[LINK] Wireless earbuds

[Roger Clarke]

[ You too can sign up for surveillance, storage and sale of your vital 
signs, both in batch / bulk / retrospectively and in real time.

[ Needless to say, location and tracking comes free to you, but charged 
to the ear-bud service-provider's many clients. ]

Auto-Surveillance
http://rogerclarke.com//DV/AutoSurv.html
The term hasn't made it into the OED yet.

Self-Surveillance is in the same position.

Google shows hit-counts as follows:
-   auto-surveillance         4,710
-   autosurveillance          9,220  (all in French?)
-   auto surveillance     1,990,000  -  but mostly about cars?
-   self-surveillance        25,500

Self-Surveillance:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2008.00793.x
https://escholarship.org/content/qt1jk8b2q1/qt1jk8b2q1.pdf
https://researchrepository.universityofgalway.ie/server/api/core/bitstreams/7fd18fb2-21d5-41b9-9bdd-23668580aa8a/content


-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: [LINK] Wireless earbuds
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2025 12:58:39 +1000
From: Antony Barry <antonybbarry at gmail.com>
To: Link list <link at anu.edu.au>

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/wireless-earbuds-are-quickly-becoming-essential-devices/?lctg=1980929&utm_source=digitaltrends&utm_medium=email&utm_content=subscriber_id:1980929&utm_campaign=DTDaily20250423#dt-heading-constant-evolution

Summary by ChatGPT
⸻

The Evolving World of Wireless Earbuds in 2025

This article from Digital Trends explores the rapid evolution and
multifaceted uses of wireless earbuds, highlighting their increasing
integration with AI, health tracking, and lifestyle functions. It
emphasizes that choosing the “best” earbuds depends entirely on individual
needs — from fitness and comfort to health monitoring and even real-time AI
communication.

⸻

🧠 Conclusion

In 2025, wireless earbuds are no longer just about playing music — they’ve
become multi-functional tech tools. The original AirPods era focused on
sound quality and battery life, but since then, features like active noise
cancellation, spatial audio, and health monitoring have become standard.
Today’s leading earbuds include advanced capabilities like heart rate
sensors, OTC hearing aid functions, and real-time language translation.
Some models, like Ikko’s ActiveBuds, integrate AI access without needing a
phone, pushing us closer to the always-on, AI-connected future envisioned
in films like Her. Charging cases now include smart features and can serve
as wireless audio transmitters. As EEG sensors are poised to become common
in earbuds, this category is merging with health and mental tech, making
earbuds more personal and indispensable than ever. The best pair, now more
than ever, depends on what you need them to do — not just how they sound.

⸻

🔑 Key Points

🎧 Customization is key: The best earbuds depend on budget, comfort, and
usage — fitness, travel, or AI connectivity.

📈 Evolving features: Early priorities like sound quality and battery life
have expanded to include noise cancellation, spatial audio, and more.

💪 Fitness and health: New models now track heart rate and offer hearing
aid functionality, with Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 setting a benchmark.

🌍 Open-ear innovation: New designs like earhooks and clips offer
transparency to the world while still enjoying music.

🔋 Smart charging cases: Some cases now include touchscreens and function
as wireless transmitters, like the JBL Tour Pro 3.

🌐 Bluetooth Auracast: Slowly rolling out, allowing public broadcast-style
listening via Bluetooth.

😴 Wellness features: Products like Ozlo Sleepbuds promise better sleep,
blending wellness tech with audio functionality.

🤖 AI integration: Real-time translation and AI interaction via earbuds is
now possible, especially with Google Gemini and Ikko’s ActiveBuds.

🧠 EEG technology: Companies like Neurable are bringing brain activity
sensing to earbuds for focus and cognitive feedback.

🚀 Converging technologies: As all these features merge, earbuds become
more essential and multifunctional than ever.

⸻

📘 Summary
1. No one-size-fits-all answer: The question “which earbuds are best?” is
highly subjective, influenced by budget, activity type, and personal needs.
2. From AirPods to now: Since Apple’s original AirPods, the category has
rapidly grown to include advanced audio and lifestyle features.
3. Major tech shifts: Noise cancellation, wireless charging, and multipoint
connections have now been surpassed by even more futuristic features.
4. Health-centric innovations: Earbuds now track heart rate and serve
hearing-aid roles, with Apple’s model being FDA-aligned.
5. Open-ear category growth: Designed for ambient awareness, these styles
suit athletes and urban dwellers seeking audio without full isolation.
6. Smarter accessories: Charging cases are becoming tools in themselves,
supporting wireless transmission and visual feedback.
7. Emerging standards like Auracast: These will enhance group listening or
broadcast experiences in shared spaces.
8. Wearable wellness tech: Sleepbuds and EEG-sensing devices are fusing
earbuds with wellness gadgets.
9. AI on-the-go: ActiveBuds and similar products can now provide AI
services without requiring a smartphone intermediary.
10. Future convergence: When all these features combine — health, AI,
audio, sleep — wireless earbuds may become our primary interface wi



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Roger Clarke                            mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au
T: +61 2 6288 6916   http://www.xamax.com.au  http://www.rogerclarke.com

Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA 

Visiting Professorial Fellow                          UNSW Law & Justice
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University