Audio and Podcast News

From streaming music and audiobooks to live audio rooms and podcasts, every major player in tech is trying to own a chunk of the listening experience. Spotify is expanding beyond music streaming, YouTube is becoming an audio-only destination, and Apple Music is hoping to stand out with spatial audio while Tidal, Pandora, SoundCloud, and so many more scramble to set themselves apart.

Jun 12|

Apple

Apple’s AirPods are being upgraded with powerful accessibility features

Chris Welch

and Umar Shakir

Jun 10|

Jess Weatherbed Jun 10

Nokia demonstrates ‘the future of voice calls.’

That’s according to Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark, after making the world’s first phone call that utilized a codec for Immersive Voice and Audio Services (IVAS) from the upcoming 5G Advanced standard to improve call quality with three-dimensional sound.

Nokia says the technology is “now becoming standardized” and that most phones with at least two microphones are capable of supporting it, but widespread availability may take a few years.

Nokia CEO makes world's first 'immersive' phone call

[Reuters]

Sean Hollister Jun 7

Today I learned some cheap wired earbuds actually use Bluetooth.

Sounds like it’s mostly knockoff Apple Earpods. Wired explains:

What’s going on is this: The plug on the buds using this workaround goes into the Lightning slot, which then doubles as a Bluetooth receiver that receives power from the port but routes its signal through the phone’s Bluetooth. That means your wired connection is actually wireless.

Some Cheap Wired Headphones Are Actually Using Bluetooth

[WIRED]

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