The hot new thing in headphones | The Vergecast
What this video is
⚡ a 39-minute video, readable in 60 secondsThis episode of The Verge Cast opens with a 90 Seconds news rundown (Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra, a reported Apple-LG smart home partnership, and mixed reviews for The Social Reckoning) before shifting into the main discussion between host David Pierce and guest John Higgins about whether this is the best moment ever for headphones. The conversation centers on a recent cluster of major headphone releases from Sony, Bose, Nothing, Sonos, Apple, and Beats, plus features like Auracast and open-ear designs, with Higgins arguing the clustering is partly deliberate industry scheduling rather than pure coincidence. Rather than reaching a single verdict, the discussion's center of gravity is a product-by-product comparison of noise cancelling, sound, and price, with the speakers offering different buying recommendations without declaring one approach correct.
The core discussion is between host David Pierce and guest John Higgins, weighing whether this is the best moment ever for headphones, not stated with a timestamped marker.
Key takeaways
- In the 90 Seconds news segment, Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra starts at $2,600 and is described as the first laptop with built-in magnetic USB-C charging, replacing the Surface Connect port, not stated with a timestamped marker.
- Microsoft also unveiled the Surface RTX Spark DevBox, positioned for AI developers amid Microsoft's push on co-pilot and agents, not stated with a timestamped marker.
- Apple appears to be partnering with LG on smart home devices including a smart lock and thermostat, according to leaks from @ITSPDFU on X, not stated with a timestamped marker.
- Reviews for Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning are mixed, sitting at 68 on Rotten Tomatoes, not stated with a timestamped marker.
+ 51 more takeaways
- John Higgins stated that headphones have naturally improved over time, but also argued that companies deliberately clustered launches this late summer and fall, calling it 'Techtember and Techtober,' stated without further evidence given beyond this timing observation.
- Higgins noted that historically brands like Bose, Sony, and occasionally Sennheiser slowly leapfrogged each other with incremental updates, but this year many companies launched significant new products all at once, which he called unusual.
- A speaker gave as evidence for that leapfrogging pattern that Sony released the XM4, then Bose released the QC45, then Sony released the XM5 [05:45].
- One speaker joked that Apple makes a new Mac only once every 16 years but has pushed hard on noise-cancelling earbuds [06:07].
- Colleagues reportedly call the noise-cancelling pressure sensation 'eardrums suck,' a strange sucking feeling when ANC activates [06:31].
- A speaker described Bose as 'the noise canceling company' whose research smaller brands without comparable budgets can license or learn from [07:16].
- For best overall sound and noise cancelling, a speaker said they'd pick Sony or Bose; for best integration with Apple devices, they'd pick the AirPods Max 2 [07:43].
- A speaker said budget brands like Anker Soundcore and EarFun now offer $40 to $60 earbuds with great noise cancelling plus good sound and features [08:01].
- A speaker said he bought a knockoff of the AirPods Pro Max from a TikTok shop seller, labeled 'F6 Airpods Max Headphones' with Hi-Res, Transparency Mode, Spatial Audio, Head Tracking, and 16 EQ Modes, and found that despite being an obvious knockoff and inferior in almost every way, its noise cancelling was great [08:36].
- Auracast was named as one of the newest features companies are most excited about, described as letting headphones connect to an open audio broadcast similarly to a car stereo tuning into an FM broadcast, usable in places like airports, lecture halls, and on some LG and Samsung TVs [09:16].
- Auracast transmits an audio broadcast signal that any Auracast-capable headphone can connect to, unlike multipoint, which limits connections to a couple of devices [09:59].
- An example given was airport gate announcements broadcast via Auracast directly to headphones for clarity [10:27].
- An example given was a professor with an Auracast microphone in a lecture hall broadcasting directly to students' headphones [11:01].
- An example given was gyms broadcasting TV audio via Auracast while noise canceling blocks out unwanted gym music [11:25].
- A host said he previously dismissed Auracast as 'a solution in search of a problem' but now sees it as a feature that could become a killer app once widely adopted [11:37].
- The host described using Roku's private listening feature through his phone as a workaround before Auracast-like solutions become seamless [12:26].
- Sonos is adding TV-to-headphone audio connection via a soundbar on its new Ace Ultra headphones, a feature also present on the original Ace [13:22].
- Jabra made popular running and workout earbuds but exited the consumer earbuds market about three years ago, pivoting to hearing aids and assisted listening, according to a speaker [14:27].
- A speaker said they have always preferred standard AirPods over AirPods Pro because the standard AirPods sit on the ear rather than in it [16:01].
- The speaker noted marketing now uses the term 'air conduction' instead of bone conduction, arguing that is just how sound normally works [16:27].
- The speaker said open ear buds can't get the same bass response as in-ear buds [17:10].
- The speaker said open ear buds can't give the same separation from ambient outside noise [17:12].
- The speaker said a woman walking at night would want to hear what's around her, which the open-ear design allows [17:38].
- The speaker said the Sony open-ear earbuds are pretty good [18:15].
- The speaker said it has become societally normal to wear just one headphone or earbud at a time [18:38].
- The speaker said most open-ear clip-on designs still look stupid and that the form factor hasn't been solved yet [19:25].
- The hosts discussed the Nothing Headphone 1 Pro as an unexpected, new kind of product from upstart brand Nothing [22:38].
- The reviewer noted the Headphone 1 Pro copies Apple's bra-case design idea, criticizing that as a bad choice to steal [22:55].
- The reviewer praised Nothing for a distinct, cohesive design look across its product line, calling the headphones comfortable and good sounding [23:18].
- The Headphone 1 Pro includes a flat EQ mode developed with a London studio, intended for mixers to flatten the sound signature [24:01].
- The reviewer gave the Nothing Headphone 1 Pro a thumbs up, noting that two thumbs up is a very high bar for headphones [24:43].
- The Nothing Headphone 1 Pro is priced at $400, putting it against Sony, Bose, and discounted Apple AirPods Max [25:14].
- The Sonos Ace Ultra was described as the Ace headphones done correctly, still requiring a Sonos soundbar to swap TV audio but now supporting Wi-Fi music streaming [25:34].
- The Sonos Ace Ultra's Wi-Fi streaming quality is still in beta and not yet high-res, and the headphones cannot be grouped with other speakers in a Sonos system [26:15].
- A speaker said he was on the fence about the original Sonos Ace sound, but the new model sounds a little better [27:39].
- The new Sonos headphones are described as super comfortable and wearable all day with no problem [27:44].
- The AirPods 5 were discussed as cheaper at the top end than before [28:08].
- The AirPods 5 have noise canceling 'in scare quotes,' a speaker said, since great noise canceling isn't possible on open-style earbuds [28:33].
- The AirPods 5 look the same as the AirPods 4 [29:17].
- The Beats 360 are IP rated for the first time, specifically IPX4, described as the lowest bar for workout-rated gear [30:50].
- For about $350, a speaker said they would instead recommend a year-old Sony model like the X-05 when on sale, citing great noise canceling and sound [32:44].
- The Sony WH-1000XM4Cs are great for people who loved the XM4s and wanted a new pair, a speaker said [33:53].
- The XM4C and the original XM4 are essentially the same headphone that fold up and fit the same case [34:38].
- The XM4C uses the same chip processor and the same number of mics as the XM4 [35:04].
- The XM4C is said to have a replaceable battery, though Sony hasn't shown details on how to replace it, fixing the dead-battery issue that plagued the XM4s [35:12].
- Their advice was to deal hunt one of the last couple of Sony headphone versions rather than chase the new model [35:36].
- For the $300 to $400 high-end ANC over-ear range, both hosts recommended getting a used pair of the XM5s [37:44].
- A host said he intentionally left the AirPods Max out of the price range discussion because he doesn't believe anyone should buy them [38:09].
- The Verge Cast is produced by Josh Cajas, Eric Gomez, Brandon Kiefer, and Travis Larchuk [39:03].
- No explicit, unresolved disagreement between the host and guest is stated in the extracted points; differences surfaced as separate buying recommendations rather than a named dispute.
- Like, for $100, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better set of earbuds than what Nothing has made the last couple of revs.
How this brief was shaped: Discourse (interview / podcast / video essay) · confidence Medium
David Pierce frames this as a podcast and brings on teammate John Higgins specifically to talk through headphone reviews and new tech like Auracast, a classic two-speaker interview exchange. The opening also runs a distinct 90 Seconds on the Verge news segment with movie review sentiment and Apple leak coverage, which is a secondary but real chunk of the source.
The lens sets this brief's structure, never its facts — every claim is held to the same citation and fact-check standard.
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