Electric cars are losing their appeal for new drivers in Western nations, even as existing owners report increasing satisfaction with their battery-powered vehicles, according to a survey conducted by Shell Plc.
The findings show that high upfront cost remains a significant barrier to electric vehicle adoption, with drivers of gasoline-powered cars in both the US and Europe reporting declining interest in making the switch, the survey showed.
“While current EV drivers are feeling more confident, the relatively high cost of owning an electric vehicle, combined with broader economic pressures, are making it a difficult decision for new consumers,” Shell’s Group Executive Vice President of Mobility and Convenience, David Bunch, said in a statement on Tuesday. In Europe, 43% of non-EV drivers cited affordability as an issue.
The growing divide in attitudes toward electric cars emerged in a Shell survey of more than 15,000 drivers across China, Europe and the US. The level of interest in switching to an EV among internal combustion engine drivers in the US was 31%, compared with 34% in 2024, according to the survey. Interest from non-EV drivers in Europe decreased to 41% from 48% last year.
Of the countries surveyed, only China saw major gains, with single-vehicle owning EV drivers rising “from 72% to an impressive 89%,” Shell said. The country stands out globally for its significant advances both in the technology and the cost of battery-powered cars.
Globally, nine in 10 current EV drivers indicated they would consider a similar purchase for their next vehicle. About 60% of EV drivers said they worry less now than a year ago about running out of charge, while three-quarters said availability and choice of public charging points has improved, according to the survey.
While Shell has retreated from some of its low-carbon ventures, the company remains committed to EVs and has more than 75,000 charge points across the world. “More must be done to stimulate demand and ensure no one is left behind in the shift to cleaner transport,” Bunch said.
“Millions and millions of human beings screwing in little, little screws to make iPhones. That kind of this is going to come to America.”
That was U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s pitch in April for the Trump administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, the most radical shift in U.S. trade policy since the 1930s.
The administration has used many rationales for tariffs, but the one that seems to animate the president most is a wish to bring manufacturing back home to the U.S. Over the past few decades, many industries including tech have shipped most of their production overseas, where wages are lower, skilled labor is easier to find, and suppliers are more plentiful.
But reversing the status quo for companies like Apple is far more complicated than Trump lets on, if it’s possible at all. Behind a finished smartphone extends a chain of suppliers and assemblers, particularly in Asia, that is difficult to replace.
Trump’s wrecking ball to global trade has already proved too fast and too disruptive to encourage companies like Apple to quickly move their production to the U.S. Instead, to bring U.S. manufacturing back, Washington will need a more targeted, more methodical— and more stable—strategy, according to economists and experts who have spent years, if not decades, studying trade and global supply chains.
“There is no single industrial policy tool which will do this alone. It takes a whole ecosystem,” says Marc Fasteau, coauthor of Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries.
How it happened
Over the past several decades, manufacturing has steadily declined as a share of U.S. GDP, from around 25% in the 1950s to 10% today. Meanwhile, in Asian manufacturing powerhouses like China, Japan, and South Korea, the proportion has grown higher than 20%.
China, in particular, has captured much of the world’s manufacturing, thanks to a massive pool of skilled labor and deeply integrated supply chains. Countless industries—toys and household goods, consumer electronics, and even bespoke products—rely on Chinese factories.
“There’s this deep ecosystem of hundreds, if not thousands, of suppliers and sub-suppliers. You have amazing logistics within the country and then through the ports to the rest of the world,” says Dexter Roberts, a nonresident senior fellow at U.S. think tank Atlantic Council.
Also in China’s favor is that it has an “order of magnitude” more manufacturing workers (105 million) than the U.S. (13 million), notes Dan Wang, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. Additionally, China has installed over half of the world’s industrial robots compared with the U.S.’s share of just 7%.
“You can collapse weeks’ worth of coordination time into just telling all of your suppliers that they need to be in your office at 8 a.m. tomorrow,” says Wang, who’s also author of the forthcoming book Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future.
25% / 10%
U.S. manufacturing as a share of GDP in 1950s vs. today
The most popular images of Chinese manufacturing are complexes like “iPhone City,” a 5.6-million-square-meter campus where 300,000 workers assemble most of Apple’s smartphones. But that narrative is increasingly out-of-date.
China isn’t just an offshoring hub. Thanks to heavy investment, it has taken the lead from the U.S. in some key technologies, like electric vehicles and batteries. “The U.S. is in this very strange position of trying to engage in technological catch-up with a lower-wage competitor,” Wang says.
Some final assembly for U.S. Big Tech has moved to “China plus one” destinations like Vietnam, India, and Mexico. This strategy, which involves starting assembly in China and finishing it elsewhere, began under the first Trump administration and accelerated during COVID, when U.S. executives scrambled to find alternative manufacturing hubs after China went into lockdown.
The obvious incentive for companies, as Apple shows, is to create separate supply chains for different markets. When it comes to Apple, Yuqing Xing, at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, says China could continue to be a major supplier of iPhones for non-U.S. markets while India supplies the U.S. and Indian markets. Meanwhile, Vietnam would assemble Apple’s other products such as Mac laptops.
Still, even if the final assembly moves to Vietnam and India, the components must come from somewhere—likely China. And that might suit Beijing just fine, since China dominates many of the industries that produce those components. And yet, “China is not so sad to see this low-value manufacturing leave,” Roberts suggests, noting that Chinese officials are instead encouraging domestic production of higher-value items like semiconductors and batteries.
Estimated price of a U.S.-made iPhone: $3,500
105 million/13 million: number of manufacturing workers in CHina vs. U.S.
$500 billion: Apple’s promised U.S. investment over the next four years
300,000: Number of workers in China’s iPhone city
But there are risks from the U.S. side, too. Trump is not a fan of Apple’s shift to India, threatening tariffs on any iPhone that’s not made in the U.S. “I expect [Apple’s iPhones] that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump posted on social media in late May.
The U.S. still makes a lot of stuff, and a lot of that is high-end. Aircraft engines, chipmaking tools, and industrial machinery are just some of the manufactured goods still produced in and exported from the U.S.
A 145% tariff on Chinese goods, or even one at the 54% level first proposed by Trump on April 2, would have wiped out U.S.-China trade. Anything supplied by China for U.S. manufacturing would have become unaffordable immediately. Finished products from countries like Japan or Vietnam could be imported at a lower tax rate, even if they relied on Chinese components, and still undercut U.S.-made products on price.
After initially creating turmoil in the financial markets, Trump has backtracked on many of his original tariff plans. At the time this article was published, the U.S. had a 10% tariff on imports from most countries, 30% tariffs on imports from China, and 25% tariffs on goods deemed important to national security, such as steel and auto parts. Some final products, like smartphones and laptops, are exempt from import taxes.
“There is no single industrial policy tool which will do this alone. It takes a whole ecosystem.”
Marc Fasteau, coauthor, Industrial policy for the United States
Of course, the Trump administration could always decide to hike tariffs again later. Or perhaps the courts may strike down the entire tariff regime as an example of executive overreach, as some federal judges have suggested in recent weeks. In reality, no one knows what will come next, which makes it difficult for businesses to plan much of anything.
Is reshoring possible?
Trade deals, from a legal perspective, are also more squishy than proper trade agreements, which take months, if not years, to negotiate. Since they’re not legally binding, trade deals aren’t enforceable, nor is the Trump administration bound by its own promises. Many companies, in the short term, are therefore wary of pledging large investments in the U.S. Factories are expensive and take years to build—and constant policy changes don’t make the U.S. an attractive investment destination.
Still, even without tariffs, reshoring is a “fool’s errand,” Roberts says. Bringing something like the iPhone back to the U.S. would make it exorbitantly expensive. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, in an April report, estimated that producing an iPhone entirely in the U.S. would triple its price from $1,000 to $3,500.
The Trump administration may have tried to do too much too fast. “You want to start with a small tariff to indicate that you’re serious, and a schedule that ramps it up to track the developing ability of U.S. manufacturers to make this stuff a scale,” Fasteau says.
From the start, tech companies have tried to curry favor with the Trump administration to influence his policies. How much of that courtship is a product of the trade war and what it might accomplish are unclear. In mid-February, in anticipation of the coming import levies, Apple promised to invest $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, bringing its suppliers Foxconn and Wistron with it. Then in early March, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s leading chipmaker, promised to invest an additional $100 billion into its Arizona plant.
If Trump’s tariffs—in whatever form they take—aren’t the best way to encourage U.S. manufacturing, what could?
Fasteau thinks the answer is more investment in automation. The U.S., he says, has significantly underinvested in robotics, compared with other manufacturing hubs like China and Germany. “Without investment in robotics, I don’t see large-scale manufacturing being economically workable in the U.S.,” Fasteau says.
But perhaps most important, the U.S. needs to decide what kind of manufacturing it really wants. The answer, despite what Lutnick says, likely isn’t a U.S.-based iPhone factory.
“If U.S. policymakers really want iPhone manufacturing in the U.S., they should go visit China,” Xing says, implying that it would be eye-opening—in a bad way. “They should see how much workers are paid and what their working conditions are—then report that back to the U.S.”
This article appears in the June/July 2025: Asia issue of Fortune with the headline “Reviving U.S. tech is manufacturing is harder than you think.”
The Internet Archive made it easier to search for '90s-era GIFs. GifCities contains millions of animations from the decade of flannel shirts and Soup Nazis. The GIFs were pulled from old GeoCities webpages, which (mostly) bit the dust in 2009.
The new version of GifCities is much easier to search. You can now search semantically, based on the animation's content. In other words, it's much more likely to bring up the topic or scene you're looking for by describing it. In GifCities' old version, you could only search by file name. (If you're feeling masochistic, you can still access that version under a "Special search" tab.)
The updated GifCities also now uses pagination. That's a good thing, as the old version's infinite scrolling could make for slow browsing. You can also create and share "GifGrams." As the name suggests, these are custom e-greetings made from those ancient GIFs.
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive launched GifCities in 2016 to celebrate its 20th anniversary. If you're too young to know, GeoCities was the quintessential early internet web-hosting service. A precursor to social media, it was full of embarrassing fan pages, personal photo albums and "Under construction" GIFs. (You'll find plenty of the latter in this search engine.) Yahoo pulled the plug on most of GeoCities in 2009. (Disclosure: That's Engadget's parent company.) However, the Japanese version survived for another decade.
If you're of a certain age, you'll likely enjoy browsing the archive. (Or, learn what passed for internet humor before you were born!) Just note that many results are NSFW. I made the mistake of searching for "Mr. T," and I will now leave you to douse my eyes with bleach.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/the-internet-archive-modernizes-its-geocities-gif-search-engine-192315963.html?src=rss
Google’s AI Overviews do not save me time. For one, I work for a tech blog and am therefore professionally curious as to whether or not the generated answers are correct, so I spend a few ticks figuring that out. (Answer: Sometimes, but not always!)
Then things get existential as I contemplate how long a self-cannibalizing system can sustain itself — if the AI gives answers pulled from websites that survive on visits from readers, what happens when no one visits those sites because AI cribbed the answer? Will I still get to write for websites if websites die from traffic starvation? It’s a lot to think about when all I want is TSA’s latest lithium-ion battery regulations.
Curiously (and unhelpfully) the first result when you Google “How to turn off AI Overviews in Chrome” doesn’t actually answer the question. The entry, from Google Support, discusses turning the feature off back when AI Overviews were experimental and handled through Google Labs. Navigate a little further down that page and you’ll see:
Note: Turning off “AI Overviews and more” in Search Labs will not disable all AI Overviews in Search. AI Overviews are part of Google Search like other features, such as knowledge panels, and can’t be turned off.
Thankfully, I work with intelligent people and one of them supplied me with a simple method of ensuring each search performed in a Chrome browser bypasses the AI Overview and uses results from the Web tab only. Here’s how you too can avoid wasted time (and energy) so you can search like it's 2024.
How to turn off AI Overviews in Chrome on desktop
Click the three dots in the upper right corner of your Chrome browser
Go to Settings > Search engine > Manage search engines and search
Under Site search, click the Add button
Enter Name: Google/Web
Enter Shortcut: https://www.google.com/
Enter URL: {google:baseURL}search?udm=14&q=%s
Click Add
Google / Engadget
Then, (hat tip to Tom’s Hardware for helping me figure this bit out) set the search type to default by clicking the three dots next to the shortcut you just created and clicking Make default.
Now, go Google “the best laptop power banks” and click on the Engadget entry (usually one to four results down) and spend a few moments looking at the ads (and the picture of my desk) before you move on so I can still have a job in 2026.
Other methods for turning off AI Overviews in Google Chrome
In that same Tom’s Hardware article, Avram Piltch links to the extension he built, which is a super easy way to hide the AI Overviews from sight. It’ll still generate the response, you just won’t see it. I prefer the Web method above, to avoid any unnecessary machine processing on my behalf, but the extension is easier and keeps you on the familiar “All” search results tab with knowledge panels, video results and the like.
To turn off the AI Overview for Chrome on your phone, I’ll direct you to the fine folks at tenbluelinks. Just open the link in your phone’s browser and follow the steps for Android or iOS.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/how-to-turn-off-googles-ai-overviews-in-web-searches-170009873.html?src=rss
While it didn’t quite make the cut in our guide to the best virtual private networks (VPNs), NordVPN remains one of the more popular providers out there for a reason, and right now you can save up to 76 percent on its two-year plans, with an Amazon gift card thrown in as a sweetener. With Prime Day due to take place at some point in July, that deal looks even better.
Right now, if you take out a 24-month Plus plan at $4.39 per month, you’ll pay $105.36 for the whole period, which is a 70 percent discount on Nord’s regular price. The plan includes the full suite of Nord’s VPN features and Threat Protection Pro anti-malware, plus you’ll get a $20 Amazon voucher thrown in.
If you’d rather opt for a NordVPN Complete plan, which includes 1TB of encrypted cloud storage, you’ll pay $5.39 per month or $129.36 over two years. This option comes with a $40 Amazon gift card.
The US-only NordVPN Prime plan comes with all of Nord’s features from the cheaper tiers, plus the NordProtect identity theft protection service, which gives you up to $1 million in cyber insurance, as well as credit and SSN monitoring. That plan currently costs $7.39 per month or $177.36 over two years, and includes a $50 Amazon gift card. All plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Using a VPN is the best way of bypassing geo-restricted content and adding another layer of privacy when browsing the web over public Wi-Fi. Our current number one pick is ProtonVPN, based on its combination of security, usability and privacy features. Its open-source framework is also a plus. You can browse its current pricing plans here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/get-a-free-amazon-gift-card-when-you-sign-up-for-a-discounted-nordvpn-plan-155835142.html?src=rss
Meta has finalized its $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, which now values the startup that provides other companies with data labeling and model evaluation services for AI training at $29 billion. As part of the deal, Scale AI's founder and CEO Alexandr Wang will be joining Meta. According to The New York Times, Wang will lead Meta's fledgling "Superintelligence lab." A few days ago, several reports came out that Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg has been personally overseeing the recruitment for a team he's assembling to achieve AI superintelligence.
Zuckerberg, who was reportedly frustrated by the quality of Meta's Llama 4 LLM, has been inviting potential recruits to his home and offering them compensation packages worth seven to nine figures. Wang said in his note to Scale employees that he's taking a few other people from the startup with him to Meta to work on artificial intelligence. Meta has yet to formally announce the team and to reveal what their role will be, but their ultimate goal based on the name "Superintelligence lab" is to develop AI with intellectual powers far beyond any human's.
This investment is Meta's second largest after its $19 billion Whatsapp acquisition. With its $14.3 billion investment, Meta will have a 49 percent stake on Scale but will have little control over its operations. The Times said the companies decided on that structure to avoid being scrutinized by regulators. Both Amazon's $4 billion investment in Anthropic and Microsoft's close ties to OpenAI were probed by regulators, after all. Meta itself is still battling the FTC in an antitrust case over its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.
In his note to employees, Wang wrote that "opportunities of this magnitude," pertaining to Meta's investment, "come at a cost." That cost, he said, was his departure. Wang will still serve on Scale's Board of Directors, but his position as CEO will be taken over by Jason Droege, the startup's current Chief Strategy Officer.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-invests-148-billion-in-scale-ai-and-recruits-its-ceo-130029612.html?src=rss
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 18: CEO of Scale A.I. Alexandr Wang testifies during a House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies and Innovation hearing about artificial intelligence on Capitol Hill July 18, 2023 in Washington, DC. The hearing focused on barriers that prevent the Department of Defense from adopting and deploying A.I. effectively and the risks from adversarial A.I. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Just in time for a last-minute Father's Day gift (or perhaps a little treat for yourself, because you deserve nice things), Apple's AirPods 4 have dropped back down to their lowest price to date. You can snap up a pair for $99. That's $30 off the list price.
This discount is for the base version of the earbuds without active noise cancellation (ANC). All the same, this is a good deal on our pick for the best budget AirPods, especially if foregoing ANC doesn't bother you too much.
We gave the AirPods 4 a score of 88 in our review. The improved fit and comfort, and upgraded sound quality compared with the previous version are definite plus points.
The AirPods 4 include features seen in the higher end AirPods Pro 2 but, unfortunately, not that model's onboard volume controls. The lack of wireless charging and Apple's Conversation Awareness feature are also negatives.
However, due in large part to the H2 chip that's included in the AirPods 4 (the same one that powers AirPods Pro 2), you'll get features such as Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking, "cinema-quality" audio for FaceTime, Adaptive EQ and Voice Isolation (which helps eliminate background noise). With Siri Interactions, you can nod or shake your head to accept or reject calls, and respond to or dismiss messages and notifications.
When Apple rolls out iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26 this fall, the company will release a firmware update for AirPods 4 (as well as AirPods 4 with ANC and the second-gen AirPods Pro). This update will bring new features to the earbuds, such as the ability to use them to control iPhone and iPad cameras. Apple is also promising "studio quality recording" that should help creators better capture sound, even in noisy environments. Audio quality upgrades are on the way too.
Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-airpods-4-earbuds-are-cheaper-than-ever-right-now-144223181.html?src=rss
JBL is reintroducing its immersive soundbar lineup with even more power, but thankfully, the convenient detachable side speakers aren't going anywhere. JBL refreshed the entire Bar lineup, with the Bar 1000 MK2 leading the charge. The soundbar still features a 10-inch wireless subwoofer along with removable speakers on each end that let you continue playing your music or movies even if you wander away from the TV.
For the 2025 refresh, JBL kept the Bar 1000 MK2 on a 7.1.4 channel setup, but pumped up the max power output to 960W for an even louder and more immersive listening experience. The detachable speakers still have a max battery life of up to 10 hours, where you can reattach them to the soundbar to recharge. Like its predecessor, the Bar 1000 MK2 features true Dolby Atmos, thanks to four upfiring drivers, along with DTS:X 3D surround sound and MultiBeam 3.0. You won't have to constantly adjust the volume when bouncing between dialogue scenes and loud action since the updated soundbar has PureVoice 2.0 that automatically optimizes the dialogue volume based on the scene's ambient sound.
The Bar 1000 MK2 can still use Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to connect to a device, but is also compatible with AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect. Besides the Bar 1000 MK2, JBL will debut the refreshed Bar 700 MK2 that comes with detachable speakers too, but can only virtualize Dolby Atmos. The updated Bar 500 MK2 and Bar 300 MK2 also don't offer true Dolby Atmos, nor JBL's Night Listening mode that automatically reduces loud noises. If you're in need of a soundbar with a subwoofer, it's worth noting that the new Bar 300 MK2 still doesn't have one.
The Bar 1000 MK2 is due to hit the shelves first at $1,199 later this month. The release of the $899 Bar 700 MK2, the $649 Bar 500 MK2 and the $449 Bar 300 MK2 will follow shortly after. The most expensive of JBL's Bar lineup, an 11.1.4-channel follow-up to the Bar 1300X, will release in the fall and start at $1,699. While it's much more expensive, it will come with detachable speakers that have standalone Bluetooth capabilities.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/jbl-refreshes-its-2025-soundbars-with-a-serious-power-up-120014177.html?src=rss
On Wednesday, acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau told the House Appropriations Committee that the Federal Aviation Administration plans to replace its aging air traffic control systems, which still rely on floppy disks and Windows 95 computers, Tom's Hardware reports. The agency has issued a Request For Information to gather proposals from companies willing to tackle the massive infrastructure overhaul.
"The whole idea is to replace the system. No more floppy disks or paper strips," Rocheleau said during the committee hearing. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the project "the most important infrastructure project that we've had in this country for decades," describing it as a bipartisan priority.
Most air traffic control towers and facilities across the US currently operate with technology that seems frozen in the 20th century, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing—when it works. Some controllers currently use paper strips to track aircraft movements and transfer data between systems using floppy disks, while their computers run Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system, which launched in 1995.
Walmart just announced a major expansion of its drone delivery service to five new cities. These areas include Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando, Charlotte and Houston. This makes it the first retailer to offer drone-based deliveries across five states, as the service has already been operating in Arkansas.
This isn't a small beta test, like some of Amazon's pilot programs. Walmart says the service is launching at 100 stores. This is thanks to a partnership with Wing, which operates its drones within FAA guidelines.
“This is real drone delivery at scale,” said Adam Woodworth, CEO of Wing. “People all around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex have made drone delivery part of their normal shopping habits over the past year. Now we’re excited to share this ultra-fast delivery experience with millions more people across many more US cities.”
Walmart
These drones can deliver up to six miles from the retail location. Walmart says it's building out the service right now, but it could take up to a year to reach every store. Customers are encouraged to sign up for notifications as to when drone deliveries open up in their area. The company notes that it has made over 150,000 drone deliveries so far, with an average fulfillment time of 19 minutes. There is a weight limit, however, and Wing drones will only deliver certain items.
Rival Amazon recently experienced a hiccup with its in-house drone delivery program. There were two crashes, which forced the company to put the project on hold for a bit. It's back now, and can now deliver new items like smartphones and video doorbells.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/walmart-expands-drone-deliveries-to-five-new-cities-including-atlanta-200030301.html?src=rss
Sony’s 1000X earbuds may get most of the attention in the company’s lineup, but there are gems to be found on the roster for less money. The LinkBuds series offers some serious contenders for $100 less than the flagship WF-1000XM5. There have also been some compelling products under $150 from Sony, and the recently released WF-C710N ($120) also fits the bill. A comfortable fit, a long list of features and above-average ANC performance lead the positives here, but there are a few caveats you’ll need to consider before you commit.
What’s good about the WF-C710N?
The WF-C710N is the successor to the WF-C700N that debuted in 2023. That set was a formidable mid-range contender in its own right, thanks to a compact design and handy features. Sony didn’t change the overall look too much for the C710N, but the touch panels for the controls are easier to find since they’re now concave circles. The company also introduced a transparent blue color option that allows you to see inside the earbuds and case. It’s giving Beats Solo Buds and Studio Buds + vibes, but I’m all for it. In my opinion, the more transparent gadgets, the better.
Compared to much of the competition, the C710N’s smaller size also means it is more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. The earbuds sit on the ridges of my ears nicely, and there isn’t any unbalanced, excess weight projecting out from the side of my head. It’s clear Sony fine-tuned the ergonomics for all-day use, and I had no trouble wearing them for the entirety of my battery tests. That’s not always the case with larger, bulkier earbuds.
The C710N might be a midrange set at $120, but the long list of features allows the earbuds to punch above their weight. Starting with the basics, there’s active noise cancellation (ANC), adjustable ambient sound mode, customizable EQ (presets and sliders), multipoint connectivity, reconfigurable touch controls and automatic pausing when the buds are removed from your ears. On the more advanced end of the spec sheet, you get Adaptive Sound Control: Sony’s trademark tool that automates changes to sound settings based on activity or location. There’s also a personalized EQ, 360 Reality Audio support, DSEE upscaling and a Quick Attention feature that lowers the volume and activates ambient sound for any brief chats. The only notable omission here is Speak-to-Chat that does the same thing as Quick Attention automatically when you start talking, but I’m not surprised it was left off a pair of $120 earbuds.
ANC performance is remarkably strong on the C710N, a feat that typically eludes the competition in this price range. In particular, I noticed these earbuds do an above average job of blocking human voices as I was able to greatly reduce the volume of nearby chatter in most instances. I’m not talking complete silence, but the amount of noise blocking is above average when you’re in the vicinity of someone you’d rather not listen to at full volume. Constant distractions like loud fans are also reduced but not entirely thwarted, so that too is better than what you’ll get from a lot of the similarly priced options.
What’s not so good about the WF-C710N?
Billy Steele for Engadget
Compared to other midrange earbuds, sound quality is slightly above average on the C710N, but it could be good enough to satisfy you at this price. The bass is tight and punchy, but oftentimes it overpowers the mix for hip-hop, rock and metal — basically any genre with a driving beat. And when you switch to something more mellow like bluegrass, the low-end tone still constrains the treble and mid range. Depending on the song, highs can cut through, but a boost in the middle of the EQ would do wonders for overall depth of sound here (you’ll want to keep DSEE active). Is it good enough for someone looking to pick up a set of earbuds on a budget? Yes. Does the audio performance compete with flagship options like the WF-1000XM5? Not even close.
In my tests, the C710N didn’t last as long as Sony promised. The company says you’ll get up to eight and a half hours on a charge with ANC active. But, using a mix of noise cancelling and ambient sound modes, I only managed between six and a half and seven hours. That’s a respectable amount, but if you’re looking to wear these for an entire work day, you might not make it. That’s especially true if you need them to also stick around for your commute.
Despite offering the option to “Capture Voice During a Phone Call” in the Sound Connect app, the C710N doesn’t pipe much of you back through the earbuds in that scenario. Even with ambient sound active, I still felt the need to speak up more than normal, so voice and video calls weren’t as natural as they could be. Overall, Sony’s assurance of “crystal-clear calls” falls flat as you’ll sound decent, but not pristine. The C710N will block most background noise from coming through, but in doing so the quality of your voice greatly suffers. All of that means these earbuds are usable for calls if you really need them, but if sounding comprehensible in calls is important , you’ll want to look elsewhere.
Final verdict on the WF-C710N
If comfort and handy features are your primary concern, the C710N will serve you well. Sound quality isn’t the best, but it isn’t bad either, so I have no doubt that many people will be pleased with it. If I had been able to hit (or even surpass) Sony’s stated battery life, these earbuds would be easy to recommend. Despite that, they’re still a solid option, especially at $120, since the company once again outpaces its midrange rivals with more convenient tools than you’ll find anywhere else. The C710N is definitely a better choice than the slightly cheaper Beats Solo Buds, which are now $99.95 at full price ($80 at launch).
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/sony-wf-c710n-review-more-than-midrange-180018400.html?src=rss
Chinese propaganda and social engineering operations have been using ChatGPT to create posts, comments and drive engagement at home and abroad. OpenAI said it has recently disrupted four Chinese covert influence operations that were using its tool to generate social media posts and replies on platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Reddit and X.
The comments generated revolved around several topics from US politics to a Taiwanese video game where players fight the Chinese Communist Party. ChatGPT was used to create social media posts that both supported and decried different hot button issues to stir up misleading political discourse.
Ben Nimmo, principal investigator at OpenAI told NPR, "what we're seeing from China is a growing range of covert operations using a growing range of tactics." While OpenAI claimed it also disrupted a handful of operations it believes originated in Russia, Iran and North Korea, Nimmo elaborated on the Chinese operations saying they "targeted many different countries and topics [...] some of them combined elements of influence operations, social engineering, surveillance."
This is far from the first time this has occurred. In 2023, researchers from cybersecurity firm Mandiant found that AI-generated content has been used in politically motivated online influence campaigns in numerous instances since 2019.
In 2024, OpenAI published a blog post outlining its efforts to disrupt five state-affiliated operations across China, Iran and North Korea that were using OpenAI models for malicious intent. These applications included debugging code, generating scripts and creating content for use in phishing campaigns.
That same year, OpenAI said it disrupted an Iranian operation that was using ChatGPT to create longform political articles about US elections that were then posted on fake news sites posing as both conservative and progressive outlets. The operation was also creating comments to post on X and Instagram through fake accounts, again espousing opposing points of view.
"We didn't generally see these operations getting more engagement because of their use of AI," Nimmo told NPR. "For these operations, better tools don't necessarily mean better outcomes."
This offers little comfort. As generative AI gets cheaper and smarter, it stands to reason that its ability to generate content en masse will make influence campaigns like these easier and more affordable to build, even if their efficacy remains unchanged.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/foreign-propagandists-continue-using-chatgpt-in-influence-campaigns-161509862.html?src=rss
A number of Sonos speakers are on sale right now at Sonos direct and Amazon. his includes the well-regarded Era 300 smart speaker, which is on sale for $359. This particular model is one of Sonos' newest, and it has rarely gone on sale in the past.
We enjoyed the Era 300 enough to give it a score of 80 in our review. It has excellent sound quality and offers a premium experience that far surpasses other products in the company's lineup, even the Era 100. This is also true when compared to rival speakers like Apple's HomePod.
It's simple to set up and offers the company's proprietary Trueplay tuning system. This feature optimizes the sound of the speaker to the unique acoustics of a room by leveraging an internal microphone. It measures how sound reflects off surfaces and adjusts the EQ to match. It's pretty nifty.
As for connectivity, it can pair with another Era 300 speaker for a true stereo experience. It also includes a Bluetooth receiver and line-in options. Of course, the speaker integrates with just about every streaming music service. The built-in mic also allows for voice assistant control, but only with Siri and Alexa. Google Assistant is left out of the party.
This speaker goes all-in on spatial audio, and the results are mixed. Sometimes it's sublime and sometimes it's kind of eh. This is more of a dig on the technology itself. It has serious potential but is still experiencing growing pains. The only real downside of this speaker is the exorbitant asking price, which has been slightly alleviated by this sale.
As previously mentioned, other Sonos products are available at a discount. This includes the Sonos Beam Gen 2 soundbar, which is 26 percent off at $369, and the Era 100, which is down to $179. These deals are also available via Sonos itself. There's also an ongoing sale on portable speakers that includes the Move 2 and the Roam 2.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-sonos-era-300-is-90-off-in-this-home-speaker-sale-150857352.html?src=rss
Regardless of what kind of exercise you’re into, if you’re working out, you’ll want a pair of wireless workout headphones. They allow you to be free and untethered during a serious weight-lifting session, a 5K run, an hour at the skate park and everywhere in between where you’re moving and sweating a ton. There are dozens of great wireless headphones and wireless earbud options out there, but for exercise in particular, there are additional factors to consider before picking one up like water resistance, battery life and overall comfort.
At Engadget, we’ve tested a bunch of fitness-ready headphones and earbuds to come up with our top picks, plus some advice to consider before you pick up a pair. All of our top picks below will work in and out of the gym, so you can invest in just one pair and make those your daily driver. If you’re primarily a runner, check out our list of best headphones for running.
Best workout headphones for 2025
Others wireless workout headphones we tested
Apple AirPods Pro
The Apple AirPods Pro have an IP54 rating, which protects them from brief encounters with dust and splashes. While that’s more dust protection than many other earbuds we tested, it’s the same level of water resistance that most exercise-specific competitors have. We generally like the AirPods Pro, but the Beats Fit Pro offer many of the same features and conveniences (namely good transparency mode and the H1 chip), with a design that’s more appropriate for working out.
Beats Powerbeats Pro
The Powerbeats Pro are a good alternative to the Beats Fit Pro if you’re a stickler for a hook design. However, they cost $50 more than the Fit Pro (although they often hover around $180) and don’t offer any significant upgrades or additional features aside from their design. They’re also quite old at this point (launched in 2019) and it appears Beats is putting more effort into upgrading and updating its newer models rather than this model.
Anker Soundcore AeroFit Pro
The Soundcore AeroFit Pro is Anker’s version of the Shokz OpenFit, but I found it to be less secure and not as comfortable as the latter. The actual earbuds on the AeroFit Pro are noticeably bulkier than those on the OpenFit, which caused them to shift and move much more when I was wearing them during exercise. They never fell off my ears completely, but I spent more time adjusting them than I did enjoying them.
JBL Endurance Peak 3
The most noteworthy thing about the Endurance Peak 3 is that they have the same IP68-rating that the (now discontinued) Jabra Elite 8 Active do, but they only cost $100. But, while you get the same protection here, you’ll have to sacrifice in other areas. The Endurance Peak 3 didn’t blow me away when it came to sound quality or comfort (the hook is more rigid than those on my favorite buds of a similar style) and their charging case is massive compared to most competitors.
What to look for in workout headphones
Design
Before diving in, it’s worth mentioning that this guide focuses on wireless earbuds. While you could wear over-ear or on-ear headphones during a workout, most of the best headphones available now do not have the same level of durability. Water and dust resistance, particularly the former, is important for any audio gear you plan on sweating with or taking outdoors, and that’s more prevalent in the wireless earbuds world.
Most earbuds have one of three designs: in-ear, in-ear with hook or open-ear. The first two are the most popular. In-ears are arguably the most common, while those with hooks promise better security and fit since they have an appendage that curls around the top of your ear. Open-ear designs don’t stick into your ear canal, but rather sit just outside of it. This makes it easier to hear the world around you while also listening to audio, and could be more comfortable for those who don’t like the intrusiveness of in-ear buds.
Water resistance and dust protection
Even if a pair of headphones for working out aren’t marketed specifically as exercise headphones, a sturdy, water-resistant design will, by default, make them suitable for exercise. To avoid repetition, here’s a quick primer on durability, or ingression protection (IP) ratings. The first digit you’ll see after the “IP” refers to protection from dust and other potential intrusions, measured on a scale from 1 to 6. The second refers to water resistance or even waterproofing, in the best cases. The ratings for water resistance are ranked on a scale of 1 to 9; higher numbers mean more protection, while the letter “X” means the device is not rated for protection in that regard.
All of the earbuds we tested for this guide have at least an IPX4 rating, which means there’s no dust protection, but the buds can withstand splashes from any direction and are sweat resistant, but probably shouldn't be submerged. For a detailed breakdown of all the possible permutations, check out this guide published by a supplier called The Enclosure Company.
Active noise cancellation and transparency mode
Active noise cancellation (ANC) is becoming standard on wireless earbuds, at least those above a certain price point. If you’re looking for a pair of buds that can be your workout companion and serve you outside of the gym, too, noise cancelation is a good feature to have. It makes the buds more versatile, allowing you to block out the dull roar of your home or office so you can focus, or give you some solitude during a busy commute.
But an earbud’s ability to block out the world goes hand-in-hand with its ability to open things back up should you need it. Many ANC earbuds also support some sort of “transparency mode,” or various levels of noise reduction. This is important for running headphones because exercising outdoors, alongside busy streets, can be dangerous. You probably don’t want to be totally oblivious to what’s going on around you when you’re running outside; adjusting noise cancelation levels to increase your awareness will help with that. Stronger noise cancelation might be more appealing to those doing more indoor training if they want to block out the dull roar of a gym or the guy exaggeratingly lifting weights next to you.
Battery life
All of the Bluetooth earbuds we tested have a battery life of six to eight hours. In general, that’s what you can expect from this space, with a few outliers that can get up to 15 hours of life on a charge. Even the low end of the spectrum should be good enough for most athletes and gym junkies, but it’ll be handy to keep the buds’ charging case on you if you think you’ll get close to using up all their juice during a single session.
You’ll get an average of 20 to 28 extra hours of battery out of most charging cases and all of the earbuds we tested had holders that provided at least an extra 15 hours. This will dictate how often you actually have to charge the device — as in physically connect the case with earbuds inside to a charging cable, or set it on a wireless charger to power up.
How we test workout headphones
In testing wireless workout headphones, I wear them during every bit of exercise I do — be it a casual walk around the block, a brisk morning run or a challenging weight-lifting session. I’m looking for comfort arguably most of all, because you should never be fussing with your earbuds when you should be focusing on working out. In the same vein, I’m cognizant of if they get loose during fast movements or slippery when I’m sweating. I also use the earbuds when not exercising to take calls and listen to music throughout the day. Many people will want just one pair of earbuds that they can use while exercising and just doing everyday things, so I evaluate each pair on their ability to be comfortable and provide a good listening experience in multiple different activities.
While I am also evaluating sound quality, I’m admittedly not an audio expert. My colleague Billy Steele holds that title at Engadget, and you’ll find much more detailed information about audio quality for some of our top picks in his reviews and buying guides. With these headphones for working out, however, I will make note of related issues if they stood out (i.e. if a pair of earbuds had noticeably strong bass out of the box, weak highs, etc). Most of the wireless workout headphones we tested work with companion apps that have adjustable EQ settings, so you’ll be able to tweak sound profiles to your liking in most cases.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/best-wireless-workout-headphones-191517835.html?src=rss
The complex and consequential antitrust trial against Google and its search engine practices recently heard its closing arguments, and the tech giant is already planning to appeal. In a post made on X, Google confirmed it would file an appeal, explaining that the proposed solutions went too far and "would harm consumers."
“We will wait for the Court’s opinion,” Google wrote. “And we still strongly believe the Court’s original decision was wrong, and look forward to our eventual appeal.”
To challenge Google's dominance of the search engine market, the Department of Justice took on the tech giant by filing a lawsuit back in 2020. The monumental antitrust case has steadily evolved over the years, with the DOJ proposing remedies like Google opening up its search engine tech to licensing, prohibiting agreements with device makers like Apple and Samsung to ensure Google was the default search engine and forcing the sale of the Chrome browser and the open-source Chromium project.
According to Google, the Department of Justice's proposed actions would open consumers up to "very real privacy issues," leave the government in charge of user data and help "well-funded competitors." Instead, Google offered to loosen its agreements to allow other search engines on devices and create an oversight committee to monitor the company's activities.
Since then, the federal judge presiding over the case, Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled in August 2024 that Google had an illegal monopoly of the search engine market. The judge agreed with the DOJ that Google owning the Chrome browser gives it an unfair advantage since it could use its search engine advantage to drive more traffic and generate more revenue for the company.
The end result of this antitrust trial could have serious implications for the future of AI, which is closely tied to the search engine market. According to Google, this ruling could allow other companies with AI chatbots to step in and dominate the search engine market instead. During the trial, Nick Turley, an OpenAI executive, testified that the company would be interested in buying Chrome if Google was forced to sell it.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-plans-to-appeal-the-antitrust-ruling-against-its-search-engine-dominance-171748836.html?src=rss
According to a report from NPR, Meta plans to shift the task of assessing its products' potential harms away from human reviewers, instead leaning more heavily on AI to speed up the process. Internal documents seen by the publication note that Meta is aiming to have up to 90 percent of risk assessments fall on AI, NPR reports, and is considering using AI reviews even in areas such as youth risk and "integrity," which covers violent content, misinformation and more. Unnamed current and former Meta employees who spoke with NPR warned AI may overlook serious risks that a human team would have been able to identify.
Updates and new features for Meta's platforms, including Instagram and WhatsApp, have long been subjected to human reviews before they hit the public, but Meta has reportedly doubled down on the use of AI over the last two months. Now, according to NPR, product teams have to fill out a questionnaire about their product and submit this for review by the AI system, which generally provides an "instant decision" that includes the risk areas it's identified. They'll then have to address whatever requirements it laid out to resolve the issues before the product can be released.
A former Meta executive told NPR that reducing scrutiny "means you're creating higher risks. Negative externalities of product changes are less likely to be prevented before they start causing problems in the world." In a statement to NPR, Meta said it would still tap "human expertise" to evaluate "novel and complex issues," and leave the "low-risk decisions" to AI. Read the full report over at NPR.
It comes a few days after Meta released its latest quarterly integrity reports — the first since changing its policies on content moderation and fact-checking earlier this year. The amount of content taken down has unsurprisingly decreased in the wake of the changes, per the report. But there was a small rise in bullying and harassment, as well as violent and graphic content.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-will-reportedly-soon-use-ai-for-most-product-risk-assessments-instead-of-human-reviewers-205416849.html?src=rss
Mozilla's Firefox has joined Chrome, Edge and other browsers in offering AI-powered overviews, but this time with a twist. The latest version lets you use a keyboard shortcut to open a pop-up that previews a link's contents when you hover over it from any web page. It's a new way that AI is being integrated into browsers that may help users but hurt publishers.
To try the new feature you need the latest Firefox release channel version 139.0. Within the settings under "Firefox Labs," simply turn on Link Previews. "After enabling, use the Alt+Shift keyboard shortcut when hovering over a link to see the previews in action," Mozilla writes.
Once turned on, you can hover your mouse over a link on any webpage and a vertical window will pop up showing an image on top, the publisher's link and a quick summary. Below that are AI-generated "key points" that provide further information. Mozilla previously said that it uses the SmolLM2-360M language model from Hugging Face, on-device with Reader's View content to ensure privacy.
Link Previews first came along last month in beta but is now widely available in some regions. Like Google's AI previews, it could risk harming publishers by reducing traffic (which is likely why neither of those features are available in France where I live). It's also not clear if Firefox is paying publishers to use their information in AI-powered summaries.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-war-on-links-escalates-with-firefoxs-experimental-ai-previews-123059735.html?src=rss
CANADA - 2025/05/11: In this photo illustration, the Mozilla Firefox logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. (Photo Illustration by Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Finding the best wireless earbuds can make a huge difference in your day-to-day life, whether you’re commuting, working out, traveling or just zoning out with your favorite playlist. Today’s earbuds aren’t just about cutting the cord — they’re smarter, more comfortable and packed with features like active noise cancellation, customizable sound profiles and even spatial audio support.
With so many options out there, there’s truly a pair of wireless earbuds for everyone. Whether you want something that's perfect for running, built for all-day wear at the office or tuned for serious audiophiles, the choices have never been better. Some models prioritize battery life, others deliver premium sound quality and a few somehow manage to do it all without blowing your budget. No matter what you’re looking for, we’re here to help you find the right set of wireless earbuds to match your lifestyle.
When it comes to shopping for earphones, the first thing to consider is design or wear style. Do you prefer a semi-open fit like AirPods or do you want something that completely closes off your ears? If you’re shopping for earbuds with active noise cancellation, you'll want the latter, but a case can be made for the former if you want to wear them all day or frequent places where you need to be tuned in to the ambient sounds. The overall shape of earbuds can determine whether you get a comfortable fit, so can the size and weight, so you’ll want to consider all that before deciding. And remember: audio companies aren’t perfect, so despite lots of research, the earbud shape they decided on may not fit you well. Don’t be afraid to return ill-fitting earbuds for something that’s more comfortable.
As wireless earbuds have become the norm, they’re now more reliable for basic things like consistent Bluetooth connectivity. Companies are still in a race to pack as much as they can into increasingly smaller designs. This typically means a longer list of features on the more premium sets of earbuds with basic functionality on the cheapest models. Carefully consider what you can’t live without when selecting your next earbuds, and make sure key items like automatic pausing and multipoint connectivity are on the spec sheet. You’ll also want to investigate the volume and touch controls as you’ll often have to sacrifice access to something else to make that adjustment via on-board taps or swipes. Some earbuds even offer app settings to tweak the audio profiles or firmware updates to improve performance over time.
For those in the Apple ecosystem, features like auto-pairing with devices, especially with AirPods Pro 2, can be an added advantage, while Android users may want to look for models that offer similar cross-device functionality.
When it comes to battery life, the average set of earbuds lasts about five hours on a single charge. You can find sets that last longer, but this is likely enough to get you through a work day if you’re docking the buds during lunch or the occasional meeting. You’ll want to check on how many extra charges are available via the case and if it supports wireless charging.
Companies will also make lofty claims about call quality on wireless earbuds. Despite lots of promises, the reality is most earbuds still leave you sounding like you’re on speakerphone. There are some sets that deliver, but don’t get your hopes up unless reviews confirm the claims.
Sound can be subjective, so we recommend trying before you buy if at all possible. This is especially true if you're an audiophile. We understand this isn’t easy when most of us do a lot of shopping online, but trying on a set of earbuds and listening to them for a few minutes can save you from an expensive case of buyer's remorse. If a store doesn’t allow a quick demo, most retailers have return policies that will let you take earbuds back you don’t like. Of course, you have to be willing to temporarily part with funds in order to do this.
We also recommend paying attention to things like Spatial Audio, Dolby Atmos, 360 Reality Audio and other immersive formats. Not all earbuds support them, so you’ll want to make sure a perspective pair does if that sort of thing excites you, especially if you plan to use them for playback of high-quality audio.
How we test wireless Bluetooth earbuds
The primary way we test earbuds is to wear them as much as possible. We prefer to do this over a one- to two-week period, but sometimes embargoes don’t allow it. During this time, we listen to a mix of music and podcasts, while also using the earbuds to take both voice and video calls. Since battery life for earbuds is typically less than a full day, we drain the battery with looping music and the volume set at a comfortable level (usually around 75 percent).
To judge audio quality, we listen to a range of genres, noting any differences in the sound profile across the styles. We also test at both low and high volumes to check for consistency in the tuning. To assess call quality, we’ll record audio samples with the earbuds’ microphones as well as have third parties call us.
When it comes to features, we do a thorough review of companion apps, testing each feature as we work through the software. Any holdovers from previous models are double checked for improvements or regression. If the earbuds we’re testing are an updated version of a previous model, we’ll spend time getting reacquainted with the older buds. Ditto for the closest competition for each new set of earbuds that we review.
Other wireless Bluetooth earbuds we tested
Beats Powerbeats Pro 2
The newest version of the Powerbeats Pro have an improved, comfortable design, balanced bass and new H2 chips and a heart rate sensor inside. But heart rate support is currently limited on iOS, and there's a possibility those capabilities make it onto the next AirPods Pro models.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3
The Galaxy Buds 3 combine ANC with an open-type design, which renders the noise-blocking abilities of the earbuds mostly useless. Still, there’s great low-end tone with ample bass when a track demands it. There are also lots of handy features, most of which require a Samsung phone. But at this price, there are better options from Google, Beats and Sony
Sennheiser Momentum Sport
I really like the overall shape of the Momentum Sport earbuds. They’re more comfortable than the Momentum True Wireless 4 and fit in my ears better. What’s more, the body temperature and heart rate sensors work well, sending those stats to a variety of apps. However, that sport-tracking feature works best with Polar’s app and devices, so there’s that consideration. Also, the audio quality and ANC performance isn’t as good as the MTW4, and these earbuds are pricey.
Beats Solo Buds
There’s a lot to like about the Solo Buds for $80. For me, the primary perk is they’re very comfortable to wear for long periods of time thanks to some thoughtful design considerations. You only get the basics here in terms of features and, as expected, the overall sound quality isn’t as good as the pricier models in the Beats lineup. You will get 18 hours of battery life though, since the company nixed the battery in the case and beefed up the listening time in the buds themselves.
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
Bose created something very unique for this set of earbuds that allows you to stay in-tune with the world while listening to audio content. The clip-on design is very comfortable, but sound quality suffers due to the open-type fit, especially when it comes to bass and spatial audio.
Audio-Technica ATH-TWX7
These stick buds have a compact design that’s comfortable to wear and the warm sound profile is great at times. However, overall audio performance is inconsistent and there’s no automatic pausing.
Master & Dynamic MW09
Retooled audio, better ambient sound mode and reliable multipoint Bluetooth are the best things the MW09 has to offer. They’re expensive though, and you can find better ANC performance elsewhere.
Wireless earbud FAQs
What is considered good battery life for true wireless earbuds?
Most wireless earbuds will last five hours on a single charge, at the least. You can find some pairs that have even better battery life, lasting between six and eight hours before they need more juice. All of the best wireless earbuds come with a charging case, which will provide additional hours of battery life — but you'll have to return each bud to the case in order to charge them up.
Is sound quality better on headphones or earbuds?
Comparing sound quality on earbuds and headphones is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. There are a lot of variables to consider and the differences in components make a direct comparison difficult. Personally, I prefer the audio quality from over-ear headphones, but I can tell you the sound from earbuds like Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 3 is also outstanding.
Which wireless earbuds have the longest battery life?
With new models coming out all the time, tracking the hours of battery life for each this can be difficult to keep tabs on. The longest-lasting earbuds we’ve reviewed are Audio-Technica’s ATH-CKS5TW. The company states they last 15 hours, but the app was still showing 40 percent at that mark during our tests. The only downside is these earbuds debuted in 2019 and both technology and features have improved since. In terms of current models, Master & Dynamic’s MW08 offers 12 hours of use on a charge with ANC off (10 with ANC on) and JBL has multiple options with 10-hour batteries.
What wireless earbuds are waterproof?
There are plenty of options these days when it comes to increased water resistance. To determine the level of protection, you’ll want to look for an IP (ingress protection) rating. The first number indicates intrusion protection from things like dust. The second number is the level of moisture protection and you’ll want to make sure that figure is 7 or higher. At this water-resistance rating, earbuds can withstand full immersion for up to 30 minutes in depths up to one meter (3.28 feet). If either of the IP numbers is an X, that means it doesn’t have any special protection. For example, a pair of wireless earbuds that are IPX7 wouldn’t be built to avoid dust intrusion, but they would be ok if you dropped them in shallow water.
Which earbuds stay in ears the best?
A secure fit can vary wildly from person to person. All of our ears are different, so audio companies are designing their products to fit the most people they can with a single shape. This is why AirPods will easily fall out for some but stay put for others. Design touches like wing tips or fins typically come on fitness models and those elements can help keep things in place. You’ll likely just have to try earbuds on, and if they don’t fit well return them.
What wireless earbuds work with PS5?
PlayStation 5 doesn’t support Bluetooth audio without an adapter or dongle. Even Sony’s own gaming headsets come with a transmitter that connects to the console. There are universal options that allow you to use any headphones, headset or earbuds with a PS5. Once you have one, plug it into a USB port on the console and pair your earbuds with it.
Recent updates
May 2025: Updated to ensure top picks and buying advice remain accurate.
March 2025: Updated the top pick for the best sounding wireless earbuds - runner up.
January 2025: Updated the top pick for best sounding wireless earbuds.
July 2024: Updated our list to include the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/best-wireless-earbuds-120058222.html?src=rss
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