Pro

October 8, 2025 0 comments

The Vision Pro Was An Expensive Misstep. Now Apple Has to Catch Up With Smart Glasses

by admin October 4, 2025

When discussing the development of AR and AR devices back in 2016, he said that most people wouldn’t find it acceptable to be “enclosed in something … because we are sociable people at heart.” He was spot on.

It turns out that what people really want at this moment is to just wear something that looks good and feels like a normal pair of glasses, with use cases that are actually, well, useful. And no, Tim, that’s not to watch Ted Lasso on their ceiling.

Coming to smart glasses in 2027 will feel almost impossibly late for a market that is taking off now, and while Apple is no stranger to starting behind, it will need to ensure its judgment on what its customers want in smart glasses is much more attuned than it was with Apple Vision Pro. At this point, it simply can’t afford another misstep.

But Apple isn’t giving up on Apple Vision Pro either, and reports suggest it may well revisit it once the more pressing issue of smart glasses is dealt with. While Gartenberg remains unconvinced that Apple can get the Vision Pro cheap enough to make it truly accessible for all (“the things that Apple would need to do to get this thing down to a price for humans is extraordinary”), Sag suggests it might not have to.

He points to the boom in gaming consoles as an example. Rather than flatlining the gaming PC market as was predicted, the proliferation of consoles actually helped drive sales of PCs, with more people getting into gaming, so more wanting to level up their equipment in time. He predicts the same trend will happen with smart glasses. People will start with more basic, familiar frames, then migrate into the chunkier, fully featured versions.

“People need to remember that XR is a spectrum and that devices are going to exist along that continuum,” Sag says. “The cheaper, simpler devices are going to reach the most people, but then there’s going to be a lot of people who want more than this base level experience.”

One day, Apple may be able to make that singular, gorgeous XR headset that people actually want to wear. But until then, it has to meet the market where it is headed—and that is in cheaper, lighter, more functional frames.

October 4, 2025 0 comments

Apple sidelines lighter Vision Pro to prioritize smart glasses

by admin October 2, 2025

Apple is speeding up work on smart glasses that would compete with similar offerings from Meta and halting plans for a lighter Vision Pro headset, Bloomberg reports. The company is apparently working on at least two different versions: a pair without a display that it could reveal next year and launch in 2027, and a pair with a display originally planned for 2028 that the company wants to “accelerate development” on.

Like Meta’s smart glasses made in partnership with Ray-Ban and Oakley, Apple’s glasses will have speakers, cameras, come in multiple styles, and “will rely heavily on voice interaction and artificial intelligence,” according to Bloomberg. The version of the glasses with a display “could challenge” the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, which have a display in the right lens. Apple is also working on a chip specifically designed for its smart glasses, Bloomberg has previously reported.

As for the lighter Vision Pro headset, Apple had been rumored to launch the product in 2027, but the company told staff that it was pulling people from that headset to help with the glasses. Apple has reportedly scaled back production of the original Vision Pro, but regulatory filings spotted this week revealed that a new version is in the works, which Bloomberg called a “modest refresh” that could launch “as early as the end of this year.”

October 2, 2025 0 comments

It looks like an M5 iPad Pro is coming very soon

by admin September 30, 2025

Apple may be releasing a new iPad Pro with an M5 chip in the very near future, according to an unboxing video made by a Russian YouTuber. This is the same creator that leaked the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip last year, so the information in the video is likely credible.

To that end, the creator unboxes what appears to be a new 13-inch iPad Pro with an M5 chip and 256GB of storage in a Space Black finish. The exterior design doesn’t look noticeably different from current models, as the tablet still has a single rear camera, four speakers and a Smart Connector.

Previous leaks had indicated that the next iPad Pro would feature a second front camera, but this video doesn’t confirm that. It also looks like this new model is still plenty thin.

The video even puts the tablet through some testing. A Geekbench 6 benchmark shows a 12 percent increase in multi-core CPU performance when compared to the previous generation. This benchmark result suggests a 36 percent faster GPU. It also indicated that the 256GB model of this tablet will include 12GB of RAM. Current models with 256GB of storage ship with just 8GB of RAM.

The footage shows that this tablet is running iPadOS 26, which makes sense, and that the battery was manufactured in August of this year. This could all be a ruse but, again, the leaker has been proven correct in the past. It’s likely that Apple will announce the refreshed iPad Pro with the M5 chip sometime in October, which tracks with previous reporting.

It was also recently reported that the company is working on a refresh of the MacBook Pro laptop with the M5 chip. These computers could be available later this year.

September 30, 2025 0 comments

Logitech MX Master 4 Review: Productivity Pro

by admin September 30, 2025

The loss of soft-touch plastics may seem like a downgrade at first, but I vastly prefer uncoated plastics for long-term use: My MX Master 2S developed unsightly smooth spots on both mouse buttons where the soft-touch coating wore down, and other long-term users have reported the coatings becoming tacky over time.

Photograph: Henri Robbins

The two primary mouse buttons and the scroll wheel are nearly dead-silent. Despite this, they still have clear feedback with a distinct bump and no mushy feeling. In the ratcheting mode, the mouse wheel has a noticeable bump between each scroll. In the smooth mode, the wheel has just enough resistance to be controlled easily, while still spinning freely.

The horizontal scroll wheel on the side permanently scrolls smoothly and has significantly more resistance than the primary scroll wheel. This allows for greater control of the wheel and helps protect against accidental scrolling when moving your thumb. Scrolling is incredibly smooth, without any catching or scratchiness, and the ridged texture of the aluminum wheel feels comfortable and easy to manipulate. Clicking the wheel is still fairly loud, like any mouse. The three side buttons and the top button have a muted click, and it’s not disruptive.

Despite weighing 150 grams, this mouse is easy to glide around a surface. The feet are smooth, sliding easily while still having enough friction for precise control, and the sculpted shape makes it easy to move and lift. While the high weight means it won’t be ideal for competitive, high-intensity gaming, the shape is preferable for longer sessions, whether you’re grinding out dungeons or slogging through spreadsheets.

The sensor is capable of up to 8,000 dots per inch, but most people will likely leave the sensitivity well below that. I didn’t have any issues with input registration, skipping, or shaking, and the sensor felt incredibly precise on all surfaces, even frosted and transparent glass.

Gesture Controls and Haptics

Photograph: Henri Robbins

The MX Master 4’s gesture controls are one of its most prominent features. These have been featured on every generation of the MX Master line, with only small changes across generations. The gesture control button was previously located on the bottom of the thumb rest, hidden underneath the rubber surface, but has now been moved to a standard button on the side, which I found more comfortable and natural to use.

September 30, 2025 0 comments

The Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro in a sunny outdoor setting.

Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro review: a few neat features don’t save these problem-plagued open earbuds

by admin September 28, 2025

Why you can trust TechRadar

We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro: Two-minute review

“I can hear your music,” is something my mother used to tell me when I was young, worried that I’d damage my hearing by cranking my music too loud, and it’s something I’ve heard from multiple people since I started testing even the best open earbuds.

These safety-focused open-fit headphones don’t put the earbud in your ear but just outside it, letting you hear surrounding sounds – but until the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro came along, this also meant that people around you could hear the distant ring of your tunes too.

No more! Xiaomi’s sophomore open-ear offering fixes the problem, with a bespoke 10mm driver that’s designed to eradicate sound leakage, and does a decent job at stopping bystanders hearing your music. My local park was no longer regaled by early-morning Busted and Hansen sprints, which I’m sure the community was overjoyed with.

That driver’s just one of five nestled into each earbud, a surprising spec given that most earbuds have one and even top-end ones have only two or three, and you can see them arranged in a flower-like pattern on each bud. But my first-glance comparison between this layout and the look of the five-camera Nokia 9 PureView, which was the first smartphone to use this many rear sensors, continues further than I’d like. Just as that phone offered a packed spec-sheet that didn’t deliver as promising results in testing, the OpenWear Stereo Pro may have the hardware but can’t seem to make good on it to stand a cut above the rest.

For most of my testing, I listened on the default sound profile and the buds sounded awful, really tinny and compressed – luckily I discovered that changing to one of the other few audio presets clears up lots of my problems, adding depth and range, and I wish I hadn’t written most of this review before discovering that! Oh well, a few hours of rewrites gave me more time to review the buds.

That extra testing time didn’t give me extra insight on the design, which isn’t quite as robust or rigid as open-ears need to be for gym users. Doing exercises that don’t see me stand upright like sit-ups, skull-crushers or anything reclined saw gravity drag the buds away from my ears, though thankfully they were okay when running or cycling.

It’s in the feature set that Xiaomi goes some way in winning me over. I’ve already mentioned the sound leak suppression system but the company has also brought back an easily-toggled voice note recording system, which I’ve found really useful in quickly letting me leave reminders to myself.

Despite winning points back, though, the Stereo Pro level out as being ‘fine’ buds, instead of the solid ones they’d need to be to compete in this rapidly-growing and hotly contested market.

Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro review: Price and release date

(Image credit: Future)

Available from September 24, 2025
Costs £139.99 (roughly $180, AU$280)
In line with most open-ears

The Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro were announced in September 2025 at a launch event by the company, which also included the Xiaomi 15T smartphone, some new versions of existing wearables and a few other bits and pieces.

The earbuds cost £139.99 (roughly $180, AU$280). A US release is unlikely given precedent, and an Australian one is possible due to Xiaomi releasing some of its earbuds there, but not guaranteed.

That price puts the Stereo Pro in line with most other open-ears, which generally sit between £100 and £160 (or $/AU$ equivalent), though some of our favorite options sit at the lower end of that spectrum. More on that in the Competition section below.

Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro review: Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Drivers

Tweeter + 2x balanced armatures + 18x13mm dynamic driver + 10mm driver

Active noise cancellation

Battery life (ANC off)

8.5 hours (buds) 45 hours (case)

Weight

9.7g (buds) 72g (case)

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.4

Waterproofing

Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

Two useful features
Presets, but no equalizer
8.5 hours of listening per charge

Xiaomi puts the battery life of the OpenWear Stereo Pro at 8.5 hours for the buds, a figure which my own testing gave me no reason to doubt. The charging case bumps that up to 45 hours and both are slightly above average, the case figure to a commendable degree.

The Xiaomi Earbuds app for your phone or tablet gives you some extra control over your buds, with the ability to customise touch controls and jump between a few sound profiles (like EQ presets, but without there being an actual EQ). I’ll mention these in more detail later but it’s not quite as much as customization as other buds give you.

The flashy feature that’s designed to make the Stereo Pro stand out from the crowd is a driver which is designed to stop sound leaking. By ‘leaking’, I mean music from the buds that people around you can hear, which is both annoying for them and embarrassing for you (especially if your music taste is poor but trust me, we’re all judging you).

From my testing (and my partner’s, due to her being my guinea pig) the feature does a decent job at reducing sound leaking. It doesn’t totally remove it and sound leaking is still apparent, but it downplays open earbuds’ natural tendency to spread music around (due to the design). It’s most efficient in public areas where it brings your music just quiet enough to be drowned out by background noises.

Another feature present, that Xiaomi has ported over from its standard earbuds, is a recording mode. You can enable this with a gesture command, and it records audio from the buds or, apparently, a built-in speaker in the case.

It’s a useful feature for people who like to record their own voice notes on the go (let’s be honest: it’s a lot easier than using your phone’s notes app) but many countries have laws against recording unawares people, so you’ve been warned.

Throughout testing, I bumped up against a problem that seemed to be a connectivity one, rather than a sound one, though it did affect the audio. Now and then the buds would jump between tunings, from the usual one to an extra-compressed one and back again after a few seconds. There was no way of controlling or pre-empting this. I put it down to a connectivity issue because from time to time the buds would also lose connection for a few moments, a problem likely linked.

Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

Very shiny earbuds
Comfortable to wear but unreliable hold
Hardy carry case

If you’re familiar with the look of open earbuds, the thing that’ll hit you about the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro is just how shiny they are. The counterweight and bud both come with a sheen so clean you can do your hair in them, making them look really rather premium. You can pick up the buds in gray, white or, like my test unit, rose gold.

And if we’re making judgements based on appearance, seeing the five drivers on the other side, complete with the text ‘5-driver sound system, designed by Xiaomi’ makes a loud statement about the buds’ audio quality.

Each bud weighs 9.7g, which is a little more than some rivals I’ve tested, but it doesn’t tell. They’re comfortable to wear for long gym sessions or trips, though when I wore them for my workout the bud would often move away from my ear if I leant down or lay down. I’ve found this problem in a few other open-ears and it seems to happen most when the material connecting the bud and counterweight is weak, and therefore unable to hold the bud rigidly.

The case is an oval clamshell that retains your color choice from the bud – and again, has a little ‘designed by Xiaomi’ in case you forget who made it (the name appears four times across the case and buds, not counting a little removable information sticker on the case).

Strong magnets grip the Stereo Pro when you put them in the case, so I never needed to fuss much about putting them in perfectly, which was handy when I wanted to sheathe the Xiaomi in a hurry. Features of the case include a USB-C charging port and pairing button but not much else.

Pre-release information provided to TechRadar didn’t mention an IP rating for the buds or case, so keep them safe from rain.

Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro review: Sound quality

Five drivers per bud
Default sound profile is bad
Low max volume

(Image credit: Future)

A glance at the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro’s specs list sets up high expectations for the buds’ audio chops, and that’s because each bud has a startling five drivers (most rivals have one).

There’s a tweeter for refining treble, dual balanced armatures aimed again at higher-frequency tones, an 18x13mm dynamic driver that’s targeted at bass and the aforementioned 10mm sound leak reducer. And if that overwhelming hardware list somehow doesn’t impress you, perhaps the support for Hi-Res Audio and LDAC, SBC and AAC codecs will.

After reading all those specs, seeing the five drivers individually presented on the earbuds in a distinct way, and setting up my expectations fittingly, I was pretty shocked to discover that the Stereo Pro don’t sound good at all. In fact, I wrote a pretty scathing review of the sound – and then connected the buds to the phone app (not available immediately because I had early access to my review sample), changed from the default sound profile and found most of my issues vanish. If you’ve just bought these buds, make this change straight away.

In their default sound profile, the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro sound tinny, compressing a multitude of instruments into one sound and losing the details from almost all of them. In rock songs instruments like rhythm guitar, accompaniment keys and backing vocals are muddled and drum lines and more prominent guitar lines are akin to sleigh bells for how jangling they sound. Reverb fills the space that a detailed soundstage should take up.

Changing from the default sound profile really widens instruments, as well as the soundstage (though if you’re a masochist, the in-app toggle to increase the dynamic range turns the tinniness up to 11). It doesn’t make audio sound great, but it brings it in line with other open-ears.

The drivers’ emphasis on higher-end audio helps vocals and guitar solos stand out, and while there’s sufficient bass it sounds ill-defined and loose unless you fix it in the equalizer. Most of the time, it turns songs into a wall of distorted sound in which you can’t make up the textural details. I can see some listeners being okay with this aspect of the buds, especially ones who like high-powered metal music, but bear in mind that if you try head-banging these buds are going to go flying.

The buds don’t even go very loud, so I sometimes struggled to hear music when I was nearby a road.

Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro review: Value

(Image credit: Future)

Your money could go further
…unless you want those features

As mentioned before, the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro sit around the average price of open earbuds, and also as mentioned, there’s lots of competition.

In fact, some of our favorite options are cheaper, making Xiaomi’s offering feel hard to recommend given that its performance also doesn’t match up.

The exception to this is whether or not the buds’ features sound enough to win you over, but for me, the sound quality is a sticking point.

Should I buy the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro?

(Image credit: Future)Swipe to scroll horizontallyXiaomi Openwear Stereo Pro score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

The decent battery life and useful extras make up for the wobbly connection.

4/5

Design

The buds are flashy and shiny with handy touch controls but the buds aren’t held in place reliably.

3.5/5

Sound quality

The Stereo Pro gives unconvincing sound, even when you’ve turned off the poor default mode.

3/5

Value

There’s bound to be something that works better within your budget… unless the features appeal to you.

3/5

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

Xiaomi Openwear Stereo Pro review: Also consider

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0

Xiaomi Openwear Stereo Pro

Huawei FreeArc

Honor Earbuds Open

Technics EAH-AZ100

Drivers

Tweeter + 2x balanced armatures + 18x13mm dynamic driver + 10mm driver

17x12mm

16mm

17x12mm

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Battery life

8.5 hours (buds) 45 hours (case)

7 hours (buds) 28 hours (total)

6 hours (buds) 40 hours (total)

7.5 hours (buds) 38.5 hours (case)

Weight

9.7g / charging case: 72g

8.9g / charging case: 67g

7.9g / charging case: 52.5g

9.6g / charging case: 88g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.4

Bluetooth 5.2

Bluetooth 5.4

Waterproofing

IP57

IP54

How I tested the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro

(Image credit: Future)

Tested for two weeks
Tested at home, in the office, on runs, at the gym and while cycling

I used the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro for two weeks before writing this review, which is the standard TechRadar testing time.

During the testing period I used the buds at home, on walks around my neighborhood, on runs, at the gym, while cycling and on busy public transport. I paired them to my Android smartphone and most of the testing was done on Spotify and Netflix.

I’ve been reviewing gadgets for TechRadar for nearly six years, which has included lots of Xiaomi gadgets in the past. For the last year I’ve been reviewing countless open earbuds, and so have a lot of experience in the area with which to compare the Xiaomis.

First reviewed in September 2025

Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro: Price Comparison

September 28, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro Were Pricier at Launch, But Now They’re Way Cheaper Than AirPods Pro 3

by admin September 27, 2025

We can’t blame you if you were planning on keeping your wallet stashed away until Amazon’s Fall Prime Day hits on Oct. 7-8, but the run-up to the big event is often where you can find sneaky-good deals as Amazon looks to clear out the shelves. We found this one today — 24% off the price of the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro, which brings their price down to just $190. That’s right in line with Apple’s AirPods 4 and a big drop from the closer-comparison AirPods Pro3.

The Galaxy Buds3 Pro got a full redesign from Samsung before dropping this past July, with an emphasis on comfort for long listening sessions. The sound is, of course, the amazing quality that Samsung’s famous for. And these buds are bolstered by Galaxy AI to enhance the noise cancellation, equalization, and more.

See at Amazon

Theater of the Mind

Whether you’re listening to your own playlist or connecting to your tablet or TV via Bluetooth, the surround sound from the Galaxy Buds3 Pro is so good and so immersive it’s like being in the theater, but the sound is all for you. Dual amplifiers and a 2-way speaker in each bud creates a 360-degree effect, and Galaxy AI powers an adaptive equalizer that optimizes the sound specifically for you.

You can disappear into the listening experience of the Galaxy Buds3 Pro regardless of where you are, because the Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation feature, also powered by Galaxy AI, intelligently adjusts the level of noise cancellation based on your surroundings, and changes is as the conditions around you change. You won’t want to put them down, and thanks to the comfort-enhancing redesign and long battery life, you won’t have to.

Futuristic Features

One of the most jawdropping features of the Galaxy Buds3 Pro is the real-time interpreter. When your Buds3 Pro are paired with a compatible Galaxy device, your can carry on a conversation with someone speaking a foreign language and hear the translation on your earbuds in real time. All you need is a Samsung account, from which you can download languages for free. (English and Spanish are pre-installed.)

Will there be incredible tech deals dropping during the two-day Fall Prime Day event? Of course. But consider the several days leading into the event a golden opportunity to find those under-the-radar bargains Amazon likes to drop as they get their inventory set for the big rush. This is most definitely one of them — a $60-off deal on Samsung’s newest and best wireless earbuds. Get the Galaxy Buds3 Pro for just $190 and beat the Prime Day rush.

See at Amazon

September 27, 2025 0 comments

The 25 Best iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Cases for 2025

by admin September 27, 2025

All the iPhone 16 models are equipped with Apple’s MagSafe feature, which offers faster wireless charging with compatible chargers. It also supports optional accessories — including the MagSafe wallet, mini wallets and various mounts — that adhere magnetically to the back of your phone. Like the iPhone 15, the iPhone 16 has “an array of magnets” (Apple says they’re recycled) embedded around a charging coil that can pull up to 15 watts of power.

If you want to use those MagSafe accessories without taking your phone out of its case, you need a phone case that’s equipped with MagSafe support. The MagSafe symbol is a circle with a short pipe below it. You can see it on clear cases, but it’s embedded on the inside of the case so if it’s nontransparent, you’ll only see it from the inside.

If you already have a MagSafe accessory — or plan on buying MagSafe accessories in the future — you’ll want to get a MagSafe compatible case; it’s a good option to have. With that in mind, the majority of the cases in this roundup are equipped with MagSafe.

September 27, 2025 0 comments

Pixel Buds Pro 2 get Adaptive Audio, gesture controls and more in latest update

by admin September 27, 2025

Google first teased some enticing upgrades for its Pixel Buds Pro 2 during the Made by Google event in August. More than a month later, Google is finally rolling out the update that makes its wireless earbuds earn the Pro label.

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 now get an Adaptive Audio feature in the Active Noise Control section of the Pixel Buds app. This ANC mode automatically adjusts the volume depending on your surrounding environment, balancing between hearing your music or podcasts and the world around you. If you want to drown out the outside world a little more, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 now also have the Loud Noise Protection feature, which can detect and reduce any sudden loud noises, like a passing ambulance siren or construction work. While these two features are already found in Apple’s AirPods Pro 3, they’re a welcome addition to the more affordable Pixel Buds Pro 2.

For anyone who frequently uses Gemini Live, you’ll notice that the AI assistant will be able to hear you better in noisy environments thanks to advanced audio processing that prioritizes your voice and eliminates background noise. For a truly hands-free experience, the update even adds gesture controls that let Pixel Buds Pro 2 users nod their head to answer a call or start dictation for a text reply and shake their head to decline a call or dismiss a text. Google is rolling out its 4.467 update to its users gradually, which takes about 10 minutes to download and another 10 minutes to install.

September 27, 2025 0 comments

The Status Audio Pro X on a window sill.

Status Audio Pro X review: premium earbuds with seriously impressive sound

by admin September 27, 2025

Why you can trust TechRadar

We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Status Audio Pro X: Two-minute review

American audio company Status Audio was hurt by the curse of poor timing with the release of its next-gen premium earbuds and challengers to our best earbuds buying guide. That’s because less than two months after the firm unveiled the Pro X, Apple finally released its latest buds, the AirPods Pro 3, which slightly undercut the underdogs’ latest release in terms of price.

I don’t think Status needs to worry much about competition from Apple, though, because the product distinguishes itself in a few key areas (and, of course, actually works equally as well for Android users).

For one, the Status Pro X has three audio drivers per bud, one more than the AirPods Pro and two more than most earbuds I test. This trio works together to deliver well-defined and high-quality audio that sounds fantastic, making these some of the best earbuds you can try.

The earbuds also look as good as they sound, with the ellipsoid design language carried between the buds and the case to make them look some of the classiest buds I’ve seen. It’s not all for show either as I found the fit reliable.

Status has nailed more of the basics with solid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), handy touch controls and wireless charging in the case.

The main let-down for me was the battery life, which basically scraped five hours if you’ve got ANC turned on. That’s pretty poor when you look at averages on the market, even for high-end buds, and rules them out for certain use cases.

In fact, the overall feature set is a little bit anemic, and there are a few common perks that aren’t available on the Pro X. It’s clear that the emphasis here is on the audio quality and design, not the handy extras that often justify a higher price.

That’s the one department where the AirPods Pro 3 cleanly beat the Status Pro X; don’t expect any live translation or heart rate tracking here. But Status has Apple beat in the two other main areas, and that’s good enough for me.

Status Audio Pro X review: Price and release date

(Image credit: Future)

Released in ‘batches’ every few months from July 2025
Costs $299 / £272 / AU$470
Pricier than big-name rivals

The first thing to know about the Pro X is that they’re not cheap gadgets; these are pricey buds that bump elbows with some top-notch rivals.

The official retail price for the Status Audio Pro X is $299 / £272 / AU$470, though it’s worth noting that you can pre-order them for $249 / £226 / AU$384. When I say ‘pre-order’, I don’t mean that the buds aren’t out, but (at the time of writing at least) Status is selling them in waves, with one every couple of months. For the purpose of this review I’m taking the RRP as the real price of the buds though.

That price means the buds cost more than the new AirPods Pro 3, which go for $249 / £219 / AU$429 and roughly match the option that tops our best earbuds list, the Technics EAH-AZ100, which go for $299 / £259 / AU$478.

In other words, I went into this review expecting great things.

One more thing: the Pro X’s predecessor, the excellent Status Between 3ANC, cost $249 (approx. £249 / AU$399).

Status Audio Pro X review: Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Drivers

12mm driver + 2x Knowles balanced armature drivers

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Battery life (ANC off)

8 hours (buds) 24 hours (case)

Weight

5g (buds) 48g (case)

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.4

Waterproofing

IP55

Status Audio Pro X review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

Poor battery life
Decent noise cancellation
Fewer features than rivals

According to Status Audio, the Pro X will last for 8 hours of listening time, with the charging case extending it to 24 hours in total. That figure must be for listening with ANC turned off, because when it was enabled, I got a far shorter listening time: roughly four and a half to five hours. That’s not exactly a competitive stat as it falls below average by a considerable way.

A better feature is the noise cancellation which, while not best-in-class, was solid enough to plaster over annoying background noises. The Ambient mode is one of the better examples of pass-through sound I’ve used, with surrounding sounds fed into your headphones without sounding amplified at all.

You can toggle between these modes using the Status Hub app which also lets you customize the touch controls, choose between one of five equalizer presets (plus a custom mode with an eight-band EQ for the audiophiles), find the buds if you’ve lost them (with location tracking and audio cues), set up multi-point connection and toggle whether your voice is hidden by the ANC when you talk in the phone. Hidden in the app’s settings is a Dynamic EQ mode which boosts bass and treble when the volume is low – it’s turned off by default though.

There are a few features which you may expect at this price point that you’re not getting, including surround-sound audio (see ‘spatial audio’), toggle-able wearer detection, fit tests or the ability to change codec or music stream bitrate. The slender feature set is something we’ve knocked past Status buds for and while there are more here (the Between 3ANC didn’t let you change touch controls, for example, and GPS buds tracking is a great tool), I’d still like to see a little more to justify the price.

In terms of connection specs, the Pro X supports SBC, AAC and LDAC, at 24-bit/96 kHz. In my testing I didn’t have any connection issues between the buds and my phone.

Status Audio Pro X review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

Classy look for bud and case
Handy touch controls
Case supports wireless charging

The Status Audio Pro X are some of the more refined earbuds I’ve tested this year in terms of design. They’re stem-toting buds, although ‘stem’ feels like an odd choice of word for the ellipsoid pillars standing tall from the earbuds.

Despite the size of the stems, which made me worry about the reliability of the ear fit, the Pro X stayed in my ears without any shifting or issues. The touch controls worked well and were easy to use, thanks to the size of the sensor area so you don’t need any precision to pause or skip your music.

The buds have an IP55 rating against dust ingress and jets of water, so don’t submerge them in puddles or sinks if you want them to keep working.

Now onto the case; it’s a small oblong box that weighs about 48g (according to my kitchen scales, though I couldn’t find an official figure from Status Audio). It’s not too huge a case although I did notice it in my trouser pocket. I like how it shares obvious design DNA with the earbuds, though I do feel Status missed a trick by not copying the buds’ two-tone shading.

In a neat addition, the case supports wireless charging, so you don’t need to rely on its USB-C port if you don’t want to.

Something I need to mention is that, during testing, one of the earbud charging connectors in the case stopped working. I wrote this off as an anomalous error and Status were quick to replace the test unit with another one – which didn’t break – but I feel compelled to mention the issue after I discovered a Reddit post in which people shared stories of the same issue happening, albeit in past Status buds.

Status Audio Pro X review: Sound quality

12mm driver + dual balanced armature drivers
Equalizer plus loads of presets
Max volume should be higher

(Image credit: Future)

Status is putting all its eggs in the ‘sound quality’ basket with the Pro X. The buds have not one, not two but three drivers: a 12mm dynamic driver and two Knowles balanced armature drivers, with the triumvirate designed to individually hit bass, middle and treble respectively.

This gambit pays off: the Pro X sound fantastic and you won’t find much better on the market in the wireless realm. By default the sound profile is neutral, but the aforementioned app presets let you pull oodles of treble or bass out of your tunes – once you work out what each means, due to the lack of a guide (take a guess which has more bass: Status Signature, Status Audiophile or Knowles Preferred? That’s right, there’s no way of knowing – and that’s the only information you’re given). Whatever your taste, you’ll be able to cater your listening to it.

Treble is distinct and sparkling, while bass is well-defined and mids remain clear and strong. The quality is high, and you can hear the inflection in vocals and the squeak of fingers on a guitar string. There isn’t as defined a soundstage as on some other high-end buds though, beyond the natural separation that you can perceive when the quality of lines is higher.

The Pro X don’t go quite as loud as I would’ve liked either; a few times when I was listening outdoors they didn’t reach the volume or oomph I’d have liked to combat noisy situations, despite the decent noise cancellation.

Status Audio Pro X review: Value

(Image credit: Future)

Let’s be clear, these are pricey buds
…but you can save money with pre-order

It’s always hard to defend the value proposition of top-end buds. After all, premium tech simply doesn’t give you value for money; you can buy decent buds for a third of the price that don’t drop the quality by a third – and the gains sonically here are absolutely worthy if you value them, but they’re incremental.

So Status goes a long way to justifying the Pro X’s price with the high-quality audio and premium design, but the question of whether they’re great value for money would be a lot easier to answer if the feature set was more fleshed out.

Should I buy the Status Audio Pro X?

(Image credit: Future)Swipe to scroll horizontallyStatus Pro X score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

The unimpressive battery life and lack of super features hurts the buds

3/5

Design

These look great and fit into ears well.

4/5

Sound quality

The specs don’t lie, and three drivers makes the audio sound fantastic.

4.5/5

Value

Can you expect great value from premium tech? This is pretty good, though the feature set would sway the needle.

3.5/5

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

Status Audio Pro X review: Also consider

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0

Status Pro X

Status Between 3ANC

AirPods Pro 3

Technics EAH-AZ100

Drivers

12mm driver + 2x Knowles balanced armature drivers

10mm driver + 2x Knowles balanced armature drivers

Custom driver, custom amplifier

10mm driver

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Battery life

8 hours (buds) 24 hours (case)

8 hours (buds) 30 hours (case)

8 hours (buds) 24 hours (case)

12 hours (buds) 17 hours (case)

Weight

5g (buds) 48g (case)

13.6g (buds)

5.5g (buds) 44g (case)

5.9g (buds) 42g (case)

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.4

Bluetooth 5.2

Bluetooth 5.3

Waterproofing

IP55

IPX5

IP57

IPX4

How I tested the Status Audio Pro X

Tested for one month
Tested at home, in the office and on walks

As I mentioned earlier in this review, I tested two review samples of the Status Pro X due to one breaking, and it means the total testing period for the buds exceeded a month, longer than we usually give buds.

I paired the buds with my Android phone and used apps like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, YouTube and WhatsApp for various types of testing. I listened at home, on various types of public transport and on walks around my neighborhood.

I’ve been reviewing gadgets at TechRadar since early 2019 and have tested many different earbuds in that time.

First reviewed in September 2025

Status Audio Pro X: Price Comparison