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Work from home in peace: Now's the time to invest in some noise-canceling headphones
Block out your in-house distractions
If you're fortunate enough to have a job you're able to do from home, you probably haven't been to the office in a while now. That's good for public health (and maybe good for you if you hate changing out of your pajamas), but it comes with its own challenges. Chief among them: noise. Traffic, neighbors doing yard work, your kids. Noise-canceling headphones won't completely block all of it, but they sure help. Here are some great options.
The best wireless headphones, USB-C earbuds, and smart speakers you can buy (Early 2020)
The best wireless earbuds
Hey, are you listening to music right this second? Maybe a podcast? I bet you are. If you're looking to upgrade whatever it is you're listening on, you have a ton of options. Android Police tests all kinds of headphones and speakers, but those reviews are a whole lot of words to read. So here, as part of our Most Wanted series, is a digestible list of the audio gear we're really feeling in early 2020.
Until Sony's excellent WF-1000XM3 launched earlier this year, there was no viable true wireless earbud option with active noise cancellation. This is partly because in-ear audio products already isolate far better than on or over-ear headphones, negating the need for ANC, and partly because it's difficult to squeeze the necessary tech into such a small form factor.
Danish audio brand Libratone has a reputation for attractive speakers and headphones that also sound pretty decent. Its Made for Google USB-C earbuds and made and more wireless-but-wired Track+ models both impressed us, so we're excited to see the company launch its first true wireless earbuds.
It's the first Monday of a new month, and we've got some particularly nice deals for you. Today, you can save $30 on the Ring Video Doorbell 2, $10 on a great pair of USB-C earbuds, and get some highly-rated USB-C cables for next to nothing.
You've spent all week slogging away at work, earning that cheddar. Now the weekend is here, and it's time to relax, unwind, and do your own little part to contribute to the grand machinations of capitalism by putting some of that cash back into circulation. Luckily for you, we've been keeping an eye on some of the best tech deals to surface over the past few days. Here are five of our favorites, lined up and ready to make your money stretch just a little bit further.
It's a sad state of affairs, but smartphones nowadays are skipping the 3.5mm headset plug for valid, and sometimes not-so-valid, reasons. If your Android phone is following that trend, you have two solutions to listen to music: Bluetooth and USB-C. Today's deals on Libratone might help you save on both of these options.Libratone is discounting its Q Adapt in-ear USB-C earphone by $30 on the Google Store and Amazon, making it $119 instead of $149. Now you may be thinking this is a little too much for a pair of in-ear earbuds, but this one has a USB-C plug, a very comfortable design and fit, excellent build and materials, and 4 levels of Active Noise Cancellation to boot. Richard really liked it when he reviewed it a few months ago, and the discount makes its price a little more palatable.
Release after release, the Libratone name is becoming more familiar to me. While I raised my eyebrow the first time I heard Jeff mention it, I was quickly won over by its colorful and beautifully minimalist speakers. Over the past year, Libratone made more headway with us, Android fans, by releasing two products along with the Pixel 2: the Q Adapt USB-C in ear earphones (which Richard reviewed) and the Q Adapt Wireless on ear headphones. Then at CES 2018, Libratone followed up by announcing the TRACK+, a set of wireless in-ear noise cancelling earbuds. For 9, they had to stand up to the challenge of not only being good, but being near awesome to justify the price. And my past two weeks with them have left me very happy yet just a little bit frustrated because of a few small details that would have made them perfect.
It's sad, but the headphone jack is being included on fewer and fewer phones every year. Ever since Apple started the trend of relying on one connector with the iPhone 7, Google, HTC, Motorola, and more companies have all released flagship devices without the 3.5mm jack that all of us knew and loved.
You may have read the name Libratone a couple of times before on Android Police. The company specializes in minimalistic but superb audio products, like the One Click speaker that Jeff reviewed, and has recently been part of the Made for Google program with its Q Adapt in-ear (wired) and on-ear, the latter of which are even Google-certified with that Fast Pair capability. The company is back with another new product, this time a wireless in-ear earphone called the TRACK+.
This pretty little thing is the Libratone One Click. Designed by Danish engineers, with characteristic Scandinavian simplicity, it's a speaker that has caught the attention of everyone I've shown it to. Sure, it looks nice, but how does it sound? Read on my friends, and you'll find out.