Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro

As part of the Samsung Unpacked event, two other interesting products were released – the Galaxy Buds Pro, active noise cancelling smart earbuds.

The next generation earbuds by Samsung. Taking on its learnings from 2020, Samsung has looked at audio quality, now offering a new level of immersive comprehensive sound thanks to an 11mm woofer for deep bass and a 6.5mm tweeter for the mid-tone and treble.

Realising that people don’t only use earbuds to listen to music and podcasts, but also for taking calls, the team has also worked on call quality. Galaxy Buds Pro separate your voice from unwanted sounds with three microphones and a Voice Pickup Unit (VPU), ensuring you are heard as clearly as possible. One of the outer microphones further eliminates background noises. In addition, Samsung has integrated its new Wind Shield technology into Galaxy Buds Pro. Effectively, this is a specially designed chamber with mesh that filters out interference even in windy weather.

Along with these great features is an updated Active Noise Control. Intelligent Active Noise Control lets you seamlessly switch between noise cancelling and fully adjustable Ambient Mode. So you can let the outside in – or keep it out. When you need to focus on work – or tune out from the world around to relax – you can reduce the background noise by up to 99 percent using Active Noise Cancelling technology. And with Ambient Mode, you can choose to amplify nearby sounds by more than 20 decibels.

One fantastic feature that I’m sure many others will start to copy is that the Galaxy Buds Pro recognise when you’re speaking, and automatically switch between cancelling nearby sounds and amplifying them. They will also lower the volume of your music when you want to talk with Voice Detect that automatically detects speech, turns down what your listening to and switches from ANC to Ambient Mode.

The earbuds offer 5 hours of playtime with ANC on and the case offers up to 18 hours and if you run out of juice the case is Qi wireless charger compatible, meaning that five minutes of charge will give you an hour of extra play time. The earbuds are also IPX7 water and sweat resistant.

Galaxy Buds Pro will be available from 29th January and they come in three stunning colours: timeless Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, and Phantom Violet to match with your Galaxy S21 5G Series device all for £219.

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Bose SleepBuds II: MUST HAVE

At the tail end of 2017, SCDW reported on the original Sleepbuds after Bose acquired Hush that had pioneered the technology. Now, a few years later, here is the second iteration of the Bose Sleepbuds, with technology clinically proven to help people fall asleep.

This product is solely for helping a person fall asleep, they aren’t earbuds to listen to music or take calls. It is simply there to help you fall asleep night after night. Combining a new acoustic and electronic design, a new enclosure and proprietary ear tips, these buds block, cover and replace audible distractions – be it snoring, loud neighbours, traffic outside etc.

To help you fall asleep and drown out the distracting noises, there are 14 noise-masking tracks mirror the frequencies of night-time disruptions, hiding them under soothing layers of audio. If you have trouble sleeping due to anxiety or stress, 15 Naturescapes help calm with walks down a Country Road, Shore Line, Boardwalk, and beyond; 10 Tranquilities help lower stress and tension with tones to Lift, Drift, Dream, and more.

The buds have a 10-hour battery with an additional 30 hours when using the charging case and are both sweat and water-resistant.

The Sleepbuds II will be available from October 13th for £229.95, which may seem a little expensive for a set of earphones that are only good for one thing. But in truth, can you put a price on a good night’s sleep?

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Bose QuietComfort Earbuds: MUST HAVE

Bose headphones have been pretty much the go to headphone for years, more recently battling it out with Sony’s WH-1000XM4s for the crown of over-ear noise cancelling headphones.

In the in-ear space though, Bose has recently released its new QuietComfort Earbuds, said to be the most effective in-ear noise cancelling earbuds ever. Quite a bold claim. The buds debut proprietary advancements in hardware and software to continue the two decade legacy of QuietComfort headphones by introducing new StayHear Max tips that create a soft-yet-tight seal.

The buds use multiple microphones to sense, measure, and send any remaining noise to a chip loaded with a Bose exclusive new algorithm. Paired with tiny transducers, the system creates an opposite signal in less than a fraction of a millisecond. And depending on the environment or personal taste, the Bose QC Earbuds have 11 levels of noise cancellation from “transparency” that keeps you aware of your surroundings, to full noise cancellation that lets you tune out completely or hear every detail from your content and conversations.

Each bud measures just over 2cm long and weighs 13 grams combined, the pair can give 18 hours of total listening time — 6 hours fully charged and an additional 12 using the charging case. The Bose QC Earbuds will be available from October 5th for £249.95 and can be pre-ordered below.

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