Apple Gave AirPods Max a Brain Transplant After 5 Years (Same Design, New Chipset)

Apple just gave the AirPods Max a brain transplant, and after five years on H1 silicon that was already a generation behind when the AirPods Pro 2 launched in 2022, it was due. The H2 is the real story here, because everything else on this headphone is identical to what shipped in December 2020. Same aluminum frame, same stainless steel headband, same mesh knit ear cushions, same 385-gram weight, same $549 price. ANC is rated at 1.5x more effective than the previous gen, and the full H2 feature set, Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Voice Isolation, and Live Translation, all land here for the first time. What changed is everything running underneath a design that was already doing its job.

Adaptive Audio is what AirPods Max owners have been watching from the sidelines since AirPods Pro 2 launched in 2022. The mode dynamically blends active noise cancellation and transparency based on your environment, dialing back the ANC when someone speaks nearby and re-engaging it when you’re back on a loud street. It sounds incremental until you’ve used it for a full commute, at which point going without it feels like a step backward. H2 also brings lossless audio at 24-bit, 48 kHz, though only over a wired USB-C connection, so wireless listening stays capped at AAC. That’s a real ceiling to live with at this price, but the original AirPods Max never offered lossless in any configuration, so it’s at least movement.

Designer: Apple

Five years, and Apple didn’t touch the design, which makes sense once you understand what the design is doing. The aluminum ear cups and stainless steel headband aren’t decorative choices, they’re structural, and they’re why this thing still looks and feels like a premium object after years of use, while equivalent plastic-and-fabric builds from Sony and Bose at lower prices tend to show wear sooner. The AirPods Max weighs 385 grams, heavier than anything in the over-ear category at this tier, and it still doesn’t fold flat for travel. Sony’s WH-1000XM6 and Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra are both lighter, foldable, and notably cheaper. Apple’s bet was that material quality carries the argument, and for desk or commute use, it mostly does. The Digital Crown for volume and track control is still here, and it remains one of the better physical inputs on any over-ear headphone.

The Smart Case is still a pouch, not a case in any conventional sense. It’s a silicone sleeve that covers the ear cups and nothing else, leaving the headband fully exposed to whatever else is in your bag. It doesn’t fold the headphones flat, it adds no meaningful drop protection, and it looks like a small clutch that wandered in from a different product category. For $549, the carry solution should be better than this, and the fact that it’s unchanged after five years suggests Apple either rationalized it or decided the complaint volume wasn’t loud enough to act on. It’s the one part of the AirPods Max story that feels genuinely unfinished, and at this price, that friction sticks out more than it should.

Battery life holds at 20 hours, which is fine but trails the Bose QuietComfort Ultra’s 24-hour rating and Sony’s 30-hour claim on the XM6. What AirPods Max 2 actually has now is alignment with the rest of Apple’s audio lineup, a chip-level catch-up that makes this headphone feel current for the first time since launch. The ANC improvement is real, the H2 feature parity with AirPods Pro 3 is real, and lossless audio over USB-C gives the product a use case it never had before. If you own the original and spent three years watching Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness roll out to cheaper AirPods, the upgrade argument is now solid. First-time buyers are getting the version of this headphone the original was always pointing toward.

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TikTok will let you stream full songs in its app if you’re an Apple Music subscriber

TikTok will soon let you stream full songs in its app via a new integration with Apple Music. The company's new Play Full Song feature makes it possible to link your Apple Music account toTikTok, and play any song that strikes your fancy directly in the app while you're scrolling.

Starting a song is as simple as tapping a button in the Sound Details page or your For You page. Assuming you pay for Apple Music, TikTok will then open up a streamlined version of Apple's music player, which you can use to listen to the song, save it for later or add it to a playlist.

TikTok says that Play Full Song is built using Apple's MusicKit APIs, which let developers surface elements of the Apple Music streaming service in their apps. TikTok has previously offered integration with multiple music streaming services through a feature it calls Add to Music App, which made it possible to save songs you heard on TikTok to your streaming library. What's particularly interesting about this new integration is that because it's using Apple's APIs, songs streamed with Play Full Song count as normal streams for the artists in Apple Music, so they don't lose out on any money.

Alongside the new feature, TikTok and Apple are also introducing a way for fans to listen to music live with their favorite artists. TikTok's Listening Party feature creates a live "shared environment" where people can listen to music and interact with artists directly, in what effectively sounds like an audio-only livestream. TikTok livestreams are a whole ecosystem in their own right, and Listening Party seems like a way to leverage some of the same technology for a more controlled, music promotion-focused end.

TikTok is already a popular tool for music discovery and launching the career of new artists, and the platform also briefly dabbled in offering a streaming service of its own in 2023. The company abandoned those plans in 2024, but under new owners, TikTok's ambitions could ultimately be bigger than just offering nice integrations with existing streaming services.

TikTok says Play Full Song and Listening Party are rolling out worldwide “in the weeks ahead,” so if you don’t see either feature now, you may soon.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/tiktok-will-let-you-stream-full-songs-in-its-app-if-youre-an-apple-music-subscriber-183333143.html?src=rss

You can now use ChatGPT to open Shazam instead of… just opening Shazam

Shazam is now available within ChatGPT, if you don’t want to launch the music discovery app on your phone for, well, reasons. You will have to link the Shazam app with the chatbot first from its Apps page, after which you can summon it in-chat to identify whatever song is playing. To summon Shazam in-chat, you can use prompts like “Shazam, what’s playing?” or “Shazam, what is this song?”

A box will pop up that you can tap on to launch the music discovery service, which will then listen to the tune playing. ChatGPT will display the song’s name, artist and artwork, along with the option to save the song to Shazam. Take note that the feature will work within ChatGPT even if you don’t have the music discovery app downloaded on your device, which does make it useful if you’re using a phone with full memory. The Shazam integration has started rolling out globally within ChatGPT on iOS, Android and the web.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/you-can-now-use-chatgpt-to-open-shazam-instead-of-just-opening-shazam-114000363.html?src=rss

Apple Music can now flag AI content, but only if distributors elect to label it

While music streaming apps like Bandcamp, Spotify and Deezer have taken steps to inform users about AI-generated content, we haven't heard much out of Apple Music in that regard. However, Apple Music has now introduced "Transparency Tags" designed to show listeners if any elements were generated in whole or part by AI. The catch is that Apple is leaving it up to labels and distributors to create those tags, according to an Apple newsletter to industry partners seen by Music Business Worldwide..  

"Proper tagging of content is the first step in giving the music industry the data and tools needed to develop thoughtful policies around AI, and we believe labels and distributors must take an active role in reporting when the content they deliver is created using AI," Apple wrote, calling it a concrete first step toward transparency around artificial intelligence.

Streaming platforms already use metadata tags for things like song and album titles, genre and the name of the artist. The new tags will now identify any artwork, tracks, compositions and music videos created in whole or in part by AI. 

However, Apple's new system requires labels and distributors to opt in and manually flag their use of AI, a system that's similar to what Spotify is doing. On top of that, Apple has no apparent enforcement mechanism for AI content. 

By contrast, other music platforms including Deezer and Bandcamp are using in-house AI-detection tools to flag content whether the distributor opts in or not. Deezer disclosed in January 2026 that it receives over 60,000 fully AI-generated tracks every day, double the number it saw in September 2025. Synthetic content, also called "AI slop," has accounted for 13.4 million tracks on its platform, Deezer added.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/apple-music-can-now-flag-ai-content-but-only-if-distributors-elect-to-label-it-121521873.html?src=rss

Nintendo’s Game Boy Jukebox Plays Pokémon Music on 45 Swappable Cartridges

 

Thirty years after Pokémon Red and Blue launched in Japan, Nintendo is celebrating the anniversary with something that looks almost exactly like a Game Boy — except it will never, ever play a game. The Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue Game Music Collection: Game Boy Jukebox is a miniature sound toy that slots mini cartridges to play the original games’ iconic 8-bit soundtrack, and it’s already selling out across regions.

The device is a faithful shrunken replica of the original Game Boy, complete with the grey shell, D-pad, A/B buttons, and a screen. None of those controls do anything. All the action happens through the cartridges: pop one in, and the player outputs the corresponding track, whether that’s the hauntingly spare Lavender Town Theme, the adrenaline-spiked Gym Leader Battle music, or the quietly triumphant Pallet Town Theme. All 45 tracks from the original games are represented, covering everything from the Title Screen to the Ending Theme, with Jigglypuff’s Song and the Pokémon Center jingle tucked in between.

Designer: Nintendo

Junichi Masuda, composer of the original soundtrack, was involved in tuning the product. “We took particular care to make the audio sound just like Game Boy,” he said, which goes a long way toward explaining why the format (one cartridge, one song) makes a certain kind of sense. It’s tactile, deliberate, and forces you to actually choose what you want to hear rather than shuffling through a playlist.

That said, the jukebox comes with some genuine limitations. There’s no headphone jack, meaning the music plays out loud only, which caps its utility as background listening. The three required LR44 button cell batteries are included for demonstration but not for ongoing use. And at $69.99 (£59.99 in the UK, 489 yuan in China), it’s priced squarely as a collectible rather than an everyday gadget.

Nintendo is selling the jukebox exclusively through PokémonCenter.com in North America with a one-per-customer limit. The UK has already sold out. Fans in mainland China can enter a lottery-based purchase system starting March 6. Gotta catch ’em all, right?!

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Synth Modular Controller Treats Music Making Like Building with Blocks

Modular synthesis has a split personality. There are racks of patch cables that promise infinite sound design but also scare off newcomers who don’t know what an oscillator actually does. Then there are small, playful instruments and construction toys that invite you to just start pressing things and see what happens. There’s room for a hardware system that borrows the friendliness of toys while still behaving like a serious instrument, one that teaches as you build.

Synth is a modular music synthesizer concept that treats every function as a physical block. Keys, pads, knobs, sequencer, effects, and display all live on separate modules that snap into a base. The designer cites inspiration from playful minimalism and block-based logic, but the project is independent and not affiliated with any existing brands; it simply borrows that spirit of approachable, interlocking parts that make complex things feel accessible.

Madhav Binu

The base acts like a studded board, and each module clicks into place wherever you want it. A beginner might start with a simple strip of keys, a small display, and a single effects block. As they grow more confident, they can add more modules, rearrange the order, or build a performance-focused layout with pads and big knobs up front, all without opening a settings menu or diving into software preferences.

Arranging modules from left to right or top to bottom mirrors the path sound takes through a synth. Oscillator, filter, envelope, effects, each block is a step in the chain, you can literally see and touch. Clear visual cues and simplified controls help users understand what each stage does, turning abstract synthesis concepts into something you learn by rearranging tiles instead of reading manuals.

This approach makes Synth less intimidating for beginners, who can treat it like a musical construction set, while still giving advanced users a flexible playground. Someone focused on live performance might cluster pads, faders, and a sequencer near the edge, while a sound designer might build a long row of modulation and effects modules. The same hardware adapts to very different workflows without needing firmware updates or screen menus.

The warm, tile-based aesthetic, with bold colors and minimal controls, invites experimentation rather than caution. The layout feels like a board game or building set, which lowers the psychological barrier to trying odd combinations. That sense of play is intentional; the project wants sound design to feel like a hands-on, spatial activity instead of a dense screen full of parameters you’re afraid to touch.

Synth reframes music production as something that grows alongside the user. Instead of buying a fixed box and learning to live with its quirks, you build your own interface, then rebuild it when your needs change. Even as a concept, it hints at a future where modular music hardware isn’t only about swapping electronic modules in a rack, but about reshaping the very surface you touch while you create.

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Roland’s $299 Pocket-Sized Audio Interface Was Designed Specifically For TikTok and Instagram Music Creators

The bedroom studio era changed everything. A generation of musicians learned to record, mix, and release music without ever setting foot in a professional facility, and the results reshaped the entire industry. Now, that same creative energy has migrated to the livestream, where a single performance on TikTok Live or Instagram can reach more people than a record label could have dreamed of a decade ago. The bar for audio quality has quietly but decisively risen.

Roland’s GO:MIXER STUDIO arrives at exactly this inflection point. The company has been iterating on this product family since 2017, and with each generation you could feel them getting closer to something that actually made sense for serious creators. At $299, this latest version brings 24-bit/192kHz recording, onboard EQ, compression, and reverb modeled after Roland’s own studio processors, all into a chassis that weighs roughly as much as a large coffee mug. Whether that combination of specs and portability holds up in the real world, where cables get tangled and livestreams go sideways, is a more interesting question than the spec sheet alone can answer.

Designer: ROLAND

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At 156 x 110 x 65mm and 440 grams, it sits comfortably on a mic stand next to a performer mid-set, which is a specific and deliberate choice. The color LCD showing per-channel EQ, compression, and reverb status is genuinely useful during a live session when reaching for your phone means losing eye contact with your audience. Three chunky knobs handle channel levels, and the whole thing can be powered by a USB battery pack, which means no wall outlet required and no excuses for bad audio in a green room, a hotel room, or the back of a van. The matte black chassis reads professional without being precious about it, the kind of gear that does not mind getting thrown into a backpack.

Twelve input channels is pretty great value for money. Two XLR mic inputs with 48V phantom power, a dedicated high-impedance guitar and bass input, stereo quarter-inch line inputs for keyboards or drum machines, a 3.5mm aux with TRRS support for mobile devices, and MIDI via 3.5mm TRS. That last one matters more than it might seem, because it means you can sync external hardware, run a click track, or trigger backing tracks without adding another piece of gear to your table. The 32-bit float internal processing handles the heavy lifting before anything gets committed to your recording at 24-bit depth, giving you real headroom for fixing gain mistakes in post.

The GO:MIXER Cam app for iOS records genuine multitrack audio alongside your video, which opens up post-production options that creators on competing setups simply do not have. Standard camera apps give you a single stereo mix from whatever mic is closest, and that is the entire ceiling of what they can do. Roland also ships a desktop editor for macOS and Windows with full remote control of the mixer, and the 16 scene memory slots mean a creator with a regular weekly setup can recall their entire configuration instantly. That kind of workflow thinking is genuinely rare in gear aimed at the creator market, where the assumption is usually that you will rebuild everything from scratch each time.

No Android support is a real omission in 2026, full stop. SD card recording is also absent, meaning you are always dependent on a connected device and truly standalone operation is off the table. At 192kHz via USB, the channel count drops from 12 inputs to 8, a constraint worth knowing before planning a complex live setup around it. The Zoom LiveTrak L-8 and the Rode RodeCaster Pro II occupy overlapping territory, though both trade the GO:MIXER STUDIO’s portability for more features, and neither fits as naturally into a one-person mobile setup. Roland has made a very acceptable set of mild tradeoffs here, and at $299 the value case is solid for almost everyone that’s already tied into the Apple ecosystem.

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Yamaha’s Sail and Butterfly speakers reimagine how sound takes shape

Few brands move as fluidly between precision engineering and artistic expression as Yamaha. From concert grand pianos to motorcycles and professional audio systems, the company has long treated sound as both science and sculpture. Its latest speculative speaker concepts continue that philosophy, challenging the conventional box-shaped loudspeaker with forms that are lighter, more interactive, and visually dynamic. Rather than refining the familiar rectangular enclosure, Yamaha’s design team rethinks how sound radiates into space and how users physically engage with it.

Developed by Yamaha Design Laboratory in Japan, the collection addresses a common but often overlooked issue in home audio: unwanted reflections from nearby surfaces such as tabletops. These reflections can color the sound and reduce clarity. By altering the geometry and projection of the speaker units, the designers aim to direct audio more intentionally into the listening environment while reducing interference from surrounding surfaces. The result is a series of experimental prototypes that treat sound dispersion as a spatial experience rather than a fixed output.

Designer: Yamaha Design Lab

One of the most distinctive ideas is the Sail Concept. The defining feature here is a diaphragm suspended like a sail between tensioned strings, creating a structure that feels more architectural than electronic. The diaphragm is made from ROHACELL, a lightweight closed-cell foam known for its rigidity, heat resistance, and ability to be thermoformed. These qualities allow it to remain structurally stable while vibrating efficiently, supporting clearer sound reproduction. What sets this speaker apart is interactivity: users can physically adjust the tension and positioning of the sail-like element, subtly influencing how sound is projected into the room. The act of tuning becomes tactile, making the listening experience more participatory.

The Butterfly Concept explores a different approach. Inspired by organic symmetry, it positions its driver units back-to-back with a reflective surface between them, leaving the top portion open. This configuration reduces the impact of surface reflections and allows sound to disperse more freely. By adjusting the volume relationship between the internal and external chambers, listeners can influence the spatial character of the audio output. Instead of locking sound into a forward-facing direction, the design encourages a more immersive and diffused listening field that adapts to the surrounding space.

Two additional prototypes expand the exploration. The Horn Concept references the acoustic behavior of wind instruments, placing the driver partway along a horn-shaped structure. This form shapes how sound travels and radiates, at times creating the illusion that audio emerges from open air rather than a visible source. The Cristal Concept, by contrast, emphasizes minimal geometry and sculptural presence. With opposing speaker units left open at the top, it manages reflections while presenting a form reminiscent of a perched bird or a crystalline object. Both concepts suggest that acoustic performance can be enhanced not only by internal components but also by the physical pathway sound takes outward.

By integrating material innovation, spatial acoustics, and physical interaction, Yamaha demonstrates that speakers need not be static black boxes. Instead, they can become expressive objects that shape both sound and space, hinting at a future where listening is as much about engagement as it is about fidelity.

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TEAC’s Turquoise Bluetooth Turntable Is a One-Time Color Drop

Turntables have crept back into living rooms as much for how they look as for how they sound. The usual palette is black boxes, silver arms, maybe a walnut plinth if you’re lucky. A record player sits in the open on a sideboard or media console, so it has to pull double duty as a hi-fi component and visual anchor, something you notice even when it isn’t spinning.

TEAC’s Special Edition Turquoise Blue TN-400BTX is a manual belt-drive Bluetooth turntable that takes the existing TN-400BT-X platform and wraps it in a glossy turquoise lacquer. It’s a limited-run finish on a high-density MDF plinth, meant to be a one-time color drop rather than a permanent SKU, which immediately nudges it into “object you choose on purpose” territory instead of just another black box.

Designer: TEAC

This deck in a bright apartment would catch light under a clear dust cover while a record spins. The turquoise plinth pushes it away from anonymous gear into something closer to a mid-century accent piece, the kind of thing you notice even when it isn’t playing. It’s still a serious turntable, just one that isn’t afraid to look a little joyful when most vinyl gear pretends color is beneath it.

Under the paint sits the same proven hardware. The TN-400BTX uses a three-speed belt-drive with a die-cast aluminum platter and a low-resistance spindle riding in a brass bearing for stable rotation. An S-shaped static-balanced aluminum tonearm with adjustable counterweight and anti-skate carries a pre-installed Audio-Technica AT95E MM cartridge, so you can drop the needle straight out of the box and upgrade later if you want.

The built-in phono EQ amplifier uses an NJM8080 op-amp to boost the tiny signal from the stylus without a lot of distortion. That means you can plug the deck straight into a line-level input on an amp or powered speakers, or switch to phono out and use an external stage if you’re picky. Gold-plated RCA jacks and a ground terminal round out the wired side without getting fussy.

The wireless trick is simple but useful. A Bluetooth 5.2 transmitter with SBC, aptX, and aptX Adaptive lets you send your records to Bluetooth headphones or speakers with better quality and lower latency than basic SBC. Pairing is handled with a single button and LED, so you can go from spinning a record through a traditional system to a late-night headphone session without moving the turntable.

This special edition doesn’t touch the mechanics or electronics; it just dresses them in a color that feels more like a mood than a spec. The turquoise lacquer, aluminum hardware, and clear cover turn a competent analog-plus-Bluetooth deck into something you might build a room around. A limited-run splash of color on solid hardware is worth considering when most turntables hide in black, and you actually want to look at the thing while it works.

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Stunning LEGO Sony Walkman Replica Features a Dockable Cassettes and Wearable Headphones

It’s weird to think that Walkmans were literally in my lifetime but if I were to give one to a kid born after 2000, they’d wonder what the hell they’re staring at. Sure, an iPod still feels intuitive because it’s still a relatively digital interface, and MP3 files are still a thing. But a cassette? Having to rewind and fast forward? They’re all relics of an age youngsters wouldn’t even recognize anymore!

If anything, there’s hope that a kid who’s seen Guardians of the Galaxy would recognize this particular model of cassette player. Featured in the movie as the device that Star Lord operated to play his legendary mixtapes, the Sony Walkman TPS-L2 achieved something remarkable: it made cassette technology cool again for people who’d never touched magnetic tape. Enter Headlight Bricks, a creator who channeled that same Marvel-inspired obsession into a breathtaking LEGO Ideas project. Their 520-piece homage recreates every iconic element from the transparent cassette window to the individually adjustable volume controls, all wrapped in that unmistakable Sony blue. Three buildable cassette tapes let you craft your own mini mixtapes, while the poseable orange headphones complete the authentic 1979 experience.

Designer: Headlight Bricks

Each cassette measures maybe an inch and a half across but manages to pack in customizable label areas where you can swap colored tiles to create different “album art.” One of them references Awesome Mix Vol. 1 from Guardians, probably the one piece of pop culture that did more for cassettes than anything else in the past decade. The cassettes made from LEGO don’t look entirely like you’d expect. They’re missing the gears on the middle that are characteristic of a cassette tape. The reason is simple – making that out of LEGO is a headache, and it does little to add to the original build, which is the player itself. The cassette does its role of fitting into the player, and Headlight Bricks did detail spindles on the inside to complete the illusion. If you want impressive detailing, however, look at that headphone strap, which uses a LEGO Technic part to enable flexibility and movement.

That specific shade of blue paired with light gray side panels captures exactly what Sony’s industrial designers were going for in 1979. They weren’t chasing premium materials or trying to make the TPS-L2 look like jewelry you wore on your belt. It had this utilitarian confidence that said “I do one thing, I do it perfectly, and I don’t apologize for looking like a piece of equipment.” The LEGO version gets that completely right by keeping the form clean and the details purposeful. Besides, everything is perfectly to 1:1 scale, which means this MOC (My Own Creation) accurately captures every single aspect of the Walkman TPS-L2… including even functional buttons.

Volume buttons move independently, which means Headlight Bricks had to engineer two separate mechanical systems in a space probably no bigger than a couple of studs wide. The cassette compartment opens with a pressable eject button, and the spindles inside actually rotate when you turn them. Most builders would’ve faked it with printed tiles or stickers, called it close enough, and collected their upvotes. Instead, this thing functions like you could actually thread magnetic tape through it if you were small enough and patient enough.

Right now the project has 4,735 supporters on LEGO Ideas with 445 days left to hit 10,000 votes. Ideas works on a threshold system where fan designs need 10K supporters to get reviewed by LEGO’s actual product team. Getting reviewed doesn’t guarantee production, but it gets your build in front of the people making those calls. They evaluate marketability, licensing complexity, manufacturing feasibility, whether it fits the brand… which this one surely does, with its iconic, retro-throwback fun design. Whether Sony agrees to comply is an entirely separate issue.

You want to see this become a real product you can order? Go to the LEGO Ideas Website and hit the Support Idea button!. You need a free LEGO account to vote, takes maybe thirty seconds to set up if you don’t have one already. Hit the support button, leave a comment if you feel like it, and you’re done. At 4,738 supporters (me included), this build is inching towards the 10,000 vote mark needed to put this build into the ‘Review’ phase. LEGO managed to produce a working typewriter you can buy. A Walkman with rotating cassette mechanisms and pressable buttons feels like the obvious next move in that category.

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