An updated version of Bang & Olufsen earbuds have been unveiled today and the standout feature is an incredible boost in the battery department. The preceding generations of B&O E8 earbuds delivered 16 hours of battery life, a number that is trounced by 119% in the company’s third iteration. The latest E8 earbuds boast 35-hour battery life, a number that far-surpasses Apple’s gold standard of 24. Continue reading to learn more.
New Bang & Olufsen earbuds ratchet up AirPods’ competition
Whether you’re a die hard AirPods user or someone that absolutely loathes the immediately-recognizable Apple offering, we can all agree that the truly-wireless headphone space is hot right now. This is a win for consumers as companies fight to deliver new and innovative features that leapfrog competitors.
With 35-hour battery life, the third generation E8 Bang & Olufsen earbuds now easily surpass most of the other true wireless headphones available today. What’s even more impressive about this achievement is that B&O actually shrunk the size of ear earbud by 17%.
Like the second generation AirPods and new AirPods Pro, the latest version of B&O E8 supports Qi charging. This is far from new though, with previous generations sporting this capability too. Bluetooth 5.1 is onboard which B&O cites as delivering “a fast setup and a flawless user experience, whilst the battery consumption is kept at a minimum.”
When it comes to audio quality, that’s received an upgrade too. According to B&O, its engineers have added a new bass port which “lets air flow in and out of the acoustic chamber,” which is said to achieve “a greater and more precise bass output.” Additionally, B&O has doubled the number of microphones from two to four.
Pricing and availability
Most folks on a budget will kick and scream upon seeing Bang & Olufsen E8’s incredibly high $400 price tag. That’s ten times the cost of JAM’s new AirPods competitor and over 450% more than what you’d spend on Happy Plugs Air. The third generation E8 Bang & Olufsen earbuds are set to debut on February 14.
9to5Toys’ Take
Given the incredible leap to 35-hour battery life while managing to shrink in size, the innovation here certainly makes the price tag a bit easier to justify. That being said, there’s next to no chance I’ll be forking over $400 for a pair of my own. Instead I’ll continue wearing AirPods, and perhaps wait for the third generation B&O earbuds to mirror Amazon’s steep discount. For more information about the new Bang & Olufsen earbuds, read what we had to say on 9to5Mac.
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