Bang & Olufsen has an impressive portfolio of audio devices, which includes earphones. But I’m still coming to terms with the fact that the Danish brand didn’t have true wireless earbuds with noise-canceling in their ranks.
Finally now in the form of Beoplay EQ, B&O has launched its first pair of active noise-canceling true wireless earphones designed to immerse the wearer in pure sound. Made from an interesting blend of aluminum, silicon and polymer materials, the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EQ will roll out in black and gold hue and take on the AirPods Pro head-on.
Adaptive noise cancelling wireless earphones
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EQ true wireless noise cancelling earbuds feature 6 built-in microphones for clear audio. There are three microphones on each earphone, a couple of which handle noise cancellation aspect while the third facilitates in clear, authentic audio during calls.
Beoplay EQ in addition to adaptive active noise cancellation offers wireless charging, which however tips the game against its favor slightly in comparison to the AirPods Pro. The Bang & Olufsen earbuds deliver 6.5 hours of battery backup with ANC as opposed to just 4.5 hours on the AirPods Pro. But when used with the charging case, the Beoplay EQ can run for 20 hours, which the Apple earbuds can do better at 24 hours.
Exorbitant pricing and more
To complement the backup, the effective thing here is the charging, which is taken care of using either USB-C or Qi wireless charging. Beoplay EQ supports Qualcomm’s AptX adaptive standard that allows the pair to better optimize the audio depending on the content you’re listening to and in the environment, you’re in. In addition, it comes with an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance.
How the Beoplay EQ will eventually sound, and how much of Bang & Olufsen will it have within, will only be revealed on August 18, when the earbuds are likely to release globally. It will go on sale for a whopping $399, which is about $150 more than the AirPods Pro.