio tech, with IFA 2016 held last weekend and Apple's Special Event just yesterday where the iPhone 7 was launched. 

I was itching to send out a couple of articles out but I decided to refrain. I was in Krabi, Thailand (yet again) for the past week but with two babies in tow this time round. It was a wonderful experience where time could be spent as a family and a conscious decision was made to live as a digital hermit. I feel that sharpening the saw gives new perspectives to life and this trip definitely reinforced this view.

And now that I am back in SG, with a keyboard proper, let's dive in to check out what Beats and Apple have in store. I'll tear away the marketing talk and attempt to present a balanced view of these new products.

What's The Big Deal?
Well, the talk of the town centered on the iPhone 7's headphone jack (or lack thereof). We had talked about this sometime last year, but now that the removal of the 3.5mm jack is cast in stone, Bluetooth earphones are now a much more interesting proposition. Sure, Apple made a Lightning connector but the SGD 14 (USD 9) accessory seriously looks daft to use considering that you can't charge the phone simultaneously. So with that, there are 4 products to check out - 1 Apple and 3 Beats, all wireless and powered by Apple's W1 chip that promise more power on a single charge.

1. Apple AirPods
So we found out that the rumors were true. This is Apple's first attempt at truly wireless buds that Earin, Bragi and Samsung have all already released. They weigh an ultra light 4g and promise a 5 hour (listening) battery life on a single charge, better than most we've tried, and up to 24 hours in total when combined with its 38g charging case. Its design appears to mimic the mono Bluetooth headsets (remember those?) worn in the early 2000s. Could be a hit or miss. We'll look on in anticipation at how it fares.

Battery Life - 5 hours / 15 min Quick Charge for 3 hours
Colors - White
Price - SGD 238 / GBP 159 / USD 159
Availability - October 2016

2. BeatsX
This is the first Beats product with a new industrial design since the Apple merger and they are in-ear neck-phones, a category popularized by the LG TONE. They should sit comfortably around the neck, come with wingtips for better fit on the go and the buds magnetically latch to each other when not in use. 

Battery Life - 8 hours / 5 min Quick Charge for 2 hours
Colors - White/ Black
Price - SGD 198 / GBP 129 / USD 149
Availability - Autumn 2016

Read - BeatsX Neckband Headphones Review

3. Beats Solo3 Wireless 
It appears that you've seen these 215g on-ear headphones before. You sure have because it looks identical to its predecessor, the Solo2 Wireless that we reviewed. The big diff is the Solo2 had 12 hours of power whereas the new Solo3 Wireless boasts a more impressive 40 hours. All the colors are designed to match the new iPhone 7 range. Oh, and price is almost SGD 100 down (SGD 490 to SGD 398). 

Battery Life - 40 hours / 5 min Quick Charge for 3 hours
Colors - Gloss Black /Gloss White /Silver /Rose Gold /Black
Price - SGD 398 / GBP 249 / USD 299
Availability - Out now


4. Beats Powerbeats3 Wireless
The design of these sports wireless in-ears is practically the same as the Powerbeats2 Wireless (also reviewed), apart from the color accents being applied to different areas for the Active Collection range (Blue/ Red/ Yellow). The battery has doubled from the 6h of its predecessor to 12h. Price-wise, it's more agreeable at SGD 268 instead of SGD 310.

Battery Life - 12 hours / 5 min Quick Charge for 1 hour
Colors - Black /White/ Flash Blue/ Siren Red/ Shock Yellow
Price - SGD 268 / GBP 169 / USD 199
Availability - Autumn 2016