Tag Archives: earphones
These egg-inspired earbuds were designed to be discreet, fit all sizes and replace your fidget spinner!
When was the last time you looked at earbuds and thought “cute”? When I saw Sevy, it instantly made me connect to the organic form and reminded me of that perfect, record-breaking, Instagram-famous egg.
Designed as a concept of truly wireless earbuds, Sevy connects with you through its inherently warm aesthetics and easy user experience. “I was trying to create something which is fun to use and simple in nature. By making the design/product familiar to the user, the product wholly connects with their activity of living the events. Mimicking plays a major role in this part. So, this project is inspired by the natural form which is more simple and important,” says Pon. The earbuds can be controlled via various touch gestures on the surface as well as the Sevy app. Unlike AirPods, these earbuds are completely inside the ear – there is no physical component that protrudes outside so it is a lot more discreet and well-fitting. I also love how they come with a variety of silicone tip sizes because one size doesn’t fit all and was the main reason I switched from my AirPods to another brand.
The design is minimal and modern, the most interesting part is that the case opens like an eggshell. It also serves as a little fidget gadget because of its self-balancing form. The designer used rapid 3D prototyping to visualize and test the product physically with real users to address any concerns that came up with regards to ergonomics, usability, form, and function. Pon was also conscious to reduce packaging waste and thus designed sustainable packaging from recycled and recyclable paper material.
Designer: Sathiswaran Pon
These gel-filled earbuds create a custom fit by instantly molding to your ear shape!
If you’ve still been struggling to find a perfect-fitting pair of earbuds (like I am) that you can’t just do without, Logitech-backed Ultimate Ears may have just thought up a solution in the form of UE Fits – true wireless earbuds that offer a custom fit. The earbuds come integrated with LEDs to trigger the special gel-filled ear tips to harden and mold in the unique shape of your ears for enhanced sound quality and noise cancelation.
This package sounds pretty futuristic since we are still in the era of silicone ear tips or the foam tips that fill the ear canal for finer audio output. UE has fitted the earbuds with the Lightform technology to mold the tips to your ears for a customized perfect fit in under 60 seconds. For the fitting process, the earbuds have to be paired to an Ultimate Ears’ app. With the app, you can connect to the earbuds and switch on the embedded LEDs to cause the gel-filled ear tips to conform to the natural shape of your ears. By custom fitting the ear tips you can experience a perfect seal that blocks the outside sounds to deliver better bass and passive noise isolation. With a fit that hugs the ear contours, the UE Fits is bound to feel more comfortable, enabling you to wear them for a longer time.
For the delight of people with an active lifestyle, the UE Fits are sweat-proof, built to last, and feature dynamic 10mm drivers for impressive sound. The buds tout eight-hours of battery life, which can be kicked up to over 20 hours of playback with the charging case. The wireless buds controls can be customized from within the app and if you don’t want to reach out to the phone, these also have physical play/pause controls onboard. UE Fits come with dual microphones strategically positioned to reduce wind noise and enhance call clarity.
The really impressive, custom-fitting buds from Ultimate Ears are now up for pre-order for an introductory $199 (otherwise $249). These will be available in cloud (grey), dawn (lilac), and eclipse (midnight blue) colors in the US this fall. To allow customers to feel the new experience, UE Fits will come with a 30-day risk-free trial – so if you don’t like the feel or sound, you can return them. But custom-made earbuds molded to your ears means no more sharing earphones and that is an impetus enough to make me want these!
Designer: Ultimate Ears
Apple should have made Beats truly wireless earphones really long back…
Remember Beats by Dre? Apple acquired them in 2014 and it’s been radio silence ever since. Apple did however launch a few Beats products just to keep the buzz going, but nothing really matched up to the excitement around the AirPods. Now I’m not really sure whether Apple bought Beats to throttle their success (so the AirPods wouldn’t have any competition), or whether they bought Beats just because they saw it as a nice brand to own, but it’s safe to assume that the Beats brand isn’t once what it used to be. Lew from Unbox Therapy even has a theory that Apple’s slowly phasing the brand out completely.
In an alternate universe where Apple wasn’t so anti-competitive, these Beats miniPods would surely be a popular hit. Modeled to look sort of like the Google Pixel Buds, the Beats miniPods are the conceptual creation of 14-year old Nicola Morelli who found herself with extra time on her hands during the lockdown. The TWS earbuds come with the iconic Beats logo on them, and fit snugly into the ear using silicone tips. I assume the driver technology on the inside would match up to the Beats standards, and have some form of noise-canceling too, but that’s something we can only dream of at this point of time. The miniPods, however, do come with touch-sensitivity, allowing you to tap to answer and reject calls, control playback, and adjust the volume. Like all TWS earbuds, the miniPods have their own nifty charging-case too, and this one even boasts of a clear-top design that allows you to see the earbuds when they’re inside the case. Pretty nice, eh? If I was only half as talented when I was a 14-year old.
Designer: Nicola Morelli
This Apple Watch accessory lets you use your smartwatch with earphones while swimming
Keep the water out and the music in.
The Interval Swim Earphones from H2O Audio build on the Apple Watch’s ability to work underwater. Designed as an attachment/accessory to the watch, these bad boys strap around your head using your goggles (giving them a universal fit), and allow you to dock your Apple Watch right into them. They come with a pair of Bluetooth earphones too, that aside from preventing water from going into your ear, allow you to listen to music, podcasts, ebooks, motivational speeches, or feedback from your coach.
The Interval Swim Earphones come with an endorsement from avid-user and Olympic legend Michael Phelps too. They’re 100% waterproof, engineered to sound great underwater (with an increased bass response), and come with physical controls for adjusting the volume as well as for play/pausing your audio tracks. A variety of earhole tips allow you to get the most secure fit, so the earphones stay in place with a watertight fit while you’re swimming… and a companion MySwim app for the Apple Watch lets you log your laps and swimming progress too!
Designer: H2O Audio
Apple’s rumored over-ear headphones may offer switchable magnetic parts
Razer’s limited edition Pikachu earbuds come with a Pokéball charging case!!
I recommend wearing the earbuds upside down so you look like you’ve got Pikachu ears…
Razer’s limited edition Pikachu earbuds are awesome for all the right reasons. Not only are they an absolutely delightful looking pair of familiar yellow earbuds, they even push the limit by coming in a Pokéball shaped charging case – which is even more exceptional because it’s a ‘charging’ case and Pikachu’s an electric type Pokémon!
The adorable earbuds are essentially a limited variant of Razer’s Hammerhead earphones, but in yellow, and with a Pikachu graphic replacing the Razer triple-snake logo. The truly wireless earbuds dock magnetically into a Pokéball-shaped charging case, which may not be tiny enough to fit into your pocket, but which noob carries Pokéballs in their pockets? The earbud case has a tiny lanyard that’s perfect for strapping around your hand as you walk around and get jealous looks from fellow Pokémon lovers.
The earbuds provide 3 hours of playback time, and the spherical case supplies them with an additional 15 hours… you could say that your earphones are ‘resting’ within their Pokéball. The only bit of disappointing news is that the earbuds will be available only in China, via the Tmall e-commerce store starting 16th April.
Designer: Razer
Razer’s Pikachu wireless earbuds are stored in a Poké Ball
Every Apple AirPods design flaw solved by these conceptual Samsung earbuds
As we adjust to this new normal, we are understanding the value of a good pair of earphones. Given that we are constantly on a video call with a co-worker/friend or isolating with roommates/family, earphones are a part of the heroes of our homes…of course, WiFi is the supreme leader of that list. Inspired by essential personal devices that help us during quarantine, Designer Felipe Duarte has created Yinyang earbuds for Samsung that are going to make you want to switch from your AirPods because it solves the major issues we face – the one-size that doesn’t fit all, the case which is an added device to charge, the bulky aesthetic, portability without the case and a charging solution if you lose the case.
The Yinyang earbuds are influenced by the duality of the millennia-old cultural concept of yin and yang. The Chinese philosophical thought behind the yin and yang is the balance between two forces that oppose and complement each other at all times. These conceptual Samsung earbuds are designed to reflect that philosophy by striking a perfect balance between user experience and portability. Yinyang earbuds are created to be the smallest in the market to that it can fit everyone (a problem I personally go through with my first-gen AirPods). The compact size will be achieved by getting rid of the ear tips.
The conceptual technology of the Yingyang earbuds that make it one-of-its-kind lies in the inflatable hook which secures the earbuds in place. It also features wireless charging and magnets on the rear end of the gadget so they can be charged on the back of our NFC-enabled cell phone, thus eliminating the need for a charging case (if there was one, I would humbly request it not to resemble a floss box). You can also kinetically charge the earbuds by keeping yourself moving (we all could use some extra steps and exercise right now!) if your phone dies. The Yinyang earbuds can also be attached to the lapel of the jacket – that is how portable they are and with the sleek aesthetic, you are upping your accessory game with your tech.
Felipe, if you are reading this, please make this happen once we are all back out in the world, thank you.
Designer: Felipe Duarte
Nuheara’s latest hearing assistance earbuds are both cheaper and more powerful
If it wasn't already apparent that assistive hearing tech is thriving, it is now. Nuheara has followed up last year's IQbuds MAX with the IQbuds2 MAX, a new set of true wireless buds that represent an improvement across the board -- including the pri...