CES 2018: Doppler who? Here's how to still get that augmented audio fix
With Here One makers Doppler Labs closing down for business in 2017, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the startup was the only one making augmented audio smart earbuds.
Australian startup Nuheara also built and launched a pair that of buds that lets you take control of what you hear and it’s still open for business, unveiling two new hearables while giving the existing IQbuds an upgrade.
The first new model is the IQbuds Boost, which aims to offer a more sophisticated level of personalisation, customisation and amplification than the current IQbuds. It introduces something Nuheara is calling Ear ID, which evaluates a user’s own hearing profile to create a more personalised hearing experience, which sounds like what the now-deceased Doppler did with the Here One.
Joining the IQbuds Boost is the LiveIQ that brings a slimmer look and throws active noise cancellation into the mix. The existing buds will get a performance boost bringing battery life up to 20 hours for Bluetooth streaming and 40 hours of hearing processing.
In terms of availability, the IQbuds Boost will be available to buy in April 2018 although there’s no details on pricing. The LiveIQ buds will be priced under $200 and will be available to pre-order early 2018 and is expected to ship in the summer.
While we didn’t give the first IQbuds a perfect score, we have since spent more time with them and they remain some of the best smart earbuds we’ve tried thanks to some useful updates. So the addition of two new models and an upgrade to the first generation hearable is definitely good news.
All three models will be shown off at CES 2018, and team Wareable will be there to see what they’re made of.