The Sony WHXB900N and more ANC headphones are on sale right now

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We have an excellent deal selection for anyone who’s looking to get a new pair of headphones. Sony is letting you save up to $101.99 on select headphones and earphones. We will start with the Sony WHXB900N noise-canceling headphones that are currently getting a $50 discount, leaving them at just $198. These amazing headphones will give you up to 30 hours of non-stop playback, and their touch sensors will allow you to control the volume, pause, play, and skip tracks, as well as activating your voice assistant and more.

If you think that $200 is too much to spend on a pair of headphones, you can also get the XB950B1 Extra Bass Wireless that are currently selling for $120.45. This translates into $77.55 savings in their black color option. However, the best savings come with the WHCH710N, as they are getting a $101.99 discount, meaning that you can get a pair for just $98.

 

If you’re not a fan of over-ear headphones, you can also grab a pair of new earphones as they are also on sale. The best option comes with the Sony WF-1000XM3 that are now available for $178, which translates to $51.99 savings. These wireless earbuds with ANC and Alexa voice control will give you up to 24 hours of battery life with their carrying case.

The Sony WF-SP800N are also a great option. They are getting a $51.99 discount, which leaves them up for grabs at just $148. They offer 26 hours of battery life with the case and a total of 9 hours by themselves. The more affordable option comes with a 50 percent discount, which means that the WF-SP700N are currently available for $90 in their black version. And if you’re looking for another option that’s not from Sony, you can choose the Klipsch T5 II that are $50 off right now, meaning you can grab a pair for $179.

 

The post The Sony WHXB900N and more ANC headphones are on sale right now appeared first on Pocketnow.

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The Sony WHXB900N and more ANC headphones are on sale right now

It's only fair to share...Share on RedditShare on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterPin on PinterestShare on Tumblr

We have an excellent deal selection for anyone who’s looking to get a new pair of headphones. Sony is letting you save up to $101.99 on select headphones and earphones. We will start with the Sony WHXB900N noise-canceling headphones that are currently getting a $50 discount, leaving them at just $198. These amazing headphones will give you up to 30 hours of non-stop playback, and their touch sensors will allow you to control the volume, pause, play, and skip tracks, as well as activating your voice assistant and more.

If you think that $200 is too much to spend on a pair of headphones, you can also get the XB950B1 Extra Bass Wireless that are currently selling for $120.45. This translates into $77.55 savings in their black color option. However, the best savings come with the WHCH710N, as they are getting a $101.99 discount, meaning that you can get a pair for just $98.

 

If you’re not a fan of over-ear headphones, you can also grab a pair of new earphones as they are also on sale. The best option comes with the Sony WF-1000XM3 that are now available for $178, which translates to $51.99 savings. These wireless earbuds with ANC and Alexa voice control will give you up to 24 hours of battery life with their carrying case.

The Sony WF-SP800N are also a great option. They are getting a $51.99 discount, which leaves them up for grabs at just $148. They offer 26 hours of battery life with the case and a total of 9 hours by themselves. The more affordable option comes with a 50 percent discount, which means that the WF-SP700N are currently available for $90 in their black version. And if you’re looking for another option that’s not from Sony, you can choose the Klipsch T5 II that are $50 off right now, meaning you can grab a pair for $179.

 

The post The Sony WHXB900N and more ANC headphones are on sale right now appeared first on Pocketnow.

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Sony WF-1000XM3, AirPods Pro and more earbuds are on sale right now

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We start today’s deals with a massive selection of earphones and headphones for every taste and budget. First off, we find the Sony WF-1000XM3 that are currently selling for $178 after a $51.99 discount. These noise-canceling earbuds from Sony feature Alexa Voice Control, 24bit Audio to improve sound quality, a total of 24 hours of battery life thanks to their carrying case, and a quick charge feature that will give you 90 minutes of playtime with a 10-minute charge. We then move onto the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live that have recently received a $40 discount, meaning that you can get a pair for $130. Samsung’s option comes with 29 hours of battery life, active noise canceling, and AKG-tuned 12mm speaker and enhanced bass tone to play everything in studio-quality sound.

The Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds usually sell for $300, and they’re currently selling for $125, after a massive$174.96 discount. These earbuds will give you amazing sound, but they will only give you up to twelve hours of battery life.

Now, if you’re more interested in Apple’s options, you can consider getting a pair of AirPods Pro, as they are now selling for just $200 after a $49 discount. These wireless earbuds feature more than 24 hours of battery life, active noise cancellation, transparency mode, and they are sweat and water-resistant. If you don’t want to go ‘Pro,’ you can also get the regular Apple AirPods with a wired charging case, as they’re up for grabs for just $120 after a $39 discount. And if you want to go for a pair of Powerbeats High-Performance wireless earphones, you can get a pair for just under $110 with $40 savings. These will give you up to fifteen hours of battery life and more.

Finally, you can go to the ‘elite’, and grab a pair of Jabra Elite wireless earbuds. You can get a pair starting at $78.92 when you go for the Jabra Elite 65t that are currently getting a $41.07 discount. Take the next step and grab a pair of Jabra Elite 75t for $150 after a $30 discount. These earphones come with active noise canceling, up to 24 hours of music playback, and more. However, you should consider going all out with the Jabra Elite 85t. These wireless earbuds can be yours for $200 if you go for the Titanium Black color option since this is the only variant getting a $30 discount. You get one more hour of battery life and premium noise cancellation to concentrate on your favorite beats.

The post Sony WF-1000XM3, AirPods Pro and more earbuds are on sale right now appeared first on Pocketnow.

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HUAWEI FreeLace Pro review: excellent value

If you’re looking for a sporty pair of wireless earbuds, or you simply don’t want to take your premium headphones or earphones to the gym, HUAWEI has got you covered. The company has a product portfolio that offers something for everyone, for every taste, and basically every wallet. 

Today we’re looking at the HUAWEI FreeLace Pro, which has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. Not only is it wireless, but it also offers active noise cancellation, an IP55 rating, and whopping 24-hour battery life. 

We’re looking at all of that, in our HUAWEI FreeLace Pro review below.

Design, materials, and fit

There are three color options to choose from: Obsidian Black, Dawn White, and the Spruce Green we’re using for this review. HUAWEI chose the neckband style for the FreeLace Pro, which means that you’re wearing the base around your neck, with the two earbuds being connected to the band by a cable each.

HUAWEI FreeLace Pro earbuds

They weigh 34 grams, and, except for the two metal portions in the middle (housing the batteries and other tech), they have a nice rubbery feel to them. 

The controls (volume up, volume down, play/pause) reside on the right metal portion, together with the power button. This is also where you charge them: you can pull off the bottom portion of the metal part to reveal a USB-Type C connector. You can plug it into a USB-C charger or use the cable adapter provided inside the box.

If you have a recent HUAWEI smartphone, plugging the earbuds directly into the smartphone will not only charge the FreeLace Pro but will also pair it to the phone, should you choose to do so.

Small, Medium and Large are the three bud sizes provided with the FreeLace Pro. Once you identify the right size for your ear, it’s a perfect fit, which is not only snug, but it will stay inside your ears when doing any activity without a problem. They won’t fall out unless you manually pull them out.

HUAWEI FreeLace Pro on table

There’s an additional way to control the FreeLace Pro: the left earbud’s exterior doubles as a touch surface. Touching and holding it cycles through HUAWEI’s proprietary active noise cancelation modes: ANC on/Awareness/ANC off. 

Hardware

I’ll be completely honest, I love the sound of the FreeBuds Pro. I think they’re the best sounding ANC-enabled true wireless earbuds. That’s until I started listening to the FreeLace Pro. No wonder they sound that good (more on sound in a segment below), as HUAWEI crammed in a pair of 14.2mm dynamic drivers, opposed to the 11mm ones in the FreeBuds Pro.

With a total length of 862.4mm you might think they are a tad too long, but we don’t think it should worry you as it doesn’t interfere with your activity or movements. 

They also pack two microphones for Active Noise Cancellation, and in-call noise cancellation is handled by a triple-mic system. 

HUAWEI FreeLace Pro batteries

That 24 hour playback time is possible thanks to the rather large, 150mAh battery, which takes more or less about an hour to fully charge. 

As previously mentioned, if you’re rocking a relatively recent HUAWEI smartphone model (on EMUI 9.1 and above), you will also benefit from HUAWEI HiPair and its quick charging.

The Bluetooth radio is compatible with BT 5.0 standard, and the entire system is rated IP55 for splash, water, and dust resistance.

Experience

We’ve used the HUAWEI FreeLace Pro paired both to a HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro and an iPhone 12 Pro Max. We didn’t find any differences in the experience, except for the fact that when paired to a HUAWEI smartphone, the entire UX is seamless. This, of course, should come as no surprise.

Pairing

Pairing with the Mate 40 Pro was as easy as plugging them into the phone’s USB Type-C charging port. EMUI 11 detects the earbuds automatically and asks you whether you want to pair them or not. Once paired, you have access to the settings and firmware updates, which we’ve received during our review period: 1.0.0.139 and 1.0.0.145.

Pairing with the iPhone (or even a computer) is as easy as putting the FreeLace Pro in pairing mode (pressing and holding the power button), and, once it pops up in your iPhone’s Bluetooth menu as a discovered device, simply tap on it to pair.

Battery life

While it comes with some juice out of the box, we plugged them in to make sure we have 100 percent battery life on our first run.

HUAWEI FreeLace Pro charging

HUAWEI advertises all-day battery life, which is something we obviously couldn’t test out on a single run. We’ve used it for around 3 hours on a daily basis for an entire week, and we still have some battery left on it.

If you own a modern HUAWEI phone, you can simply rely on it to charge the FreeLace Pro, by plugging it in directly to the device’s USB Type-C port.

If you don’t, you can plug it into a USB Type-C charger directly, and if you don’t have that, HUAWEI is bundling a USB Type-C to Type-A cable so you can easily charge your earphones using any charger that you have handy.

Another great feature is the magnetic back of the earbuds. Not only holds the two earbuds in place, preventing them from dangling around, but it also disconnects from your device’s Bluetooth when they’re magnetically connected together, and reconnects once you take them apart. You can save battery without the need to press the power button on the neckband.

HUAWEI FreeLace Pro on Anton

Phone calls and audio quality

With in-call noise cancellation, thanks to the multiple microphones on the FreeLace Pro, people on the other end will hear your voice loud and clear, without any background noise, irrespective of where you are. You can be outdoor and the traffic noise won’t go through, or you can be indoor with fans on or air conditioning, the other party won’t hear any distractions.

On the other hand, you will hear the interlocutor loud and clear, thanks to the rather large dynamic drivers powering the FreeLace Pro. If your carrier supports HD voice, or you’re on a WhatsApp/Facebook/Face Time call, you will hear crystal clear voices.

When it comes to music, as I mentioned at the beginning of this review, it is my personal opinion that the FreeLace Pro sounds a tad better than the FreeBuds Pro. That’s not to say the latter sounds bad. They both sound great, with the FreeLace Pro having a richer, ampler, and somewhat louder sound. That’s due to larger drivers on one hand, and an independent low-frequency sound tube on the other hand.

HUAWEI FreeLace Pro controls

You can hear tones on the entire spectrum, from rich lows to punchy mids and crystal clear highs. Irrespective of the type and genre of music that you prefer, as long as it’s a high-quality stream or encoding, you will be able to enjoy your music at a premium-grade listening experience and audio quality.

Noise cancellation

There’s an outward-facing microphone that picks up external noise (and actively counters it with equal anti-noise sound), and there’s an inward-facing microphone that picks up the in-ear noise (and generates additional anti-noise sound to eliminate it).

Just like on any modern HUAWEI earbuds or headphones (FreeBuds Studio), the company is bringing its proprietary and innovative noise canceling system. It has three stages. When off, you will still get some passive noise cancellation due to the fact that the FreeLace Pro adopts an in-ear canal design. By this alone, some of the noise will be physically blocked from entering your ears.

HUAWEI FreeLace Pro buds back

Switching active noise cancellation on will take advantage of those two microphones per bud to intelligently measure and cancel out noise detected, so you can enjoy your audio content without any distractions, regardless if you’re outdoor, commuting, in a car, or on a plane/train.

There’s also a special mode called Awareness, which blocks out all the noise except for the frequencies on which we human beings communicate when speaking. It not only lets voices get through, but it also amplifies them, acting as a hearing aid in a sense. This is useful if you want to have a conversation without removing the earbuds, or if you’re at the airport and you’re waiting for that particular flight announcement.

Conclusion

There’s no way we can’t recommend the FreeLace Pro. It’s got everything working for it, from great battery life to stellar audio quality, good fit, active noise cancellation, and IP55 rating. If you’re the active type of person, these should definitely be on your shortlist.

HUAWEI FreeLace Pro battery

Normally going for €119, they’re currently priced at €99,00 in Germany. In the Netherlands, they go for €129,99, but you get a free HUAWEI Band 4 Pro Pink Gold valued at €80. In the UK they regularly set you back £119,99, but now you can grab them for £99.99, and also get a free HUAWEI Band 4 Sakura Pink valued at £40.

Pros and cons

Pros:
+ excellent battery life
+ great sound quality
+ convenient charging (if you have a modern HUAWEI phone)
+ active noise cancellation
+ IP55 rating

Cons:
– color options might not be for every taste
– lack of wear detection

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HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro review: great sound, even better noise cancelation

We’ve been using the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro for close to one month.

When I first heard about the features, and later experienced first-hand the capabilities of the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3, I knew it was going to be something special. The earbuds were beautiful, sounded good, and they featured active noise cancellation. For those new to these terms, there are three types of noise-canceling earbuds out there: 1. active (which use smart algorithms to cancel out outside noise), 2. passive (those which you insert deep inside your ear canal, and physically block out some of the noise), and 3. a combination of number 1 and 2 above.

When Apple announced the AirPods Pro, which are in-ear noise-canceling earbuds (number 3 above), I had a feeling that HUAWEI will not just sit back and let this pass, more so that we were coming up on the one year mark since the FreeBuds 3 were introduced.

Enter the FreeBuds Pro, HUAWEI’s answer to the AirPods Pro, and the follow-up to the successful FreeBuds 3. They’re not only completely redesigned, but are much smarter, and, to give you a hint of the conclusion of this review, these should definitely be on your shortlist of noise-canceling earbuds for the holidays. This is our HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 review, and we’re going to take a look at every aspect so that you can know exactly what to expect when you purchase these bad boys.

HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro specs

This year’s flagship ANC wireless earbuds from HUAWEI are powered by the same HiSilicon Kirin A1 chip that stands at the heart of the FreeBuds 3, as well as most HUAWEI smartwatches, including the most recent HUAWEI Watch GT 2 Pro.

If you have a smartphone (or watch, or another device you pair them to) that supports Bluetooth 5.2, the FreeBuds Pro will take advantage of that.

You can look up the full spec-sheet yourselves, but worth mentioning here is also the bone sensor, which is one of the main features for clear voice calls, as well as a battery capacity of 55mAh per earbud, and 580mAh for the charging case (which can be charged via cable or wirelessly).

For the audiophiles among you, worth noting also the rather large, for its size, 11mm dynamic driver that’s inside each earbud, generating a really pleasant, loud, accurate, and close to audiophile-grade sound quality.

However, the main feature is the Active Noise Cancellation, which, opposed to last year’s model, is now coupled with in-ear canal placement (offering extra passive noise cancellation), and the addition of AI algorithms that help filter out the noise without tampering with the audio quality. 

Design, build, and fit

The charging case itself weighs about 60 grams, and measures 70 x 51.3 x 24.6mm, is rather compact, and has a glossy finish to it. It’s available in three colors: Silver Frost, Ceramic White, and the Carbon Black we have been using for the past month.

Flipping the charging case open reveals the two earbuds, weighing about 6 grams each, and measuring 26 x 29.6 x 21.7mm. This is also where you will encounter the first thing on our cons list: it is rather difficult to pull out the earbuds from the charging case, or we haven’t figured out an easy way to do it just yet. The buds themselves are glossy as well, and the magnets hold them pretty tightly in place, so you’ll probably have to fumble around until you successfully remove them.

In terms of design, they look pretty much like any other wireless earbud, interestingly though, nothing like the AirPods Pro, which is really a good thing.

Inside the earbuds, there’s the 11mm dynamic driver we already mentioned, which is paired with an intelligent EQ which relies on the in-ear microphone to adjust sound and keep it balanced.

Also inside, HUAWEI went with a three-mic approach: two microphones are facing outside, in order to pick up noise (to be canceled out), while featuring also an anti-wind noise cancellation tube, and one is an in-ear microphone that’s responsible for voice clarity. There’s also a bone sensor that enhances the voice by reading the bone vibration.

Still on the inside of this tiny earbud, you’ll find the Kirin A1 chip with Bluetooth 5.2 capabilities, and not one, but two Bluetooth antennas per each earbud to improve signal strength, coverage, and avoid interferences. 

On the outside there a sensor and a button on each earbud, which responds to swipes and pinches. We’ll get to that in our Experience segment below.

Last, but not least, the fit: HUAWEI bundles three silicon earbuds with the FreeBuds Pro: small, medium, and large. You’ll easily find the perfect fit for your ears, but if you’re not sure, the AI Life app can check the fit for you by playing some sounds and picking them up with the in-ear microphone to suggest a different fit, or to confirm the perfect fit.

Audio quality, ANC, and Experience

The HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro sound really good. Compared to the predecessor, they deliver more oomph on the lower end of the frequency spectrum (bass), which is understandable, as these are in-ear canal type earbuds, compared to the FreeBuds 3.

These more powerful lows aren’t at all distorted, so don’t think of it as exaggerated. Regardless of the genre that you prefer, you’ll be very satisfied with the quality output, as the FreeBuds Pro offers a very warm sound with a rather wide soundstage. 

Thanks to the microphones and chips inside the buds, as well as some software wizardry, the buds adapt thanks to the dynamic equalizer where multiple mics listen to the sound and adapt if for optimal output.

Being in-ear type earbuds, simply wearing them with good-fitting silicone blocks out a lot of the outside noise. However, the FreeBuds Pro offer a level of active noise cancellation which is unrivaled in this particular class of wireless ANC earbuds. 

You have the option to turn ANC off, and when you turn it on, you can customize it depending on the environment. Modes include Dynamic, Cozy, General, and Ultra, with the first one being an automatic mode, and the following three being manual, depending on the level of noise that surrounds you.

When I first tried it out I was shocked at the level of cancelation these earbuds offer. It completely cuts out most if not all of the noises surrounding you.

Then there’s HUAWEI’s take on Apple’s “Transparency” mode, called “Awareness” mode. With this option turned on, the earbuds allow through certain mid and high frequencies. Usage scenarios include hearing important announcements at the airport, for example, or better hearing people talking around you. 

The overall experience is top-notch, from the in-hand feel, in-ear fit, to the sound quality, and even the software that allows you to control some of the settings.

However, there’s plenty of things you can control from the buds themselves. For instance, volume control is achieved by sliding your finger on the front part of the earbud stem (on both of them). Sliding up will increase the volume, sliding down will decrease it.

Then you can also squeeze the stem (HUAWEI calls this gesture “pinch”). While all these gestures are customizable, default actions are Play/Pause music for a single pinch, Reject Call/Next song for a double pinch, and Previous song on a triple pinch. 

Pinching and holding enables or disables the noise cancellation feature.

In terms of battery life, HUAWEI advertises 7 hours of music playback with ANC turned off, and 4.5 hours with ANC on. These numbers jump to 30 hours of music playback with ANC off, and 20 hours with ANC on if you take into consideration the charging case. Our experience was pretty close to the advertised numbers, which is a huge improvement over last year’s model.

Conclusion

I was never a huge fan of ANC-capable earbuds, maybe because none of the ANC-enabled ones I’ve tried out so far managed to impress me. The FreeBuds Pro, on the other hand, did!

Even though some features of the earbuds are exclusive to HUAWEI smartphones (Auto-Pairing for instance, as well as the Ultra-low Latency connection; AI Life app not available on iOS), I can still highly recommend the FreeBuds Pro for anyone who likes to enjoy music at exceptional audio quality, for a long period of time (good battery life), and with a pair of relatively small, but elegant earbuds.

Because it offers great audio quality and active noise cancellation, good battery life, and overall user experience, the versatile HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro is our Editor’s Choice for best ANC true wireless earbuds.

The FreeBuds Pro are available for £169.99 in the UK from HUAWEI, or €179,00 in the EU. While a bit pricey, they’re still much cheaper than the main competitor, the Apple AirPods Pro, but I think you’ll be more than satisfied with your purchase.

Pros and Cons 

ProsCons
+ premium materials
+ good battery life
+ great audio quality
+ even better noise cancellation
+ touch/gesture controls
+ stable connection
– earbuds are difficult to remove from the case
– no water resistance
– some features are exclusive to HUAWEI phones

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The 5 most-watched Pocketnow videos of 2017!

Pocketnow has covered a lot of ground in smartphones this year and a lot of that coverage came onto our video side. Which ones were the most popular? Time to take a look back.

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