There’s a bit of a schism between headphone advocates right now: the gap is between those that prefer cables (for reliability and better audio quality) and those that insist on wireless (erring for convenience and, of course, not having to deal with tangled cables).
B&O now has something for the second group, with the launch of the Beoplay E8 – the brand’s first truly wireless earphones.
The Beoplay E8 earphones have a claimed four-hour battery life, which is one hour less than Apple’s claim for its Airpods, and a total of 12 hours of juice in the recharging case (also less than Apple, which claims 24 hours).
Each earpiece has a 5.7mm dynamic speaker, with music sent to them via its Bluetooth 4.2 chip.
One interesting feature is the ‘Transparency Mode’. This is an adjustable setting that lets you control how much outside world you want to hear. There are four levels of audio pass, adjusted through a companion app, and activated by tapping on the left earpiece.
This app also lets you adjust the sonic settings of the headphones, with sound modes for different activities, such as working out, commuting, or listening to podcasts. The app is also how you’ll get future software updates to the earphones.
The B&O Beoplay E8 wireless earphones available from 12th October in black and grey, and will cost £260.
