With the launch of the second gen Apple Airpods in March 2019 and the increasing number of affordable alternatives in the market, true wireless headphones looks set to stay. But what exactly is true wireless? And how is it an improvement on wireless? Read on to explore how this tech works…
True Wireless: A Short History
When Apple Airpods launched in December 2016, there was uproar. Now we can’t imagine a time without true wireless, but as arguably the first mainstream example of this tech Airpod headphones were a game changer. Albeit one subject to contant memes (I’d definitely already lost them before buying them…)
The debate centered around the utter lack of wires involved. Wireless headphones have been around for a long time; since 1958, when Koss brought out the stereophone SP/3 series (which we would love to get our hands on) headphones have been evolving towards wireless tech.
By the 1980s this had become reality. Overear headphones using wireless transmitters meant that a lucky few could go ‘wireless’, and some even had radio’s built in!
It wasn’t until the invention of Bluetooth in 1994 that wireless headphones became day-to-day wear. This allowed people to cut the cord between their device and the headphones, making tasks such as listening to music whilst exercising that little bit easier. But the lack of connection to a media device doesn’t mean that the headphones had no wires. Indeed, they were often connected between the airbuds.
Then, in 2015, a Japanese company named Onkyo demonstrated the first example of ‘true wireless’.
Listening In Mono – Why You Should Make The Change With True Wireless
So, What Exactly Is True Wireless?
True Wireless is exactly as it sounds – there are no wires connecting your headphones and media device, and also no wires between the earbuds. However, it isn’t always that simple; some non-wired earbuds aren’t considered ‘true’ wireless, because of the tech in them.
The more advanced tech inside the earbuds than regular wireless headphones includes biometric monitoring and active noise cancellation technology. Some even automatically stop music playing when you remove the earbud! All of this is connected to the advancement of the Internet of Things and making people’s lives smarter – but that’s a topic for another day…
At TaoTronics we are ahead of the true wireless game – check out our amazing range of wireless and true wireless headphones here!