Eliana Willis

A good pair of headphones can become a daily companion. Buying the right headphones is a personal experience, as everyone wants and needs different things. Maybe you want headphones with noise-canceling properties strong enough to mute a crying baby on a plane. Perhaps you want headphones that will help you appreciate your favorite songs in new ways. Or, maybe those things don’t matter to you, and you just want headphones that work and won’t break the bank.Also: The best over-ear headphones: Expert tested and reviewedNo matter what your headphone needs are, there’s a pair for everybody, and you shouldn’t be toting a pair of headphones that don’t best serve you. Each pair of headphones has different strengths in different categories. Some are better at noise-canceling, while others have longer battery life. Once you find your perfect match, you’ll want to hold onto them for many years. There are many things to consider before buying headphones, and I’ve tested dozens of pairs to recommend the best ones.What are the best headphones right now?After extensively testing all of the top headphones available today, my pick for the best headphones overall right now are the Sonos Ace for their stylish and premium design, extreme all-day comfort, and unrivaled sound. These headphones are great for people willing to splurge on a pair of elevated headphones that offer every feature you need. If you’re looking for headphones for more specific use cases, keep reading and check out my top suggestions.The best headphones of 2024 Sonos Ace Best headphones overall The Sonos Ace results from the company’s many years of work creating its first pair of over-ear headphones. The Ace headphones are stacked with audio features, like compatibility with Dolby Atmos, noise-canceling, and transparency modes. These headphones’ standout feature is their integration with the Sonos soundbars via a TV audio swap feature. This feature allows users to seamlessly transfer audio from their Sonos Arc, Beam, or Ray to the Ace headphones.The Ace headphones deliver 30 hours of continuous playback, but you can recover three hours of battery life in a three-minute quick charge. The Ace debuted with thoughtful design features, like removable ear pads and color-coded ear cups. Review: Sonos AceThe Sonos Ace are compatible with Dolby Atmos, which was highly immersive when I watched movies and TV shows and listened to music. The TV audio swap feature is impressive, and the Sonos Ace are incredibly comfortable headphones. Additionally, they are stylish and have a simplistic design, staying true to Sonos’ dedication to creating products with an unassuming visual presence.When I reviewed the Sonos Ace, I was thoroughly impressed by their rich sound profile. However, their ANC is weaker for their near $500 price tag. But if noise-canceling isn’t your top priority, the Ace headphones offer immense comfort, a vibrant and exciting sound profile, and an elevated design.If touch controls aren’t your preference, the Ace sports two multifunction buttons, notably, the Content Key. You can slide and press this button to control audio commands and toggle the TV Audio Swap. Overall, the Ace headphones are a pair of fresh, premium headphones that any audio lover will enjoy.Still, if you’re looking for headphones with better noise-canceling properties, I recommend the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones or the Apple AirPods Max headphones. Sonos Ace tech specs: Form factor: Over-ear | Bluetooth: Yes (5.4) | Battery life: 30 hours (ANC on) | Driver size: 40mm dynamic | Noise cancellation: Yes | Wired option(s): USB-C More

Jason Hiner/ZDNETAfter ChatGPT’s launch in November 2022, nearly every company joined in on the AI craze — except Apple. Two years later, at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June, Apple unveiled a collection of AI features called Apple Intelligence. While they look impressive (and certainly are), many of the new features have been done before by OpenAI’s ChatGPT.Also: Apple Intelligence arrives next month: 6 AI upgrades iPhone users can expect firstNext month, Apple’s software updates will bring generative AI capabilities to iPhones, iPads, and Macs. However, OpenAI already unveiled major upgrades to the free version of ChatGPT in May, and the similarities to what Apple Intelligence will do are worth noting. The Apple Intelligence updates will be free, but the full experience will only be available on iPhones with the A17 Pro chip or above, which currently only includes iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPads and Macs with the M family of chips, and of course, the iPhone 16 lineup announced earlier this week at Apple’s iPhone 16 launch event. Also: iOS 18.1 update: Every iPhone model that will support Apple’s new AI features (for now)Instead of spending thousands of dollars rushing to upgrade to the newest Apple devices or waiting until next month when these features drop, you should check out ChatGPT first. OpenAI’s free chatbot has many of the same features coming to Apple Intelligence. 1. Writing help With Apple Intelligence, Writing Tools will be built into the Apple devices to help rewrite, proofread, and summarize text. Apple says the tools will be accessible “everywhere words matter,” including Mail, Keynote, third-party apps, and more. Also: How ChatGPT (and other AI chatbots) can help you write an essayChatGPT has advanced natural language processing (NLP), making it a great writing tool. It can generate new text from scratch, proofread, coedit, rewrite, and more. While the ChatGPT experience may not live natively within Apple devices the way Apple Intelligence will, users can easily copy and paste its output into a tab while accessing ChatGPT in their browser.Another option for Apple users is to take advantage of the ChatGPT app for iPads and iPhones. There’s even a ChatGPT app for MacOS, which allows users to access the chatbot quickly via a keyboard shortcut, simulating a built-in experience. 2. Image generatorApple also unveiled its first text-to-image generator, Apple’s Image Playground, at WWDC. This generator will be built into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS Sequoia as part of Apple Intelligence and will also live as a stand-alone app. With it, users will be able to generate images from simple text prompts and even a person from their Photo library. However, Image Playground will not roll out in October but in the coming months, according to Apple. Also: The best AI image generators to try right now Image Playground’s functionality will likely be similar to OpenAI’s image generator, DALL-E 3, which can be accessed via ChatGPT. There is a limit of two pictures in the free version of ChatGPT, but with ChatGPT Plus, users can generate as many images as they’d like. Even though ChatGPT Plus has a $20 per month subscription, it offers users a wider variety of options since it can render images in any style. Image Playground is limited to three styles: Animation, illustration, and sketch.3. Type and chatWith Apple Intelligence, Siri will be upgraded to accept typed and voice queries — a significant change considering that it has only ever functioned as a voice assistant. However, as discussed above, ChatGPT can also take text and voice inputs. You can type anything you need assistance with in the ChatGPT textbox and receive an immediate response. 4. ChatGPT itselfApple announced that Siri will have access to ChatGPT, which, as discussed above, can be accessed directly from the source without Apple Intelligence for free. 5. Advanced conversational capabilities Another update coming to Siri is better NLP, meaning it will be able to understand you even if you stutter or pause. OpenAI indicated at its Spring Launch that the improved Voice Mode for ChatGPT will have the same capabilities, such as stopping when a user interrupts it, understanding queries better, and more. Also: You can now chat with ChatGPT by voice for freeThe improved Voice Mode is currently rolling out in alpha to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users, and OpenAI shared it will continue to add users on a rolling basis. 6. Multimodal capabilitiesApple shared that with Apple Intelligence, Siri will have on-screen awareness, making asking it for help with certain tasks easier. During OpenAI’s Spring Launch event, the company also showed a demo indicating that ChatGPT will have on-screen awareness as well — though it hasn’t clarified when we’ll see this feature. The value of having an AI voice assistant that can see what you are working on and use it as context for your query is evident, and it will likely be the future of all assistants. [embedded content]Also: Apple adds Google Lens-like Visual Intelligence to the iPhone 16 cameraBeyond on-screen awareness, ChatGPT’s updated Voice Mode will enable you to understand your surroundings and provide assistance using your phone’s camera, as seen in the demo video above. The newly announced Apple Visual Intelligence works similarly, allowing users to show the AI their surroundings to get up-to-date information on what they are looking at or surrounded by.  More

Jason Hiner/ZDNETAfter two years of silence and delays about Apple’s AI developments, the company finally shared its latest projects with the public at its annual developer conference, WWDC, in June. At its ‘Glowtime’ product launch event this week, Apple continued highlighting how Apple Intelligence will significantly upgrade the device experience — but only if you have one of the newest iPhone models.Also: Apple delivers on hardware upgrades but punts Apple Intelligence rolloutThe new experiences will require iOS 18, which will launch on September 16. If you want to experience Apple Intelligence when it’s released, consider upgrading your iPhone to one of the models listed below soon. If you don’t want to wait a week, you can also start testing some AI features through Apple’s iOS 18 developer beta. What new AI features come with iOS 18?iOS 18 probably won’t launch with Apple Intelligence, but later versions of iOS 18 should boast many new AI features, including:Improved SiriNew summarization tools for email, Keynotes, third-party apps, and moreWriting tools (including rewriting, proofreading, and summarizing text features) Apple Image PlaygroundGenmojiPriority notificationsAI-generated photo memory moviesSearch in videosAI-powered photo editingImage Wand in the Notes appIn addition to these AI features, iOS 18 will offer an improved Control Center, new privacy options such as locking or hiding apps, scheduling messages, new Messages via Satellite, the ability to tap phones together to exchange Apple Cash, and more. Which iPhone models support these new AI features?You’ll need an iPhone 15 Pro More

Jada Jones/ZDNETIt has only been a few days since Apple’s Glowtime event, and we’re already getting insight into what the tech giant has in store for the future. 9To5Mac dove into the files of the latest iOS 18 beta and found lines of code hinting at a heart-rate sensor coming to future earbuds.Also: Which Apple AirPods 4 model should you buy? Here are the key differencesA string within the software mentions how wearing both earbuds during a workout would allow users to “track and send your heart rate to Apple Health.” This feature would then be managed within the pair’s Bluetooth settings. The code doesn’t mention which devices will house the sensor. However, sources close to 9to5Mac claimed it’ll be available on AirPods Pro 3 and the “next-generation of Powerbeats Pro.”A heart-rate sensor appearing on the latter may come as a surprise, but if you think about it, it makes sense. Apple teased the Powerbeats Pro via a social media post on September 4, with MLB star Shohei Ohtani wearing the pair, suggesting that the earbuds will possess some sort of athletic functionality, such as tracking a person’s heart rate. The function won’t be forced on users, as 9To5Mac reports that people will have the option to disable it for privacy reasons.Also: How Apple just changed hearing aids forever – and the lives of those who need themIt’s important to mention that there have been several rumors over the past year or so about what kind of changes the AirPods Pro 3 will introduce. Back in October 2023, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman noted how the series is set to receive a design update and new chipset in 2025. More

If you wish to revise your Gem further, click “Gem manager” on the left-hand bar. Under “Your Gems,” click the “Edit” button for the Gem you just created. You’re taken to the Gem editing page, where you can modify the name and instructions and submit a sample request. When finished, click the “Update” button to save your Gem with the latest changes.Also: Google’s NotebookLM can discuss your notes with you now. How to access itIf you like the Gem you created, you may want to use it as a template or starting point to create another Gem. For this, return to “Gem manager.” Click the three-dot options icon and select “Make a copy.” The Gem opens in the editing window where you can rename it and revise the instructions.If you no longer want or need a Gem you created, return to Gem manager. Click the three-dot options icon and select “Delete.” Click “Delete” in response to the prompt to confirm that you want to remove it. More

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