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Fair or not, Apple has turned its AirPods into the default option for most iPhone owners casually shopping for a new pair of wireless earbuds. But if youre one of the many people who use an Android phone, the options worth considering arent as obvious. Fortunately, were here to help. Weve tested and reviewed dozens of wireless earbuds over the years and broken down our favorite options for Android users below. Whether you use a Galaxy phone or Pixel, and whether you want something for the gym or your morning commute, these are the best AirPods alternatives for Android. Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget What to look for in wireless earbuds for Android devices For the most part, the features you want from a set of Android earbuds are the same as what you want from any headphones. Pleasing sound quality, a comfortable fit and sufficient battery life are still the foundations. Adequate water resistance is good for workouts, and nobody wants a crummy mic for making calls. Once you approach the $100 range, features like active noise cancellation (ANC), wireless charging, an ambient sound mode (which lets you better hear outside noise without turning off your music) and multipoint connectivity (the ability to pair with multiple devices simultaneously) should be expected. For Android devices specifically, there are a few extras to consider. A dedicated app that makes it easy to switch sound modes, customize the audio profile, locate your earbuds if they ever get misplaced or adjust other settings is strongly preferred. Features like Google Fast Pair or NFC-based pairing, which can help you avoid having to dig through your Bluetooth menu to connect your earbuds for the first time, are also nice perks. Some Android devices can also utilize higher-quality Bluetooth codecs such as aptX Adaptive or Sonys LDAC these arent nearly as important to audio quality as the actual architecture of your earbuds, but they can help wring out a little more detail if the buds are capable enough and youre streaming lossless files. AptX Adaptive can also help reduce latency, which is good for streaming video or gaming. Diversity is Androids greatest strength, but it also means that some wireless earbuds play nicer with certain devices, typically those made by the same company. Recent Samsung earbuds, for instance, come with a few perks that are only available if you use a Galaxy phone. We have a couple of recommendations related to this idea above.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/best-earbuds-for-android-devices-120015765.html?src=rss
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Imagine going to the doctor, telling them exactly how you're feeling and then a transcription later adds false information and alters your story. That could be the case in medical centers that use Whisper, OpenAI's transcription tool. Over a dozen developers, software engineers and academic researchers have found evidence that Whisper creates hallucinations invented text that includes made up medications, racial commentary and violent remarks, ABC News reports. Yet, in the last month, open-source AI platform HuggingFace saw 4.2 million downloads of Whisper's latest version. The tool is also built into Oracle and Microsoft's cloud computing platforms, along with some versions of ChatGPT. The harmful evidence is quite extensive, with experts finding significant faults with Whisper across the board. Take a University of Michigan researcher who found invented text in eight out of ten audio transcriptions of public meetings. In another study, computer scientists found 187 hallucinations while analyzing over 13,000 audio recordings. The trend continues: A machine learning engineer found them in about half of 100 hours-plus worth of transcriptions, while a developer spotted hallucinations in almost all of the 26,000 transcriptions he had Whisper create. The potential danger becomes even clearer when looking at specific examples of these hallucinations. Two professors, Allison Koenecke and Mona Sloane of Cornell University and the University of Virginia, respectively, looked at clips from a research repository called TalkBank. The pair found that nearly 40 percent of the hallucinations had the potential to be misinterpreted or misrepresented. In one case, Whisper invented that three people discussed were Black. In another, Whisper changed "He, the boy, was going to, Im not sure exactly, take the umbrella." to "He took a big piece of a cross, a teeny, small piece ... Im sure he didnt have a terror knife so he killed a number of people." Whisper's hallucinations also have risky medical implications. A company called Nabla utilizes Whisper for its medical transcription tool, used by over 30,000 clinicians and 40 health systems so far transcribing an estimated seven million visits. Though the company is aware of the issue and claims to be addressing it, there is currently no way to check the validity of the transcripts. The tool erases all audio for "data safety reasons," according to Nablas chief technology officer Martin Raison. The company also claims that providers must quickly edit and approve the transcriptions (with all the extra time doctors have?), but that this system may change. Meanwhile, no one else can confirm the transcriptions are accurate because of privacy laws. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openais-whisper-invents-parts-of-transcriptions--a-lot-120039028.html?src=rss
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If youve used Cash App in the last six years, you might be entitled to compensation as part of a class-action settlement. The company set up a $15 million fund after breaches enabled a trove of user personal data to leak. You can file a claim through a dedicated settlement website, and depending on what you can prove, you could receive up to $2,500. If theres a downside beyond having your private financial data leaked, its that youve only got until November 19 to file. Dan Cooper Get this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! News in Brief Panic hits pause on the Playdate Stereo Dock, says its unlikely well see it anytime soonAlas, making the dock was almost harder than making the Playdate itself. Ongoing notifications similar to Apples Live Activities could come to AndroidTheyre very useful. What to read this week: Jeff VanderMeer returns to Area XThis includes a fourth book in the Southern Reach series, which began with Annihilation. Lyft will have to tell drivers how much they can truly earn, with evidenceIt promised would-be driver rates only its top earners made. Apple reportedly tested a blood glucose monitoring appStill no closer to the dream of a non-invasive glucose monitor. 8Bitdo has a new $50 Android gaming controller with Hall effect sticks and triggersThere are trade-offs, but for that sort of money, you cant complain. McDonald's restaurants can finally repair their own McFlurry machinesOur long national nightmare is over. Google is reportedly developing Jarvis AI that could take over your web browser Itll be good for, uh, research. Google Google is reportedly developing an AI agent for Chrome to act as a live assistant for your daily browsing. Codenamed Jarvis, because of course it is, it will help you with common tasks, like research, shopping and booking flights. Perhaps you could ask it to look at every price comparison website, collate the results and select the cheapest option. Maybe, in future, it could even buy, use and enjoy the thing youre looking to purchase while you sit at your computer. Continue Reading. Mosseri confirms Instagram reduces video quality for posts not raking in views High-resolution playback is for closers. If youve ever noticed one of your Instagram videos looks worse now than it did before, theres a reason. Instagram head Adam Mosseri revealed the platform intentionally downgrades video quality for clips not pulling eyeballs. Which feels like Instagrams putting its finger on the scale for folks whove already cracked the secret of virality against those still working it out. Continue Reading. Apple may tap into a beloved retro design for its smart home display Everyone loves the Sunflower iMac G4. Apple As elegant as Apples computers are, the last one to transcend that and become beautiful was the iMac G4. Now, the rumor mill is hinting the companys long-rumored smart home display may wind up using the same design. On one hand, great, who doesnt want to see what Apple can do with that design? On the other, Apples lackluster commitment to the smart home means itll probably be a pointless waste of money anyway. Continue Reading. Apple wins $250 in Masimo smartwatch patent case Siri, can you look up Pyrrhic in the dictionary? Masimo The endless battle between Apple and Masimo has seen the bigger company win its latest courtroom skirmish. Apple successfully argued some of Masimos watches infringed on Apples design patents but won just $250 (not a typo) in damages. Sadly, Apple didnt win big enough to score an injunction preventing Masimo from selling its watches. That sound you cant hear right now is champagne corks not being popped in the hallowed halls of Apple Park. Continue Reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-111516206.html?src=rss
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