CES 2022 has seen in a raft of new true wireless earbuds models, and Belkin's latest could make a great alternative to the popular (and pricey) Apple AirPods Pro .
The new Belkin Soundform Immerse are cheaper than Apple's $249 / £249 / AU$399 wireless earbuds , coming in at $179.99. Global pricing is yet to be announced, but that works out at around £130 / AU$250.
While the Belkin buds are cheaper, they come with many of the same specs as the AirPods Pro – and a few extras that could entice audiophiles away from the Apple earbuds .
The Soundform Immerse come with hybrid active noise cancellation, which means they have a microphone inside and outside each bud to detect unwanted sound and cancel it out.
The 12mm drivers inside the Soundform Immerse are pretty big for in-ear headphones, which means they should displace lots of air for a powerful sound. And, with aptX HD support, you'll be able to enjoy hi-res audio – something the AirPods Pro can't handle.
The fact that the AirPods Pro don't support hi-res audio has been a bone of contention among Apple Music users; the streaming service recently introduced lossless streaming at no extra cost to its subscribers, but the company's earbuds and headphones aren't able to to handle these higher quality audio files.
While the average listener probably isn't too interested in different codecs, the higher bitrate afforded by hi-res audio streams allows you to hear new details in your music that you might not have noticed before; for instance, the slight intake of breath before a vocalist launches into a chorus, or the subtle harmonic variations in an orchestral suite.
Better specs, cheaper price
The Belkin Soundform Immerse come with a few other benefits over the Apple AirPods Pro for those that aren't bothered by hi-res audio support.
For starters, their battery life is much longer, coming in at 36 hours - that's eight hours from the buds themselves with just over four extra charges from the case. The AirPods Pro only manage about 24 hours in total, with the earbuds offering about four-and-a-half hours of playback with active noise cancellation switched on.
They also look more subtle in the ear than the AirPods Pro, eschewing the long protruding stems that Apple popularized with its first true wireless earbuds, the Apple AirPods .
Some people like this design – but many others don't, and the rounded housings offered by the Soundform Immerse will appeal to those that prefer earbuds that don't scream 'Apple'.
All that's not to say that we dislike the Apple AirPods Pro. They're still among the best noise-cancelling earbuds you can buy, and their Spatial Audio support and integration with the wider Apple ecosystem makes them a great choice if you're an iPhone user.
However, Belkin's new buds offer a lot of the specs that the AirPods Pro do – including support for the brand's Find My technology should you ever misplace them – at a much lower price.
Of course, we'll need to test them for ourselves to find out how well they perform in terms of sound, battery life, fit, and active noise cancellation. But, based on the specs, we think they'll make a great Apple alternative for anyone who wants to save a bit of money without sacrificing the features we've come to expect from class-leading true wireless earbuds.
Activision Blizzard CEO thinks Guitar Hero and Skylanders could be revived by Microsoft
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has said the publisher’s acquisition by Microsoft could see the revival of the classic rhythm game series Guitar Hero.
Speaking to VentureBeat about the new possibilities that would be available to Activision after its deal with Microsoft is finalized, Kotick said a new Guitar Hero game could be possible, with the company afforded greater opportunities to pursue more logistically-demanding projects that wouldn’t be feasible without Microsoft’s backing.
“I wanted to make a new Guitar Hero for a while, but I don’t want to add teams to do manufacturing and supply chain and QA for manufacturing,” Kotick said. “And the chip shortages are enormous.
“We didn’t really have the ability to do that. I had a really cool vision for what the next Guitar Hero would be, and realized we don’t have the resources to do that.”
Kotick goes on to make a similar point about the self-styled toys-to-life game Skylanders, which first came about as a Spyro spin-off and received regular releases until 2016.
“One of the great disappointments of my career is that other people came in and they came out with crappy alternatives,” he said about Skylanders.
“And they dumped all of these crappy alternatives in the market, and basically destroyed the market for what was a really cool future opportunity.
“If you look at Skylanders, with its hardware and manufacturing and supply chain, there are the same kinds of things that we can’t do but Microsoft can.”
Analysis: Microsoft is a mammoth
It’s not hugely surprising that a Guitar Hero revival is back on the table. After the Microsoft-Activision acquisition was announced earlier this week, we reckoned the wannabe-rockstar rhythm game had a good chance of sticking its head above the parapet and reclaiming the love it’s been missing out on for the past several years.
Kotick’s reason for its regeneration is more interesting, however. He suggests Activision hadn’t lost faith in the brand, or the basic appeal of its games, but wasn’t prepared to overcome the immediate logistical problems involved in rebooting the franchise.
The idea that a billion-dollar company like Activision couldn’t find the resources to create a new manufacturing team, or expand its supply chain management, sounds like a stretch. But, if nothing else, his comments do demonstrate just how mammoth a company Microsoft is if Kotick thinks it has the means to pursue projects that Activision couldn’t. With Activision Blizzard under its belt, Microsoft will only get larger.
Kotick's comments also indicate the potential direction that Microsoft will take the series. Last year, Unplugged: Air Guitar made some noise for recreating Guitar Hero’s basic rock ‘n’ roll rhythm gameplay in VR. It ditched the accessories and had you furiously strumming the air rather than haphazardly plonking your fingers across a plastic fretboard.
Here, Kotick suggests Guitar Hero wouldn’t pursue a similar direction, with the game’s physical, manufactured elements staying. Maybe miniature Flying Vs will be hitting shelves again in the near future.
The next wave of Xbox Game Pass titles are here – and it’s a seriously impressive list
Xbox Game Pass is the gift that keeps on giving, and subscribers are in for an embarrassment of riches in the next few weeks.
After a stellar November that saw Minecraft, It Takes Two, Football Manager 2022, Forza Horizon 5 , and GTA: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition hit the service, an eagle-eyed user on Reddit has found the next wave of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass, which has now been confirmed by Microsoft . And yeah, I’m probably going to play every single one of these.
We already knew that Hitman: Trilogy and Rainbow Six Extraction would be coming to Xbox Game Pass in January, along with Daganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Anniversary Edition, which was officially announced today , January 18.
But now we know that we’re also getting the fabulous Death’s Door, the exceptional Windjammers 2, Guacamelee developer Drinkbox Studios’ Nobody Saves the World, the doggo-centric Pupperazzi, and – probably the best addition – Taiko no Tatsujin: The Drum Master! PC Game Pass subscribers can also look forward to Rainbow Six Siege: Deluxe Edition if the PvE spin-off Extraction doesn’t take your fancy.
Here are the dates you'll want to mark in your calendar:
With such an eclectic mix of genres and titles included in this Xbox Game Pass lineup there’s bound to be something for everyone – or, if you’re like me, you’ll probably give every game a go the next time you’re at a loss for what to play. I just hope my drums from the Switch version of Taiko no Tatsujin work on Xbox.
Opinion: Game Pass is great, but competition could make it even better
With rumors that Sony is working on an Xbox Game Pass competitor continuing to circulate, Microsoft’s service will suddenly have a more like-for-like rival in the gaming subscription space. Sony has always had its PlayStation Now service, which lets you download PS4 and PS2 games and stream PS3 games, but its offering has always paled in comparison to Xbox Game Pass.
That’s primarily because Microsoft releases its first-party games on Xbox Game Pass on day one, and has also managed to snag a number of high-profile third-party releases, like Outriders , Back 4 Blood , and now Rainbow Six Extraction.
Xbox Game Pass also includes Xbox Series X/S-optimized titles , while PS Now only includes PS4 games for users to play. It means that PlayStation owners have had to make do with last-gen versions of titles that have been upgraded for the new consoles, like Marvel’s Avengers . The PS4 version of Crystal Dynamics superhero brawler came to PS Now , while Xbox Game Pass received the next-gen version.
There’s no doubt that competition will make Xbox Game Pass stronger, however. If Sony can offer a similar service, there will be more onus on Microsoft to improve its offering, and include more perks and benefits over its rival. Microsoft will also want to hold onto the 18 million-plus subscribers it’s attracted over the years, a number that completely eclipses the three million or so PS Now subscribers.
Of course, the big question on everyone’s lips is whether Sony will put its prized possessions on its upcoming Game Pass rival – its first-party titles. With PS5 games now priced at $70 / £70 / $AU109, a monthly subscription that guaranteed access to the best of Sony’s worldwide studios would certainly be appealing to the masses, but we’d expect to see a significant price hike if Sony did decide to drop the likes of God of War: Ragnarok on its new service.
Nevertheless, if Microsoft maintains this impressive cadence of dropping desirable titles each and every month, Xbox Game Pass subscribers won’t be too envious of whatever Sony might offer in the near future.