What to look for when buying a pair of Bluetooth headphones

Buying accessories like Bluetooth headphones can be frustrating, but we can help.

There are so many different Bluetooth headphone models from different companies — and of course, they all claim they are the best — and so many different opinions that it’s easy to feel lost and end up buying something that doesn’t work for you. And they aren’t exactly cheap, which can make it a costly mistake.

You can save yourself a bit of a headache if you think about what you are looking for before you click the Buy button or hand your plastic to someone. Experts — both pro and amateur — usually tell you why they think something like a particular pair of Bluetooth headphones are the best. Most times you’ll be able to decide if the things they think are important are things you think are important and buying on a recommendation usually works out. But if you like to research before you buy, or even know what the experts look for, we’ve got five things you need to consider.

Comfort and fit

Knowing how you’re going to be using your headphones can make a big difference. The best Bluetooth headphones for someone who listens while running every morning aren’t going to be the best for someone who uses them to listen to music or audio books while they are working. Decide which style of headphone you want — Bluetooth headphones come as earbuds, on-ear, over-ear, open back and most every other style that wired headphones use. Think about how you’ll use them, then look at other options.

Read user reviews to see if others have complaints about how they feel while they’re being used.

Once you’ve figured out what type of headphones you want, think about how comfortable they will be. Some earbuds pop out all the time. Some over-ear headphones can feel heavy or clamp your head too tightly. Read user reviews to see if others have complaints about how they feel while they’re being used.

There are two absolute truths here — everyone hates uncomfortable headphones, and people like to complain. Use that to your advantage. Of course, nothing beats trying on a pair yourself. If you have access to a place that specializes in electronics or audio gear, take the time to check out what they have for sale. Don’t be afraid to try on any outside-the-ear models.

Battery

The next thing to look for is how long the battery will last and how easily they charge.

There is nothing wrong with a pair of headphones that will only get five hours of use from a charge, provided you won’t need to use them longer than five hours at a stretch — and they don’t hurt your head while doing it. But if you need a pair to last you all day plus a commute, for example, that’s not going to work. Look at the packaging or the product’s website to see what the people who make them say, then knock off about 15% of the times they give. Also, reviews will quickly tell you if the manufacturer is grossly over-estimating the battery life.

Will you lose a proprietary charging cable or other attachment? I would, so I stick to devices that charge over USB.

How they charge is just as important. Will you lose a proprietary charging cable or other attachment? I would, so I stick to devices that charge over USB. Check to see if they can be charged while you’re using them because one day you just might need to do it. Pick a pair that makes it convenient for you to maintain a charge.

Technology

How they work and what they can do is pretty important when it comes to headphones. An obvious example would be needing a microphone to answer the occasional phone call, but there are other things to look for that can be just as important.

• aptX is a set of audio codec compression algorithms from Qualcomm. Bluetooth isn’t a very fast wireless connection, so the files get an extra layer of compression. Your Bluetooth headphones will need to decompress the data and play it back. aptX does a really good job with this. Your phone may not support aptX, but it’s a wise decision to look for it anyway because your car or your laptop might.
• A2DP and other Bluetooth profiles can be important. All Bluetooth headphones should support A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), which is the protocol used to stream digital audio from one device to another. Headsets — both single ear or both ears — might not. Other profiles that can be important if you want to use your headphones as a headset are HSP (Headset Profile) to allow for use in calls, HFP (Hands-Free Profile) to allow for things like last number redialing or call waiting. If you just want to listen to media — movies, music audio books and the like — you won’t have to worry much about this. If you know you’ll be using the headphones for calling, you should.
• Bluetooth version is important. Don’t buy a pair of Bluetooth headphones that don’t support Bluetooth 4.2. Android supports it fully, and your phone probably uses it. Besides Internet of Things connectivity improvements, 4.2 brought some critical security features. While nobody will hack your headphones, seeing no wires means they know that your phone has Bluetooth turned on.

The best Bluetooth headphones will support Bluetooth 4.2 and aptX.

More importantly, devices with mismatched versions can get flaky when paired together. Everything is supposed to be backwards-compatible, but getting the right equipment up front is always the best solution. Having said that, your phone probably is using Bluetooth 4.3, but the changes in the small version bump don’t affect any of the audio transfer protocols; they were only for Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) devices that stay connected and stay powered all the time.

• Extra features can be a great addition. Make sure you don’t need them to use your headphones, but an app can offer extras that aren’t part of the regular Bluetooth stack. The Samsung Level app is a great example and lets you use audio presets for “better” sound or use speech to text for input when using Samsung Level headphones. Without the app, the headphones still work — which is the important part — but the extras are nice. Also, decide if you need to be able to answer calls, or skip tracks, pause/play or use any other controls from your headset. You can’t add any of this later.
• Noise cancellation is a must-have for a lot of people. If you are one of them, don’t depend on anything but active (powered) noise cancellation. A tight fit and thick foam pads can muffle a lot of sounds, but that’s not a substitute. Some expensive models also offer a noise-cancelling microphone (like the one in your phone) that cancels ambient noise to make voice calls clearer. These make a set of headphones more expensive, but can be worth it.

The sound

The way your music and movies sound matters. You know what’s acceptable and what is not for your ears, but if you see folks saying that a particular pair of headphones sounds bad or sounds great, it usually means exactly that. Some headphones, Bluetooth or wired, just sound bad because of the design or the fit.

Some headphones just sound bad so check user reviews before you buy.

Don’t go into this thinking that you’ll get the same level of fidelity from Bluetooth that you can with wired headphones. The audio processing components on quality Bluetooth models can be very good, but the source data from your phone over Bluetooth isn’t good enough to make use of the great hardware. For now. aptX Lossless is coming (announced in June 2016) and should make for obvious improvements.

Chances are, a good pair of Bluetooth 4.2 headphones with aptX support (with a phone that has the license to use it) will sound plenty good enough for most people under most conditions. Just look at what others are saying to make sure you aren’t buying one of those odd models that doesn’t.

The price

Finally, once you’ve sorted out models that suit all of your needs, it’s time to think about the price. Like everything, recognizable brands will be more costly. Names like Bose or Sony or Sennheiser can have $400+ price tags attached, but usually offer excellent noise and call cancellation, a comfortable fit, and great battery life. For a lot of us, that makes them worth the price. But Jabra or JBL have models that are almost as good in the same areas at one-fourth the price.

I can’t tell you how much to spend. Looking back at the money I’ve spent on headphones over the years, I shouldn’t be telling anyone what to spend on them. But I can tell you that money should be your final deciding factor because great Bluetooth headphones come in all price ranges. A name or a style might be worth the premium for you, and that’s OK.

Like everything else, buying Bluetooth headphones will be easier if you know what you’re looking for before you go looking for it. If I were buying a pair of Bluetooth headphones today, I’d pick up a pair of Jabra MOVEs. They hit all the points that are important to me — comfort, battery life, audio quality, and easy controls — without the extras I don’t want or need. They’re also less than half the price of the Bose QuietComfort models other folks here at AC think are best for them.

Ultimately, we’re both right.

Hackers allegedly leak First Lady’s passport and White House emails

The hacking group that was able to get a hold of former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s emails earlier this month is back with a new breach: Emails from a White House staffer Ian Mellul. The newly released messages include planning, travel information and the usual inter-office banter. Only one problem, the alleged passport of the First Lady looks fake.

The DCLeaks hacking group is behind the breach of the staffer’s emails. It posted correspondences between Mellul, other White House officials and the Clinton campaign from February 2015 until July 2016. A photo of Michelle Obama’s passport along with a link to the emails was posted to Twitter.

The hacking group is believed to be based in Russia and is suspected of being responsible for leaking DNC emails to Wikileaks. The White House has yet to comment on the validity of the emails. But the passport the hacking group released looks fake.

Upon inspection, the left side of the photo does’t have the drop in opacity that usual passports have. The portrait of the First Lady’s head is too large per State Department guidelines. And finally, passports expire after 10 years not five. Of course there may be differences between civilian passports and that of the First Lady that we’re unaware of. But right now, it looks like a bad photoshop job.

Source: DCLeaks

Apple Acquires Machine Learning Startup Tuplejump

Apple recently acquired its third machine learning company since 2015, purchasing India-based company Tuplejump, reports TechCrunch. Tuplejump focused on simplifying data management techniques and creating tools to make it easy to deal with large quantities of data. From an archive of the now-defunct Tuplejump website:

A few years ago people realised that the volume of data that businesses generate was becoming unwieldy. A new set of technologies to handle this huge amounts of data cropped up. We were one of the early adopters of these ‘big-data’ technologies. Having helped Fortune 500 companies adopt these technologies we quickly realised how complicated they were and how much simpler they could get.

Thus started our quest to simplify data management technologies and make them extremely simple to use. We are building technology that is simple to use, scalable and will allow people to ask difficult questions on huge datasets.

According to TechCrunch, Apple purchased Tuplejump for its “FiloDB” open source project designed to use machine learning concepts and analytics on massive amounts of data in realtime. It appears FiloDB will continue on as an open source project.

Apple confirmed the acquisition of Tuplejump with its standard statement: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”

Other recent machine learning acquisitions include Perceptio and Turi. Apple is employing machine learning techniques across its operating system, using the technology for features like object and facial recognition in Photos, the new “Portrait” mode in the iPhone 7 Plus, major Siri improvements, and more.

Tags: Apple acquisition, Tuplejump
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Uber adds an advance booking option in NYC

Hailing an Uber is pretty straightforward. You launch the app, choose a pickup location and hit the “request” button. Easy. Uber’s simplicity has been to the detriment of flexibility, however. For the longest time, you couldn’t schedule a ride in advance — say, if you were planning for an early flight, or an important work meeting. That’s now changing, however. Following roll-outs in Seattle, London, and other parts of the UK, Uber is bringing its early booking system to New York City. Starting today, you can hail a ride anywhere between 15 minutes and 30 days in advance.

It’s another blow for the taxi industry. Uber has built its business on convenience, and this new feature will only further that reputation. Given the company’s track record — it’s known for fast, aggressive expansions — we suspect it won’t be long before this option is offered elsewhere too.

Source: Mashable, New York Post

Build your own Lego drone with these affordable kits

Lego bricks have been the foundation of so many awesome and elaborate creations, it’s no wonder people have already had the idea to send them skyward in drone form. But while there are plenty of DIY tutorials around, as well as the odd prebuilt model, we haven’t seen anything quite as accessible and affordable as these new Lego UAV kits from Flybrix.

Available today for an introductory price of $149 (increasing to $189 after a “limited time”), the basic Flybrix kit contains everything you need to build a quad, hexa or octocopter drone in as little as 15 minutes. We’re talking plenty of Lego bricks, eight motors and propellers, a pre-programmed Arduino brain and all the other necessary bits and bobs — even a minifig captain for you to fly around. And if you want a dedicated controller to pilot your creation instead of using Flybrix’s mobile apps, the $189 deluxe kit comes bundled with one (this will jump to $249 after the introductory period).

Also, there’s no need to be apprehensive when getting to grips with the controls. If anything, you’re encouraged to crash the things, watch them disintegrate, then simply pick up the pieces and build a new one. Though Flybrix does include ten games as part of the software package that are designed to hone budding pilot’s skills.

While these drone kits promise to be good clean fun, Flybrix’s founders — MIT, Caltech and UW Madison alums — are keen to stress the educational element. Aimed at kids aged 14 and over, the hope is building and flying these Lego drones will impart basic engineering, technology and physics knowledge, among other skills. But who are we kidding? They look just as appealing to big kids in the market for an affordable starter drone, too.

Source: Flybrix

Star and galaxy birth causes giant space blobs’ intense glow

A team of scientists have unraveled the secret behind lyman-alpha blobs and their intense glow. These massive clouds of hydrogen gas baffled astronomers from the time they first found out about their existence. A scientist named Charles Steidel discovered Lyman-alpha blob 1 or LAB-1, called as such because it’s first of its kind we’ve ever seen, in 2000. In an effort to get to the bottom of things, a team led by Jim Geach, an astrophysicist from the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, took a closer look at the massive structure.

With the help of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array of radio telescopes and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), the team found that LAB-1, which is thrice the size of the Milky Way, has two large galaxies in its center. They also found that the two are surrounded by a number of smaller galaxies, based on their observations using the Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

Now, here’s the important part: the two bigger galaxies are in midst of birthing one star after another. And thanks to cosmic materials from the smaller ones, stars are forming within the duo at a rate of over 100 times that of our own galaxy. All the ultraviolet light given off by this rapid star formation is what’s making the blob shine brightly.

Geach explained:

“Think of a streetlight on a foggy night — you see the diffuse glow because light is scattering off the tiny water droplets. A similar thing is happening here, except the streetlight is an intensely star-forming galaxy and the fog is a huge cloud of intergalactic gas. The galaxies are illuminating their surroundings.”

Since LAB-1 is 11.5 billion light-years away, the team believes we’re seeing the early stages of the formation of a gigantic elliptical galaxy — the two in its center are bound to merge — that will become the heart of a cluster. The light from Lab-1 that reaches us today was from 11.5 billion years ago, after all, shortly after the Big Bang. Astronomers now believe that the biggest galaxies in the universe form within bright, colossal blobs, just like Lab-1.

Source: Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array, Arxiv (PDF)