Sony – SCDW

This is an interesting and quirky product from Sony. The company has created a wireless speaker that also functions as a lamp, designed to look like an old gas lamp.

The clear upper glass tube houses the light whilst acting as the tweeter. In fact it has over 30 settings for brightness so there is one for every mood including a candle mode which flickers.

The body of the unit houses a 35mm driver which pushes out the midrange whilst the glass tube vibrates thanks to three actuators and disperses sound in a 360-degree motion, filling the room, whilst the optimised passive radiator provides the low end notes.

The speaker has 8 hours of battery life, supports NFC and Bluetooth connectivity, LDAC for high-resolution audio and direct Spotify link. It costs £550 but its party trick is seamlessly blending technology into the surroundings, as for the price there are probably better speakers and cheaper candles.

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That headline might look like a typo, but I guarantee that these are the new gold standard for wireless headphones. The 4th generation of over-ear Sony wireless noise-cancelling headphones is finally here.

Carrying on from the third generation, the XM4s are more intelligent, able to adjust ambient sound automatically based on your preferences and location. As we know, the XM3s have been the ones to beat for comfort, noise cancelling, sound quality and clarity when using the microphone.

One thing that will be noticeable is the ability to connect to two devices at once, meaning when a call comes in, the headphones know which device is ringing and connect to the right one automatically. You can also switch your headphones to either of the two devices at a single tap.

Battery life is up to 30 hours of use with noise cancellation or 38 hours without and you can fast charge them to give five hours of use with only 10 minutes of charge.

Some other interesting features – ‘Speak to Chat’ allows the headphones to recognise your voice and pauses the music whilst letting in ambient sound so that you can order your coffee or have a short conversation without taking your headphones off. But if you do choose to remove them for whatever reason, the XM4s will know that they have been taken off the head and will automatically stop the music and resume playing when you put them on again.

The headphones are already available to order, priced at £350 in the UK and available in either black or silver.

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