On my day, the name of the game when it comes to wireless audio was a noise cancellation. That is, how much noise can your wireless headphones block? And surely, Active noise nullification (ANC) wireless headphones It will probably never fall out of fashion altogether, but in recent years hearing companies have acknowledged that it is actually pleased to ascertain your surroundings. Thus, market for Open headphones was created.
If you do not know “open headphones” because they have been marketed, they are a category of wireless headphones that – in addition by design. Why in the name of God you would ever want that, you ask? For many reasons, indeed. Say you cycle, for example. On the one hand, cycling and listening to music is great, but on the other hand, so hears a fleeing 18-wheelbase in your direction. The same can be said for exercise on foot – being able to hear traffic and pedestrians are not just a perch; It could be life saving, and ANC headphones don’t exactly allow you to do so. And then there are fewer morbid benefits such as comfort.
As great as being able to cancel the screaming baby in a plane is, sometimes putting headphones into your ears is not the most comfortable arrangement for extended use. Open headphones do not have this problem. Bose’s ultra open headphonesFor example, more like jewelry, with a clip-like design that affects a speaker behind Your ear so that your ear passage stays unblocked. If you are like me, you are probably skeptical that they might sound even remotely well, but I tried them, and I am here to tell you that not only are they comfortable, but they also sound ridiculously good.
But what if I told you that – how useful and surprisingly functional as open headphones are – in fact there is a third category of an open audio device that I think is even better, and they do much more than just play sound? This device is actually the best pair of open headphones you can buy, and they are not even headphones.
Yes, I talk (again) about smart glasses.
I have exhausted smart glasses a million times this moment, but maybe one of the most underestimated reasons why I actually like them in their current form, is that they work incredibly well as an audio product. I personally use a pair of Meta Ray-Bans Almost every day, and while they are not a solution, I choose 100% of the time, they are the first I catch when I need to actually hear my surroundings. Anyone I sometimes convince, listening to Meta’s Ray-Bans is immediately surprised by the quality of audio they have exhibited. Sure, you don’t want to wear them when you listen to a podcast on a crowded subway, but if you are in a non-armed-like noisy situation, they work much better than you would think. And with Spotify the integration, when Meta’s onboard audio assistant actually hears my commands and understands them, they are also quite functional.
And it’s not just music; It is probably better use for smart glasses as an open audio audio product, and it is voice calls. I use my meta-ray baths so for calls that going back to speech in wireless headphones (even open ears) feel like a major downturn. Ray-Bans of Meta, in my experience, hit most of the open ear competition when it comes to calling, not just because the audio you get, sounds good, but because the microphones mirror the rascal from headphones I used.
How much I love Bose’s ultra open headphones because of their sound quality, the microphone about those things is weakest. Nothing ear openwhich I also used extensively is a little better, but not exactly Great. Ray-Bans of Meta, however, combines the best of both worlds. People I called often report that I sound better than usual when I call, and the same applies to their voice. Also, being able to get around and feel completely incomprehensible when I call is a perch I didn’t know I needed.
But that’s just the hearing side of things. Intelligent glasses, as you may already know, are capable of much more than just playing music or calling. If you pivot away from open headphones, you could finish with Gadget, which also takes pictures and records a video. Yes, the Ray-Bans of Meta has AI built in, but when using (or tried to use) Meta ai Often I cannot, with a pure conscience, recommend anyone to buy these glasses for AI skills. In short, Meta AI is most chic, when it is not only completely unsubstantiated or wrong about things. With that warning out of the way, though, you is Get more than just a sound product in smart glasses, and I have the pictures to prove it.
Obviously smart glasses are not good in every situation. At this moment, my biggest complaint about the meta-ray baths I own is that they are dyed, which makes them use them inside (especially in my dark ass New York apartment) less than ideal. Orelbuds obviously don’t have this problem, so note headphones here. That could Change in the future, as a growing number of smart glasses incorporate electrochrome lenses that allow you to adjust the hue of your glasses only by pressing a button.
But for the most part I only see smart glasses as a better value, especially if you consider high -quality open headphones as Bose’s aforementioned offer. These usually sell for $ 299, which is the same price as a pair of radio baths from meta. And yes, the audio quality in Bose’s headphones is better than Meta’s Ray-Bans, but you still get a lot more for the money: camera, audio, and pair of sunglasses all in one.
I know that smart glasses are not exactly the new future product we all want them to be now, but they are – if you can pass the fact that they still have a lot of room to grow – solidly for some things we do here and now. And one of those things is to listen to things. So, if you are in the market for a couple of headphones that you can wear as you exercise either by bicycle, or those who just don’t insert your ears, you may want to buy the best open ears of all: smart glasses.
