Category: Technologies

Bose headphones and earbuds have always skewed toward the more premium end of the price spectrum and the company’s QuietComfort Earbuds 2 are no exception, carrying a hefty list price of $299 ( 279, $AU429), or $20 more than the original QuietComfort Earbuds. While that will put them outside a lot of people’s budget for wireless earbuds, their design and voice-calling performance are significantly improved from the originals, and they deliver excellent sound and outstanding noise canceling — arguably the best out there right now. They’re easily among our top current earbuds, and a CNET Editors’ Choice Award winner.

That award came a few months after the release of the QuietComfort Earbuds 2 after some internal debate — most notably the earbuds’ missing support for the AptX Adaptive audio codec that’s compatible with many Android phones and some other devices. But Bose has since announced that AptX support will be added in the spring of 2023. “The QuietComfort Earbuds 2 will support the AptX Adaptive codec for audio streaming, including Lossless and low-latency capabilities,” Bose told CNET, “and enable more seamless and robust connectivity with premium Android devices.”

I’ll save that value debate for the end of the review after I go through all QuietComfort Earbuds 2’s strengths (or QuietComfort Earbuds II, as Bose calls them), along with a few weaknesses. But if you can afford them, these are certainly strong competitors against Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 and Sony’s WF-1000XM4, the latter of which have been out for a while and are being aggressively discounted at times.

Read more: Best Wireless Earbuds for 2022

Initially the buds were only available in black — or “Triple Black,” as Bose calls it, but you can now also get the in the lighter soapstone color (basically off-white) and it’s possible Bose releases other special-edition colors in the future.

More importantly, the earbuds are about 30% smaller than their predecessors. Their case is about 40% smaller and truly pocketable (though it’s still about 25% to 30% bigger than the AirPods Pro 2’s case). The smaller size corrects a big downside of the original QuietComfort Earbuds, which featured excellent noise canceling and very good sound quality, but were pretty hefty and protruded from your ears. The new buds each weigh a little less than 0.25 ounces, or 7 grams, according to Bose — still not svelte but significantly smaller.

The other big change is to the ear tips. Bose has ditched its one-piece StayEar wing tips for a two-piece Fit Kit system that features separate ear tips and “stability bands” in three size options. That’s supposed to give users more flexibility to get a secure fit and tight seal. I liked the StayEar wing tips, but after trying the new two-piece system, I’m sold on it. I ended up going with the large tips and medium stability band, and that really locked the buds in my ears. I can’t tell you that this will fit everyone’s ears equally well, but if you’re someone who can’t get a secure fit with the AirPods Pro 2, which are lighter and quite comfortable to wear, this new two-piece Fit Kit may be a reason to give the Bose a go over the new AirPods Pro.

A handful of new premium earbuds feature a kind of auto custom tune feature that takes into account the shape of your ears — and ear canal. Following that trend, Bose has developed a new CustomTune sound calibration system that aims to optimize noise canceling and sound quality for your particular ears. Every time you place the buds in your ears, a proprietary tone is played and a microphone measures your ear canal’s acoustic response. It takes about half a second or so and you definitely notice that the noise canceling has undergone some optimization.

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While the design improvements are a nice step forward, the QuietComfort Earbuds 2 really shine on the noise canceling front. It’s really impressive just how much the sound around you is muffled. Bose says it’s targeted frequencies that were previously difficult to reduce in the mid and high range, like the voices of nearby co-workers, screaming babies and family distractions in your home office. I used the buds in my home next to a relatively loud HVAC unit, and the noise canceling basically silenced it completely.

But I was more impressed with how much sound it reduced when I walked the streets and rode the subway in New York City. You can still hear people’s voices, but they seem to be muffled by about 60% and maybe even slightly more. It’s a little startling when you take the buds out of your ears or put them into transparency mode — Bose calls it Aware mode — and realize how much sound is being filtered out.

And yes, that transparency mode is also improved — it does sound more natural and lifelike. The best transparency modes, like that of the AirPods Pro, make it seem as if you’re not wearing earbuds and can hear the world as it would sound without earbuds in your ears. These do a good job of getting you close to that sensation.

While the drivers appear to be the same or very similar to those found in the original QuietComfort Earbuds, Bose reps told me that thanks to the CustomTune technology, the sound is noticeably improved, with more “nuance, clarity, depth” and better accuracy. And that’s pretty much what you’ll hear if you were to compare these to the originals. Everything is a little more clear and natural sounding. Their predecessors also had relatively big sound — and by that I mean they have a pretty wide soundstage. But the bass has a bit more definition and punch, and there’s a bit more detail and separation between instruments so you can hear them more distinctly. I also thought they had just the right amount of warmth, particularly with both men’s and women’s vocals. Their tonal balance is overall very good.

While software and advanced algorithms play a big part in the QuietComfort Earbuds 2’s performance, they feature four microphones in each bud, two of which are beam-forming microphones to focus on picking up your voice. Voice-calling performance was a weak point in the original QuietComfort Earbuds and Bose has clearly made an effort to improve it with better noise reduction — and voice pickup — during calls. I think it’s significantly better now (you can hear a sample call in my companion video review).

As for battery life, it’s rated at 6 hours with noise canceling on — that’s the same as the new AirPods Pro 2 — and you get about three extra charges from the new trimmed-down charging case, which features USB-C charging but not wireless charging. That latter shortfall is a bit unfortunate since most earbuds in this price range, including the AirPods Pro 2, feature wireless charging.

Like their predecessors, the QuietComfort Earbuds 2 are splash-proof with an IPX4 rating. They also have similar touch controls with a swipe gesture for volume control that I like. I thought the touch controls worked well, and they are slightly customizable in the companion app for iOS and Android (you have the option to select certain “shortcuts”).

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As for Bluetooth flavors, these are equipped with Bluetooth 5.3. They use the AAC and SBC audio codecs but currently have no support for Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive audio codec or multipoint Bluetooth pairing (I manually switched between an iPhone 13 Pro and a Galaxy Z Flip 4). In theory, you may be able to get slightly better audio quality if you use a device like an Android phone that supports aptX Adaptive and wirelessly stream high-resolution music files using services like Tidal, Amazon Music and Qobuz that deliver high-resolution music.

I was disappointed by that, particularly by the lack of multipoint Bluetooth pairing. But there’s some hope that may change in the future. That’s because a Bose rep told me these earbuds are equipped with a 5 Series Qualcomm chip. That chip supports multipoint Bluetooth pairing and has aptX support, which Bose now says is coming in 2023, so I think there’s a decent chance we’ll see multipoint Bluetooth pairing added in the future and perhaps other features. Bose didn’t mention anything about Bluetooth Audio LE and Auracast, a new Bluetooth audio broadcasting technology that’s coming to earbuds and headphones, but some new earbuds like the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Proare listed as being “ready” for LE Audio.

It’s worth noting that while the noise canceling is of the adaptive variety, you can adjust its levels between three settings. Also, the earbuds have adjustable equalizer settings so you can tweak the sound profile. And finally, you can use a single bud independently and leave the other one in the charging case though certain touch controls are available only on the right bud.

Bose vs. Sony, Beats and AirPods Pro

I’ll finish by saying that I did compare these to some other top earbuds, including Sony’s WF-1000XM4, which were released in June 2021 and list for $20 less. The XM4s are still excellent, but these QuietComfort Earbuds 2 have surpassed the Sony buds not only in terms of sound quality and noise canceling but voice calling and fit as well. The Bose buds are superior.

I also like the Beats Fit Pro ($200) for both everyday use and as sports earbuds (they also stay in my ears very securely). They’re probably the better value, particularly as we’re starting to see regular discounts on them. But the Bose offer better overall performance along with a comfortable, secure fit in comparably sized earbuds.

Apple’s AirPods Pro 2, which also earned a CNET Editors’ Choice Award, are lighter and smaller and deliver impressive overall performance in a smaller package (that includes the charging case, which does feature wireless charging). But if you’re someone who can’t get a really secure fit from the AirPods Pro — or are an Android user — these are a compelling alternative. That said, the performance improvements to the AirPods Pro 2 make them a pretty safe and enticing choice for iPhone users for $50 less than the Bose. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider the QuietComfort Earbuds 2 if you’re an iOS user, but the AirPods Pro have their own set of advantages for iOS users, including spatial audio, automatic switching between your Apple devices on your iCloud account and hands-free Siri.

The same can be said for Samsung’s excellent Galaxy Buds 2 Pro buds and Samsung Galaxy device owners. Those buds have certain features that only Galaxy owners can take advantage of, including high-resolution audio over Bluetooth if you have the right setup.

But again, the QuietComfort Earbuds 2 may offer a better fit for you, and I do think they sound a touch better than both the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and Pixel Buds Pro and have better noise canceling. If you can get a tight seal with these buds, the noise canceling is really impressive. As I said, probably the best out there right now. And ultimately, that’s the reason why they may be worth $300 to some people.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 key features, per Bose

• 30% smaller buds and 40% smaller case [compared to previous model]
• New CustomTune technology for optimizing sound and noise canceling
• Improved sound, noise canceling and voice-calling performance
• Touch controls with swipe gestures for volume control
• New two-piece Fit Kit system that features separate ear tips and stability bands in three size options
• Four microphones on each earbuds, two of which are beamforming for voice calls
• 6 hours of battery life with noise cancellation on
• Bluetooth 5.3
• Support for AAC and SBC audio codecs (aptX support coming in 2023)
• Customizable EQ settings
• Price: $299 ( 279, AU$429)
• Colors: triple black ships first, with soapstone to follow later in the year

Editor’s note: This review was originally published on Sept. 15, 2022 and updated in December to reaffirm our continued positive experience with the headphones and add an Editors’ Choice designation.

This year’s updates to Apple’s iPad system software have largely focused on multitasking ideas like Stage Manager, but the newest iPadOS 16.2 update adds compatibility for a new Apple app, Freeform, that aims to be a sort of collaborative whiteboard across iPhones, iPads and Macs. Based on what I’ve seen so far, it could also possibly be a lot more.

Freeform looks like a whiteboard tool, and for the most part, that’s what it is: collaborators can join in and add to a project or see how it’s progressing. I’ve looked at Freeform, but haven’t been collaborating with others using it. I’m curious, now that it’s live, whether I will.

Freeform’s most interesting quality is how flexible it could become. It can have files attached to it, making it a sort of collaborative desktop of sorts, or a shared file system. There are already other ways you could do this with other apps or services, but after Apple’s efforts to extend collaboration with SharePlay for music and movies over FaceTime and in Messages, it looks like part of a common theme to knit together Apple’s products into a multiuser ecosystem.

Freeform is also just a free whiteboarding tool, which could be helpful by itself for laying out a flowchart or presenting some ideas.

The first thing I thought of while using Freeform was of actors, directors and designers sharing scripts, story and design notes, and production updates in some sort of collaborative interface. That sounds exciting, but the problem with Freeform’s collaborative dreams is you need an Apple device to access it. This isn’t a cross-platform tool outside of iOS and MacOS.

When Apple eventually debuts its long-expected VR headset next year, it’ll need some sort of collaborative infrastructure. Will Freeform be part of that picture? It’s way too early to tell, but for now it’s a free bonus tool in iOS 16.2 that you should at least try out.

Good news, Earthlings. We have more to look forward to than just the drab landscape of the moon or the inhospitable surface of Mars when it comes to far-flung future human civilizations off this rock. We might one day be living la vida asteroid.

Yes, space-faring piles of rocky rubble (like famous asteroid Bennu) could be home sweet home. A group of scientists at the University of Rochester in New York worked out a plan for turning asteroids into spinning space cities with artificial gravity. The researchers published a “wildly theoretical” study in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences earlier this year.

“Our paper lives on the edge of science and science fiction,” said co-author Adam Frank in a University of Rochester statement last week. Frank is a professor of physics and astronomy at the school.

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The basic concept behind the asteroid city builds on an idea called the O’Neill cylinder, a rotating space colony design proposed by physicist Gerard O’Neill in the 1970s. The rotation creates artificial gravity. Think of something along the lines of the cylindrical Cooper Station in the movie Interstellar. It’s a fascinating idea, but it would be difficult and expensive to transport enough material into space to make a large-scale O’Neill cylinder.

This is where things get wilder. The Rochester research team proposes a way to turn a rock pile of an asteroid into a cylinder by surrounding it with a thin, high-strength mesh bag made from carbon nanofibers. It would have an accordion-like design.

“A cylindrical containment bag constructed from carbon nanotubes would be extremely light relative to the mass of the asteroid rubble and the habitat, yet strong enough to hold everything together,” said study co-author Peter Miklavcic, a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering.

Spinning an asteroid would cause its rubble to break apart, expanding the bag and creating a layer of rock against it. That layer would provide radiation shielding for a colony inside the cylinder while the continued spin would create artificial gravity.

It sounds far-fetched, but Frank said the technologies and engineering behind the asteroid city technically obey the laws of physics. “Based on our calculations, a 300-meter-diameter asteroid just a few football fields across could be expanded into a cylindrical space habitat with about 22 square miles of living area,” Frank said. “That’s roughly the size of Manhattan.”

Of course, bagging and spinning an asteroid wouldn’t be simple. The researchers suggest using solar-powered rubble cannons to get the spin going. There’s also the matter of constructing a human-safe colony on the interior, but we can leave those challenges for the future.

Sci-fi writers have long envisioned life on asteroids. The paper provides a new way of thinking through that possibility in a way that could protect human occupants and make them feel more at home. It’s a good companion piece to another recent space thought experiment that offered up a plan for building a “forest bubble” on Mars.

My imagination is now taking me from my cozy quarters inside an asteroid to a vacation destination in a Martian nature reserve. This may not be relegated to the realm of sci-fi forever. “Space cities might seem like a fantasy now,” Frank said, “but history shows that a century or so of technological progress can make impossible things possible.”

Final Fantasy 7 fans were ready to eat well back in the mid-noughties, as developer Square Enix released several spinoffs expanding the universe of the legendary 1997 PlayStation RPG. Unfortunately, most of the new stories — like PS2 shooter Dirge of Cerberus and CGI movie Advent Children — turned to be fast food next to the delicious and nutritious meal that was Final Fantasy 7.

The sole exception was the excellent 2007 action-RPG Crisis Core. This prequel cast you in the role of Zack Fair, a character with a small-but-crucial role in Final Fantasy 7’s main story, and explored his career as a member of megacorporation Shinra’s Soldier paramilitary group.

It offered roughly 25 hours of main story gameplay, a solid chunk of side missions and an inevitable emotional gut-punch of an ending that seared itself into fans’ brains.

The problem: It was only on PlayStation Portable (the PSP) and remained marooned on Sony’s now-obsolete handheld for more than 15 years. However, after the 2020 Final Fantasy 7 Remake and its downloadable content hinted at Zack’s playing a bigger part in the upcoming Rebirth, Square Enix is finally letting a new generation of gamers dive into Crisis Core.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion hit PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC on Tuesday. I’ve played a chunk of the game on PS5, and found this remastered classic to be a nostalgic joy.

Initially, I thought this was just the PSP game with some modern flourishes — 3D character models, upgraded environments and the ability to finally play it on a massive TV screen (or mirror the handheld original on Switch). Some of the prerendered cutscenes aren’t as well remastered, with graphical artifacts occasionally marring the image.

As I played, it became increasingly clear that Square Enix had made more subtle changes as well; developers have brought the combat closer to the Remake’s beautiful flow. Chaining physical, magical attacks and summoning god-like beings who perform super attacks feels natural and smooth — partially because all the modern systems’ controllers have more buttons to use than the PSP — making for a far more pleasant experience than it was in 2007.

You also have a new way to interrupt your most powerful enemies’ biggest attacks, by doing as much damage as possible when they’re charging up. It might not seem like a major addition, but it adds a layer of strategy to boss encounters you might otherwise have played defensively.

The slot machine-style Digital Mind Wave system that periodically gives you bonuses or summons an ally in combat remains inscrutable as ever — it also determines when Zack and his abilities level up. Rest assured that this isn’t random, so it seems that way you just can’t see how much experience points you have. Its link to Zack’s emotional effect also used to great narrative effect at a few key points.

All the cutscenes are fully voice acted now — chunks of the original were text-only — with the Remake’s excellent cast back in their roles. That includes Superman & Lois’ Tyler Hoechlin as future villain Sephiroth, who’s a pretty chill (if a bit aloof) dude for much of this game.

However, for good or ill, Crisis Core Reunion is fundamentally the same game we got in 2007. It’s still divided into easily digestible story chapters where Zack goes out on assignments for Shinra, unlocking bite-size missions along the way — it can’t quite shake off its roots as a portable game designed for quick sessions.

It feels a little stop-start in the early hours, especially as the game’s various systems are introduced to you, but you’ll soon get into the groove.

The gameplay loop of doing a chapter, then blasting through a bunch of unlocked missions and talking to the various characters in the hub around Shinra headquarters is satisfying — similar to Mass Effect, another classic 2007 RPG. It’s basically a few rooms and streets, greatly enhanced by the game’s magnificent art direction (without the slow loading of the PSP version).

Zack is also an ultra-charismatic protagonist, and his enthusiasm is a breath of fresh air compared to Final Fantasy 7’s moody Cloud. Fans who know about the relationship between these two will find getting to know Zack particularly rewarding.

The other characters are a mixed bag — Zack’s Soldier mentor Angeal is so stiff that I practically drift off whenever he’s on screen, and main villain Genesis is a dorky Sephiroth wannabe. The voice actors do their best, but the writing around these two just isn’t compelling. However, Cloud and Aerith make up for it when they enter the story.

And seeing the early adventures of these gaming icons, and how Zack helped to shape them, is the best reason to play Crisis Core Reunion. It’s still a 2007 PSP game at heart (as evidenced by the beautiful mid-noughties flip phones), but Square Enix’s ambition made it one of the best games on that system. I’m so glad it’s not trapped there any more. It’s a game every Final Fantasy 7 fan needs to play before Rebirth arrives late next year.

The 2022 anime season is about to wrap up, but there is still time to enjoy this year’s releases on streaming. Perhaps you’ve already seen One Piece Film: Red at your local theater. And as an anime fan, you’re may be captivated by the weekly drops of Chainsaw Man right now. But December offers titles you can watch at home as we patiently wait for 2023 to bring us the Attack on Titan finale, Kaguya-sama: Love is War and a new season of Jujutsu Kaisen.

Here’s a look at what you can stream this month on Crunchyroll, Netflix and other streaming services.

Read more: Best Anime Streaming Services for 2022

My Hero Academia Season 6

With Shigaraki on a rage-filled mayhem mission using the Metahuman Liberation Army, the stakes are high for our beloved Izuku “Deku” Midoriya, U.A. High and the pro superheroes. New quirks, new challenges and a new war await us in My Hero Academia. This season is a must-see, and the show airs on Hulu or Crunchyroll on Saturdays at 2:30 a.m. PT (5:30 a.m. ET) with the dubbed version dropping at 12 p.m. PT (3 p.m. ET). Watch the latest installment into the spring of 2023.

Chainsaw Man

One of the most exciting arrivals this year, Chainsaw Man airs subbed episodes on Crunchyroll Tuesdays at 9 a.m. PT (12 p.m. ET) and the dubbed version debuts on Oct. 25, 12:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. ET). The popular manga has finally been adapted for the small screen and is already earning high marks from critics and fans. Watch Denji become the hybrid devil hunter he was never meant to be and all the frenzied, bloody mess that’s attached to this wild story. Season 1 has 12 episodes that you can stream on Crunchyroll or Hulu into January.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean Part 3

The final batch of episodes for this story arc hit Netflix on Dec. 1, following the release of part 2 in September. Considered one of the most difficult manga storylines to adapt for the small screen, Stone Ocean draws to a close. All 14 episodes are available to binge now.

Blue Lock

Forget Ted Lasso. Blue Lock’s soccer saga pits the top high school players in Japan against each other in a rigorous program to find the nation’s greatest striker. Watch Yoichi Isagi on his journey each Sat. 11 a.m. PT (2 p.m. ET) on Crunchyroll. This season will feature 24 episodes total, broken down into two consecutive cours.

Dragon Age: Absolution

If you haven’t checked out Netflix’s series yet, you should add it to your binge list this month. Based on the video game, the six-episode show takes viewers to Tevinter, a place no one has seen on screen before. Dragon Age: Absolution premiered on Dec. 9.

To Your Eternity Season 2

To Your Eternity comes back with more melancholy and compelling storytelling about Fushi’s struggles as a shape-shifting immortal. This time, he can’t keep his commitment to solitude when he faces the Nokkers and needs help to do it. To Your Eternity season 2 will feature 20 episodes and begins streaming on Crunchyroll on Oct. 23 at 5:30 a.m. PT (8:30 a.m. ET).

Bocchi the Rock!

Since its debut on Oct. 8, Bocchi the Rock! has found a loyal audience on Crunchyroll. Adapted from the popular manga of the same name, the comedy series follows Hitori Goto, an introverted girl with super guitar-playing talents. She winds up forming a rock band but has to learn a few things about herself and interacting with those around her. If you prefer music-centric stories with a comical slant, check it out on Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. PT (12:30 p.m. ET).

Millennium Actress

An award-winning movie, Millennium Actress follows two documentarians Genya Tachibana and Kyoji Ida as they interview the actress, Chiyoko Fujiwara. The family-friendly oldie but goodie joins the Crunchyroll lineup on Dec. 15.

Mob Psycho 100 Season 3

It’s the final season of Mob Psycho 100, and fans get to see Shigeo — aka Mob — figure out the next stage of his life. That’s the overarching theme of this season, but the story will also carry him, Reigen, Ritsu and Teru into another adventure featuring a now-revered broccoli tree. Watch to find out how they handle the divine sprout. Mob Psycho 100 III kicked off on Oct. 5 and has 12 episodes that air Wednesdays at 9 a.m. PT. (12 p.m. ET). The season ends this month.

Lookism

A Korean anime, Lookism follows Daniel, a high school kid who is bullied for his appearance. After waking up in a new body, he explores and experiences “lookism,” a term that describes stereotypes, preferential treatment or discrimination based on looks. Season 1 debuted on Netflix on Dec. 8.

Arknights: Prelude to Dawn

An adaptation of the popular video game, Arknights: Prelude to Dawn premieres on Crunchyroll on Oct. 28. Meet the Rhodes Island team and a slew of other characters from Terra as they navigate conflict, disease and power in their dystopian world.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 ($249, 249, AU$399) are better than the original AirPods Pro. After all, this second-gen version took nearly three years to develop, so you figure Apple could probably pull something together that might give you a reason to upgrade from the first-gen AirPods Pro or buy them over other great premium earbuds from Sony, Bose and other big headphone brands.

The good news is Apple has done just that. And while putting an exact percentage on how much AirPods Pro 2 have improved over their predecessors isn’t so easy (that’s something I’ll try to do in this review), suffice to say they’ve improved enough to earn a CNET Editors’ Choice award, particularly now that they’re being discounted at several online retailers with prices dipping to as low as $200 during flash sales.

Read more: Best Wireless Earbuds for 2022

Apple AirPods Pro 2 design: Small changes

Let’s start with the external design. This is one of those situations where Apple hasn’t really done anything to change the size and shape of the buds or significantly alter their physical appearance. The original AirPods Pro were compact and lightweight and fit a lot of people’s ears really well, so I can’t fault that decision.

Some people were hoping for shorter stems and perhaps some new color options or even better water resistance — yes, they’re still IPX4 splash-proof. But I figured Apple would stick with its tried-and-true design and focus on making improvements to the areas that had the most room for improvement, such as sound quality, noise-canceling performance and battery life, which is now up to six hours from about four-and-a-half hours with noise canceling on and an extra four charges in the charging case (30 hours total). Those numbers go up to seven hours and 35 hours total with the noise canceling off. A quick five-minute charge gives you about an hour’s worth of battery life.

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There are some small but noteworthy changes to the design, particularly to the microphones placement. On the original AirPods Pro, the skin-detection sensor and noise-canceling microphone were combined on the inside of the bud. Now, they’re separated with the skin-detection sensor in the same spot, but the noise-canceling microphone has been moved to the top of the bud where it’s exposed to the outside world and better at picking up and processing ambient sound. The microphone configuration is similar to what you see on the AirPods 3, but the skin-detection sensor is smaller, and Apple says it’s improved that sensor so it more accurately turns on and off playback and is more energy efficient.

I should also mention that Apple now includes a fourth set of extra small ear tips, which should help those of you with really small ear canals who had trouble getting a secure fit with the originals.

But this isn’t like the AirPods 3, where Apple made big changes to the earbuds’ external design. As far as I can tell, these fit my ears the same as the originals. I personally would like Apple to include a new extra-large ear tip, but I do get a relatively good seal with the largest size that’s included. (I am able to pass the seal test in the Ear Tip Fit test that’s part of the AirPods Pro’s Ear Tip companion app, but I do have to sometimes adjust how the buds sit in my ears to pass the test.) I could probably do just a little better with an XL tip, and I sometimes use third-party foam tips to get a more secure fit. They have a little more grip, and that helps keep the buds very securely in my ears, particularly when I’m running with them.

Upgraded Apple AirPods Pro 2 wireless charging case

The new MagSafe-enabled wireless charging case is the same size but now has a built-in speaker and Apple’s U1 chip, which allows it to play sounds for use with Apple’s precision Find My feature (the case essentially has an Apple AirTag built into it). Previously, the buds could play a sound through their drivers, but often they were in the case, so you couldn’t hear that sound. Now, you can use Find My to locate the case or the left or right earbuds separately should one or all of them go missing (the buds use Bluetooth Low Energy or BLE for tracking). The case also now has a spot for attaching a lanyard, but sadly, Apple doesn’t include a lanyard with the buds.

It’s worth noting that you can’t charge the original AirPods Pro in the AirPods Pro 2’s cases and vice versa. If you try that, you’ll get a “mismatched AirPods” notification on your phone.

While Apple has retained the pinch controls on the stems, which I preferred to the touch controls on the original AirPods, it’s now added swipe controls on the stem for adjusting the volume. You can still ask Siri to raise and lower volume — these do have hands-free Siri — but a lot of people will appreciate the new swipe controls.

That’s really it as far as external design changes go and most of them are tied into some feature or performance enhancement.

Read more: Best Noise-Canceling True Wireless Earbuds for 2022

New Apple AirPods Pro 2 drivers and internal components

As I said in my initial first look video, the real changes are on the inside, where everything is basically new. The AirPods Pro 2 are powered by Apple’s new H2 chip, which delivers more processing power while being more energy efficient. To get better sound, Apple has combined that chip with a new amplifier and new low-distortion drivers along with new digital processing algorithms. The H2, new microphones and algorithms are also what drive the improved adaptive active noise canceling that Apple says is twice as powerful as its predecessor’s noise canceling. And finally, there’s a new Adaptive Transparency Mode that allows you to hear the world around you in a natural, lifelike manner while reducing loud noises that might normally shock your ears. It’s a great transparency mode and you can turn the adaptive part off if you want.

Apple AirPods Pro 2 sound evaluation

You can definitely hear the improvements to both the noise canceling and sound. As for sound, you get better clarity, more bass punch with better definition, and just more all-around depth and dynamic sound. The sound just has a little more girth and dimensionality. I compared a few tracks I always use during testing, like Spoon’s Knock Knock Knock, and you can really notice a difference in the bass performance. The earbuds use Adaptive EQ, which uses an inward-facing microphone to monitor the sound going into your ears, and the H2 chip, which optimizes the audio that you’re listening to on the fly (there are no manual EQ settings). The chip’s increased computational power helps it process and optimize a wider range of frequencies, particularly the highs.

One of the more impressive things about the buds is how loud they play. For me, I found they played plenty loud at about 65% to 70% volume. I compared them to the new Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2. The AirPods Pro 2 sound excellent, but there’s something about the tonal balance of the Bose that I liked a little better at times — there’s a bit more warmth and naturalness to it — and the bass has a bit more oomph. But I had to push the volume up to about 85% to hear some of the finer details and to get the extra bass kick on the Bose. With the AirPods Pro 2 you hear more detail and get good bass even at more moderate volumes.

Some people were hoping that the new AirPods Pro would be able to stream Apple Lossless tracks over wireless. They currently can’t do that, which will certainly disappoint some people. Whether they’ll be able to do that in the future and possibly get other new feature upgrades is anybody’s guess. But for now, they use Bluetooth 5.3 and support the AAC LC3 audio codec, which offers 16-bit 48 kilohertz bit rates compared with the 16-bit 24 kilohertz bit rates of AAC. Not high-resolution audio, but a little bump up.

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Pro support 24-bit high-resolution audio. The catch is to get that 24-bit audio you need a Galaxy device equipped with Samsung’s One UI 4.0 and a music streaming service like Qobuz, Tidal or Amazon Music that streams high-res audio tracks. On all other devices, including Android phones and iPhones, those buds default to the AAC audio codec.

Apple AirPods Pro 2 noise canceling testing

The active noise canceling is impacted by how tight a seal you get from the ear tips. If you lose that tight seal, some ambient sound may leak in and you may hit the rare ANC hiccup as the AI shifts gears for a fraction of second to make adjustments (this is a phenomenon with all adaptive noise-canceling earbuds). But it was easy to sense that the noise canceling was reducing more cabin noise during a cross-country flight I took and also muffled more sound when I rode the subway in New York. The buds also have just enough venting to avoid that oppressive occluded feeling you sometimes get with ANC buds.

The noise canceling didn’t feel twice as strong to me as I switched between the AirPods Pro 2 and the original AirPods Pro, but by double the noise canceling power what Apple means is that noise canceling is improved across all frequencies and probably more so with high- and mid-range frequencies that are harder to muffle than lower frequencies. So you’re likely to hear more improvement with the muffling of people’s voices, for example.

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Ultimately, the noise canceling is one of the best out there right now and just a slight step behind what I experienced with Bose’s new QuietComfort Earbuds 2, which arguably have the best noise canceling at this moment. But I’ll say it again, the noise-canceling experience can and will vary with the fit of the earbuds, so hopefully, you get a good fit.

If you happen to own an Apple Watch, you can fire up the Noise app — or complication, as Apple calls it — to get a readout of the exact decibel levels the AirPods Pro 2 are reducing with their noise canceling (you just need to have a Watch running WatchOS 9). It’d be nice if you could just see that same dB level check on your iPhone.

Apple AirPods Pro 2 Spatial Audio

I’m not going to talk too much about Apple’s Spatial Audio virtual surround mode, but it’s here and fun to play around with — it’s a nice bonus feature, and Apple seems to do it best compared with other buds that have their own virtual surround or spatial mode with head-tracking (for example, Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Pro use 360 Audio). I prefer using Spatial Audio with movies, but I also tried it with various music tracks, particularly those that Apple designates as Made For Spatial Audio. It doesn’t necessarily make music sound better, but it does make it sound different, and it’s interesting to try it out with tracks you know well and want to hear in a different way.

iOS 16 brings Personalized Spatial audio to any AirPods that support Spatial Audio. Similar to what you do when setting up Face ID, the personalized experience comes from taking pictures of your ears, and the biggest benefit is the more accurate placement of dialogue directly in front of you when you’re watching a movie. That placement doesn’t move even if you turn your head if you have head-tracking turned on (you can also use Spatial Audio in “fixed” setting).

Apple AirPods Pro 2 voice-calling performance

The original AirPods Pro were mostly excellent for making voice calls and these are even slightly better. As I said, the microphones have been upgraded, and there are two beamforming microphones for calls — one on the outside of the bud and one at the bottom of the stem, both of which have some mesh covering them to help reduce wind noise. When you’re using the buds to make a FaceTime call over Wi-Fi instead of a call over a cellular voice network where the audio gets compressed, people may be able to notice a bigger difference in the clarity of your voice compared with what they would hear with the original AirPods Pro. (You can listen to a test call on the Verizon cellular network in my companion video review, at the top of this page.)

The one thing I noticed when comparing the AirPods Pro 2’s voice calling with that of the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 is that when you’re having a conversation, the AirPods Pro 2 let more background noise in, but your voice sounds clearer to callers. When you’re not talking, the Bose earbuds completely silence the background noise — it only bleeds in a bit when you start talking. The AirPods Pro 2 don’t try to silence the background noise; they just reduce it to lower levels. There’s something quite impressive about the Bose almost completely silencing the background noise, but the overall experience for callers (the people you’re talking to) seems to be better with the AirPods Pro 2, because your voice does sound clearer and they can hear you well over the reduced background noise.

I made calls with noise canceling on as well calls with the adaptive transparency on. People you’re talking with can’t hear a difference, but there will be a big difference on your end, particularly if you’re in a noisy environment, where you’ll want to turn the noise canceling on (there’s just enough sidetone to hear your voice in the buds with noise canceling on). In less noisy environments, it’s better to turn transparency on because you can hear your voice as it sounds and you won’t talk too loud. And the transparency does make you feel as if you’re not wearing headphones, though you may still feel them in your ears.

You can use one bud independently — with noise canceling on if you want — and leave the other in the case to charge. It doesn’t matter which one you use when making calls; with the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds it appears that you can only use the right bud for calls if you want to use only a single bud.

Apple AirPods Pro 2 buried features

I’ve spent most of this review focusing on the AirPods Pro 2’s top-level features and the things that people care about most, such as sound quality, noise-canceling and voice-calling performance. But the AirPods Pro do have a number of extra features and settings buried within iOS 16 under the Accessibility setting that allow you to tweak the buds, play masking sounds and even create a custom audiogram. And for those who have slight to moderate hearing loss, there’s a Conversation Boost that turn the buds into hearing amplifiers.

These features aren’t unique to the AirPods Pro 2 — they’re available for all the latest AirPods. But they’re worth exploring, and I suspect we’ll see more features added in the future. For instance, there was some chatter about new health features coming to the AirPods Pro 2. Those haven’t materialized, but you never know what could get added. For example, Spatial Audio didn’t come to the AirPods Pro until well after their initial release, and Apple never even hinted at when it originally launched the headphones.

Another nice little bonus: In addition to charging via Lightning, MagSafe or standard Qi wireless pads, the AirPods Pro 2 can even be juiced up with an Apple Watch magnetic charger.

Apple AirPods Pro 2 compared to other top earbuds

As I said at the beginning, it’s hard to put an exact number on just how much better the new AirPods Pro 2 are than their predecessor. But I’m going to go with somewhere around 40%.

The fact is that when the AirPods Pro came out almost three years ago, it was really their compact size, comfortable fit and Apple-only features like auto switching between all the devices on your iCloud account that were their big selling points. That’s all here still, but now the sound and noise canceling, which were good but not great before, are what you’d expect from a $249 set of buds.

Audio quality is subjective, and some people may slightly prefer the sonic traits of buds like the Bose I mentioned earlier or the Sony WF-1000XM4 or Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3, all of which have equalizer options in their companion apps. But others may actually prefer the AirPods Pro 2’s sound; it really does stack up well against what you get with other premium earbuds in this price range.

Final take on Apple AirPods Pro 2

While the AirPods Pro 2 will pair with Android devices, you do lose a lot of their special features, including Spatial Audio, so Android users are better off with buds like Google’s very good Pixel Buds Pro, Samsung’s excellent Galaxy Buds 2 Pro or the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 that I mentioned earlier. And you may find that other buds like the Bose or even Apple’s own Beats Fit Pro, which don’t sound quite as good or offer as good noise canceling or voice calling performance, may fit your ears more securely, which is an important factor when buying wireless earbuds.

I’m among those who wish Apple had made the AirPods Pro 2 look a little different than the originals. (I really do want them to come in more color options.) But if you’re an Apple user, they’re hard to beat so long as they fit your ears. While they may not quite be perfect, they feel like a much more fully evolved, refined product that packs not only an impressive set of features but top-notch performance in a very small design.

Editors’ note: This review was originally published on Sept. 22, 2022 and updated in December to reaffirm our continued positive experience with the headphones and add an Editors’ Choice designation.

Best Buy on Tuesday expanded its Apple computer upgrade program less than two months after its launch, helping people finance an iMac or Mac Studio desktop, in addition to its existing MacBook laptop offer from October. In each case, customers can finance an Apple computer over 36 months, with options to buy it outright at the end of the three-year cycle or turn it in for a newer model.

The move, which offers financing options through Citizens Financial, is among the first of its kind to bring smartphone-like payment and upgrade programs to the computer market. Best Buy’s program starts at $20 per month for a $999 MacBook, with $280.35 remaining to pay on the device, if customers are approved for a 0% interest rate after a credit check. If they trade it in for another MacBook, payments merely continue and Best Buy “will make the final payment on behalf of the customer.” Best Buy will also cover the final payment if a customer turns in the laptop instead of upgrading or paying the final price.

“We’re excited about the amount of customer interest we’ve seen in the Upgrade Plus program over the past couple months,” Jason Bonfig, Best Buy’s chief merchandising officer, said in a statement. “It’s been great to partner with Apple to now bring this program to iMac, especially during a time when customers are looking for value more than ever.”

Read more: Best MacBook for 2022

Best Buy’s move to expand its Upgrade program comes as monthly financing and subscription schemes have become increasingly popular across the tech industry. Apple, for example, doesn’t offer a similar upgrade program for its computers, but it does for iPhones. Other companies, including software giant Microsoft, have increasingly turned to financing and subscriptions as well to lure in new customers with low upfront costs for its Xbox video game consoles.

Environmental advocates believe these subscriptions may have another benefit as well. Companies and retailers are effectively incentivizing people to turn in devices when they’re ready to upgrade, which may help create “closed loop” recycling, in which older machines are kept out of landfills. Instead, they can be torn down for parts or refurbished and reused by someone else.

Read more: A Fully Recycled Phone Is a Lot Harder Than It Sounds, Even for Samsung and Apple

Best Buy said it plans to similarly find a “second life” for working devices turned in through its program.

The company’s fine print notes that the program does not include configure-to-order models, nor open-box, pre-owned or refurbished items. Citizens Financial will also charge between 0% and 29.99% interest annually, depending on a customer’s credit worthiness.

The Geminid meteor shower, typically the strongest meteor shower of the year, is set to peak tonight and into early Wednesday morning.

The Geminids have technically been active for a few weeks, but the shower started to increase significantly this past weekend, building to its big crescendo this week.

This shower can deliver more than a hundred meteors per hour on peak nights. This is also the rare shower that doesn’t require you to wake up at atrocious hours before sunrise for the best viewing experience.

In 2022, the shower is active from Nov. 19 until Dec. 24, peaking on the evening of Dec. 13 into the following morning. The moon will be more than two-thirds full that night, which is a bit of a bummer but certainly not enough to discourage skywatchers from heading outside for a look. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere you’ll do better to go looking for Geminids later in the night, but fortunately it’s summer for you, requiring fewer warm layers than many watchers above the equator will want to bring.

The Geminids are the rare meteor shower that don’t seem to be traced to an active comet that makes intermittent visits to the inner solar system spaced out by several years or longer. Instead, the source seems to be the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, which astronomers think may be an extinct comet or new kind of object called a “rock comet,” according to NASA.

Whatever it is, the pieces of debris and detritus that have broken away from Phaethon over the years form dusty clouds that are more dense than what most comets leave behind. This explains why the Geminids are consistently one of the stronger annual showers. Each December we drift through the most dense part of this cloud and hundreds or thousands of bits roughly the size of a pebble burn up as they collide with our upper atmosphere.

For the best chance of catching as many Geminids as possible, the most important thing to do is to find an observing spot untainted by light pollution that has a broad view of the sky, which is hopefully cloudless. While it’s best to mark the peak night on your calendar, it’s possible to catch a few meteors an hour over the following week as well.

If the moon is up, you can try to orient yourself so it’s at your back as much as possible.

Once you’ve got the ideal spot, lay back, relax and give your eyes time to adjust. Then just watch. Plan for at least an hour for the whole experience as there are always lulls in activity. On the peak night, if you’re lucky with ideal conditions, you might see up to 150 meteors in an hour.

Your best chance to see that many is probably around 2 a.m. when the radiant that the Geminids appear to radiate outward from (in the direction of the constellation Gemini, hence the name) is highest in the sky. That said, the radiant is above the horizon earlier in the evening as mentioned earlier, and these more friendly hours are also the best time to see a bright “earth-grazer,” which is a nickname for a brilliant fireball that appears to flame out spectacularly just above the horizon.

However you do it, be sure to dress appropriately and bring refreshments so you aren’t tempted to head back inside and ruin your night vision. Happy spotting!

What better thing to give this holiday season than the best gaming gifts around? Whether you’re looking at a new console like the PS5 or Xbox Series X or want to grab some new games and accessories, you can’t go wrong with any of the products on this list.

Yes, the PS5 from Sony is now easier to buy than at any point in its two-year lifespan, but you still have to hunt around a bit. The Xbox Series X and Series S are generally easy to get your hands on now, as is the OLED Nintendo Switch. If you’re looking for the absolute best gaming gift, any one of these gaming consoles is a sure hit.

Going a little further afield, Meta’s Quest 2 is still the VR headset to beat, even though Meta/Facebook recently raised the price. Newer VR headsets like the PSVR 2 (for PS5) aren’t coming until next year, and the recently released Meta Quest Pro has a $1,500 price tag, which clearly suggests it’s aimed at early adopters with money to burn, rather than casual gamers.

Handheld gaming has been experiencing a renaissance in 2022, with the Nintendo Switch joined by the Analogue Pocket and Panic Playdate — two retro-feeling mini-consoles that will give you classic GameBoy vibes. On the other end of the spectrum, the Steam Deck from Valve (also still hard to find) is a full-featured mini gaming PC.

For an overall favorite, the $499 PlayStation 5 is for gamers who want high-profile, Sony-exclusive games like God of War or Horizon: Forbidden West. The $499 Xbox Series X is great for gamers who want a whole ecosystem of Xbox Game Pass games that work across Xbox, PC and even tablets and phones (via cloud gaming).

Out best budget pick for a game console is the Xbox Series S, which does almost everything the bigger Series X does, but for $299. Another budget idea: For $49, you can pick up a Microsoft Xbox controller, in a variety of colors — it’s a great gift because it works across Xbox, gaming PCs, iPads and iPhones, even Apple TV.

There are a lot of great reasons to start your own website. Whether you’re looking to create your own blog, kick off a side hustle or build a portfolio, there’s no better time than right now to build a website. It’s an exciting process, too. Picking your own personal design to represent yourself is one of the many exhilarating parts of building your new website. However, there’s a lot more to it than just clicking around and hitting save when you’re happy.

First off, you need to have an idea for what your site should contain or be about, and you have to choose a company to house your website. The number of web hosting services can be confusing and the choice can be hard. So we looked over the data for 22 web hosting services to make things a little easier on you.

You can read more about our criteria for web hosting services, including how we assess security and customer support, and you can check out important web hosting terms to know.

Note: Pricing for web hosting is a bit tricky to follow. Listed prices are generally introductory rates attached to contracts that usually last a year or more and renew at the regular (higher) rate at contract’s end. Make sure to take regular rates into account when trying to figure out a long-term hosting provider. You can also see our recommendations for how web hosting providers should advertise their prices.

Web hosts compared

	Best for…	Monthly shared plan pricing	Security features	Uptime guarantee	Customer support
IONOS	Security features	$0.50	Great	99.99%	Great
GreenGeeks	Clean-energy web hosting	$3.00	Good	99.90%	Good
A2 Hosting	Customer service	$3	Great	99.90%	Great
InMotion Hosting	First-time website owners	$2.29	Great	99.99%	Great
HostGator	Data-heavy sites	$2.75	Good	99.90%	Great
NameCheap	Cheap web hosting	$2.18	Good	99.90%	Good
AccuWeb Hosting	Global customers	$4	Good	99.99%	Good

Best web hosting services

• Ionos
• GreenGeeks
• A2 Hosting
• InMotion Hosting
• HostGator
• Namecheap
• AccuWeb Hosting

Other web hosting services to consider

These services don’t offer one of the three hosting options, don’t include sufficient security features, an uptime guarantee or have some limited customer service options. The following services aren’t as robust as our top picks, but they’re still reasonable offerings.

• Dreamhost
• Hostinger
• SiteGround
• GoDaddy
• HostPapa
• Hostwinds
• Bluehost
• Glowhost
• iPage
• Mochahost
• WebHostingPad

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More web hosting services we looked at

Most of these services specialize in one type of hosting, like shared or WordPress, which means they’re not the best if you plan to grow your site. They also tend to be missing some security features and customer support options. However, they could be right for you and your needs if you have specific or smaller-scale hosting needs.

Liquid Web: No shared hosting. Security features include an integrated firewall and standard DDoS protections. Offers 99.99% uptime and 24/7 chat or phone support. Prices start at $15 a month.

Web Hosting Hub: Offers shared and WordPress hosting. Has free SSL certificates but other security features cost extra. Offers 99.9% uptime and has 24/7 chat and phone support. Prices start at $6 a month.

WP Engine: Offers WordPress hosting. Security features like free SSL certificates and daily backups. Has a 99.95% uptime guarantee and offers 24/7 chat and phone support. Prices start at $20 a month.

Kinsta: Offers WordPress hosting. Security features like free SSL certificates and automatic backups. Has a 99.9% uptime and 24/7 chat support. Prices start at $35 a month.

Pantheon: Offers WordPress hosting. Security features include DDoS protection and automated backups. Offers 99.9% uptime and customer support is available 24/7 via chat, phone or even Slack. Prices start at $41 a month.

Criteria for web hosting services

While we didn’t test the services, we did carefully examine each service’s offerings and ranked them according to essential web hosting features. Here’s what we looked for to determine the best web hosting services. You can also check out CNET’s 11 things to know about web hosting for more information about these and other features.

• Hosting plans: We checked to see if the service offered shared, VPS and dedicated hosting plans. Inclusion of all three plan types allows customers to scale their plan up as their site grows.
• Security features: Services need to include some basic security features such as SSL certificates, DDoS protections and backups to protect your data as well as your visitors’. The best web hosts do this at no extra charge.
• Uptime of 99.9% or higher: An uptime of 99.9% or higher ensures your site won’t go down for more than 20 minutes a month, so you keep losses of readers and sales to a minimum.
• Customer support: All services offer some kind of customer support. Some say they offer customer service 24/7, but they mean you can email them any time. That’s a good start, but what if you have an issue that needs immediate attention? Some offer live chat which is better, and others offer phone support which is best.

The best web hosting services meet all four of those criteria. If a service falls short on one or more of those measures, you’ll find it in our list of other web hosting services to consider or our list of additional web hosts we looked at.

Web hosting terms to know

Some web hosting terms can be confusing. If a term in this list or on a web hsoting service’s site has you scratching your head, I’m going to explain them in more detail here.

FAQ

You can check out CNET’s web hosting FAQ or tips to help secure your site for more information, too.

For more on web hosting, check out the best website builders, the best VPN services and the best identity theft protection services.