There isn’t a single good reason to buy Apple’s new AirPods
After nearly a three-year wait, Apple has finally announced a new version of its popular true wireless headphones, the AirPods. We had high hopes for improved listening time, new color options, and the addition of waterproofing. Instead, all Apple gave listeners was the opportunity to buy a pricey wireless charging case.
Cheer for your favorite NCAA team and Xfinity will respond with matching lights
Screaming at your favorite team just became a lot more rewarding thanks to Comcast's Xfinity voice remote and some special NCAA commands that set your smart lightbulbs to your favorite team's colors. The players may not hear you, but that doesn't mean you'll be ignored.
Dish TV customers can access up to 13 NCAA March Madness games in 4K
If you're a basketball fan looking to get your fix of NCAA Championship action in 4K, you have a few options available. One of those is courtesy of Dish TV, which will be airing up to 13 of the tournament games in the ultra high-def format, starting on Tuesday.
Apple AirPods 2: Everything we know so far
Apple may release new AirPods in the first half of 2019. A wireless charging case, health sensors, water resistance, and better Siri integration are just some of the improvements rumored to be part of the new package. We've rounded up all the AirPods 2 news in one place.
Apple’s new AirPods bring only minor updates to the much-loved originals
Apple has announced its new AirPods, the company's much anticipated follow-up to the wildly popular AirPods. The new fully wireless earbuds preserve all of the features of the originals, and adds hands-free Siri, a new H1 chip, and wireless charging. Here's what you need to know about these new earbuds.
Pandora now lets you mess with the secret sauce for its music playlists
Pandora introduced a new feature called Modes, allowing subscribers to pick between six different algorithms that determine what the popular music streaming service will decide to play. From modes based on popularity to finding deeper cuts, users now have massive control over music discovery.
What year is this? Apple might drop a new iPod tomorrow
After two days of surprise hardware releases that have brought us new iPads and iMacs, rumor has it that we may see an update of Apple's iPod as soon as tomorrow, sparking a mixture of nostalgia and curiosity, and causing many in the tech world to guess what will be new about the music player for 2019.
Smart speakers are about to get an IQ bump thanks to new Qualcomm chips
Qualcomm announced a new chipset that is designed to make the next generation of smart speakers sound, listen, and connect better than ever. Called the QCS400, it could soon be appearing in everything from small portable speakers to soundbars, taking your entire listening life to the next level.
You can now watch four PlayStation Vue streams at once on a single Apple TV
PlayStation Vue subscribers can now watch March Madness in style via Apple TV, which can now stream up for four separate games to your TV at once, making it easier than ever to catch all the on-court action from a single living room. If there's a better way to keep your bracket updated, we haven't found it.
You can get a peek at Ikea’s Symfonisk Sonos speakers next month
Ikea's new Symfonisk speaker collaboration with Sonos will be in stores as soon as August, but we still haven't seen what it will look like. We'll get our first look at an event in Milan on April 9. The price? According to Ikea, it will be within reach of "many people."
Surprising nobody, Vizio makes moves to fill your TV with targeted ads
Vizio wants to change the way that TV-based advertising works, partnering with nine media and ad companies to create a standard by which all smart TVs can showcase targeted ads to viewers, and providing another means for smart TV manufacturers to make money from their products.
Apple Music completes its Amazon migration, is now available on Fire TV
Amazon's popular Fire TV devices are now compatible with the most popular on-demand music streaming service in the United States, thanks to a new integration with Apple Music that has finally hit Fire TV devices. The video streaming devices join Amazon's Echo smart speakers, which already had Apple Music.
If you’re a Spotify Premium subscriber, you now get Hulu for free
Spotify Premium subscribers have yet another reason to love the Swedish streaming service, with the company now offering ad-free Hulu accounts to all premium users at no additional cost, poising it to compete with the upcoming Apple video streaming service, which will likely offer Apple Music bundles.
iPhone owners can finally hear the highest-quality streaming music on Tidal
If you're an iPhone owner who is after the highest possible audio quality from your streaming library, you now have the best option out there: Tidal's Masters Quality Audio (MQA) is now available on iOS, allowing listeners to get as close to studio-level quality as possible from the streaming service.
Airplay 2 will come to Roku devices as Apple-Roku deal is reportedly finalized
Roku has reportedly finalized a deal with Apple that will provide the streaming video device maker access to Apple's Airplay 2 protocol. This means iOS and Mac users can stream their favorite content to Roku devices with unprecedented ease, and may cause some potential Apple TV buyers to look elsewhere.
Bark commands at Alexa and your Roku will respond, unless you want Netflix
Current-generation Roku streaming devices and Roku TVs can now be controlled by Amazon's Alexa, if you have a compatible Alexa device, like the Echo or Dot. Google Assistant was added to the platform in 2018. Unfortunately for Netflix fans, neither A.I. can directly access Netflix content on a Roku.
Sonos revamps its Sonos One smart speaker with Bluetooth LE
Sonos is releasing a second generation of its Sonos One smart speaker, which will feature embedded Bluetooth Low Energy. The company says it's to make setup procedures easier, but it could be used for several other purposes. We take a look at what the new wireless option could mean for future updates.
FuboTV set to stream some NCAA tournament games live in 4K
For basketball fans looking to get a massive dose of NCAA action this month, the hunt is on for live streaming TV services that can deliver. FuboTV makes a compelling argument that it should be fans' choice, with wall-to-wall coverage of the tournament, and even a select number of the games available in 4K.
Denon’s Global Cruiser headphones meet the needs for any traveling audiophile
Denon has announced a brand new trio of headphones in its Global Cruiser line, aimed at providing discerning listeners with gorgeous sound, and top-tier noise-canceling, wherever they go. They're also designed to be some of the most comfortable headphones you can buy.
SoundCloud hopes to add listeners with 50 percent discount for students
Somewhat late to the party, SoundCloud launched a student discount for it's top-tier SoundCloud Go+ membership, dropping the price to just $5 a month. It's a good deal for those attending college or university, but will it be enough to keep the struggling music platform from going under?
Mysterious Android TV bug shows account details of scores of total strangers
In a bizarre discovery by a user in India, the names of total strangers have appeared inside the Android TV settings pages of the Google Home app. It's not clear whether or not any personally identifiable information is being shared (other than names) but Google is already taking steps to investigate.
Ultimate Ears’ new site lets you design and order a custom Bluetooth speaker
Ultimate Ears has launched a new website called myBoom Studio, allowing fashion-conscious listeners to create custom colorways and engrave their name into a made-to-order version of its popular Boom 3 speaker, allowing listeners to customize their devices for a small price increase over the standard Boom 3 model.
Tubi TV inks deal to add 400 films and TV shows from NBC
Ad-supported video streaming service Tubi TV is getting a massive influx of titles courtesy of a new deal with NBCUniversal, which will offer nearly 400 of its titles to Tubi TV's impressive catalog, including classic shows like Xena: Warrior Princess and the original version of Battlestar Galactica.
Forget the fold — the next iPhone could use its entire screen as a speaker
When Apple ditched the headphone jack from the iPhone, it didn't exactly go over well with consumers. Now it seems the company wants to do away with the iPhone's speakers, too. This time, however, it's going to incorporate them into the phone's screen -- that is, if a recent patent is any indication.
Pandora Stories let artists take fans on a guided audio tour
As great as subscription music streaming services are, they can be impersonal from an artist's perspective. Pandora's new format, Pandora Stories, lets artists mix their music with narrated voice tracks, creating a personalized tour of their music, or any other topic they want to discuss.
Apple Music pops up in the Google Home app, hinting at launch
Despite not being active yet, there's now an entry for Apple Music inside the music services tab of the Google Home app, which surely means it won't be long before Apple's music service is on every major smart speaker platform. The question now is whether Apple reciprocates by adding other services to its HomePod.
Lenovo’s new Yoga and ThinkPad ANC headphones are built for business
Watch out Bose, Lenovo is the latest company to take aim at your noise-canceling supremacy. The company just launched a pair of hybrid ANC Bluetooth headphones under the ThinkPad and Yoga brands, that are competitively priced, and feature sound that's been tuned by Dolby Labs.
Apple may be making noise-canceling headphones safer to use on the streets
Big, over-the-ear headphones have been massively popular ever since the Beats brand launched in 2007. Since then, the number of headphone-related accidents has also gone up. A new Apple patent looks to partially address this problem by making headphones acoustically invisible to the wearer by letting more sounds in.
Charter’s Spectrum TV Essentials offers 60 live TV channels for $15 a month
With cable customers cutting the cord at an accelerating rate, companies are looking at all of the options to keep them on the monthly invoice. Charter Communication's answer is Spectrum TV Essentials, a package of 60 live TV channels for $15 per month. But with no sports or major broadcasters, is it enough?
Captain Marvel: Everything we know about the movie so far
Academy Award winner Brie Larson will play Captain Marvel in the upcoming movie hitting theaters in March 2019. Here's everything we know about Marvel's first female-led superhero movie. Critics' initial reactions to the Captain's first feature film indicate that she's off to a great start on the big screen.
Samsung Galaxy Buds first look: Are they ear candy or ear worm?
The new Samsung Galaxy Buds are an answer to the oddball design of the Apple AirPods: They're cheaper, better looking, and bring some neat features, including wireless charging with the Galaxy S10, S10+, and S10 e. Can Galaxy Buds snuff out the AirPods?
Amazon ups the ante with Netflix, aims to release up to 30 movies a year
Netflix has a seemingly endless appetite for spending money on both licensed and original content alike. But Amazon Studios isn't far behind. A recent interview with studio chief Jennifer Salke revealed an annual budget in excess of $50 million and up to 30 theatrical and direct-to-Amazon Prime titles.
Apple Music encourages subscribers to give friends a free 1-month pass
It's no secret that Apple has its sights set squarely on Spotify's enviable subscriber count, but how will Apple Music grow its base? Apparently by using existing customers as a recruitment service. Subscribers are encouraged to send friends a one-month free pass to the streaming service.
Samsung will stop releasing new Blu-ray players in the U.S.
Samsung has confirmed reports that it is now exiting the Blu-ray market entirely in the U.S. The move comes after Oppo Digital exited the market last year. The news may be a sign of things to come in when it comes to the future of 4K Blu-ray and the physical disc movie format.