HBO Max has now launched in the UK, and is free to Sky subscribers. It's also dropped the first trailer for its much-anticipated Harry Potter TV series, which you can watch below.

If you watched to the end you'll have seen a nice little surprise – the show will premiere on Christmas Day this year. Previously it was flagged as coming in 2027, so this should be a nice little treat for Potter fans.

And they include my son. Thank you, HBO Max. It should buy me a few hours' peace for a post-Christmas-lunch slumber.

It's not been announced whether the entire first series will drop on Christmas Day, or just the first episode. Please the former please the former please the former.

Each season of the new series will focus on one book, giving much greater scope than the Harry Potter films of the early 20th century. The first in the series is Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone.

Of course, there's a lot more to HBO Max than pubescent wizards. The network is know for its big-budget series like Game Of Thrones (and the spinoff House Of The Dragon), The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Boardwalk Empire.

HBO Max Basic with Ads is free to Sky Q customers, and those with Sky Glass or Sky Stream who have the Ultimate TV package. This HBO Max tier is limited to Full HD picture quality, lets you stream on two devices at once and doesn't include movies that stream on HBO Max following a cinema release.

Here's a full recap of the HBO Max tiers (plus TNT Sports).

• Basic with Ads (£4.99 per month): stream on two devices at once, limited to Full HD resolution. Doesn't include those movies that stream on HBO Max following a cinema release
• Standard with Ads (£5.99 per month): the same as Basic with Ads, but includes "all the best HBO Max shows and movies" and gives you 30 downloads a month for offline viewing
• Standard (£9.99 per month): the same as Standard with Ads but without the adverts
• Premium (£14.99 per month): this ups the quality to 4K with Dolby Atmos (where available), lets you stream on four devices at once and gives you 100 downloads a month
• TNT Sports (£30.99 per month): this brings all manner of live sports like 185 UEFA Champions League matches and every game in the Europa League and Conference League, plus some Premier League matches and tennis. This is in 4K and Dolby Atmos, and lets you stream on two devices at once

Sky customers can upgrade to a superior HBO Max tier if they wish, but it'll cost you. And those without Sky can take out a standalone subscription to HBO Max – the first time HBO shows have been available to non-Sky customers in the UK.

MORE:

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Sky Stream vs Sky Q: what are the differences?

Stop what you're doing, Apple fans, because the day has finally come: the AirPods Max 2 are here!

After months, even years, of speculation, the fully-fledged sequel to the original five-star AirPods Max over-ear headphones have officially landed, teasing more effective ANC, better sound and new features powered by Apple's forward-looking H2 chip.

The much-anticipated headphones house a new high dynamic range amplifier in pursuit of clearer, cleaner audio.

Apple also promises that Spatial Audio content will sound better than ever, with "improved localisation of instruments, more accurate bass response, and more natural-sounding mids and highs".

If you want to go for the highest fidelity possible, the AirPods Max 2 support 24-bit/48 kHz lossless audio when connected to the included USB-C cable.

Noise-cancelling has been given a boost, too. Thanks to the H2 chip and revised audio algorithms, the second-gen AirPods Max promise ANC that’s "up to 1.5x more effective than the previous generation", while Transparency mode claims to sound more natural thanks to a newly optimised digital signal processing algorithm.

There are also new Apple features on the menu. Adaptive Audio automatically adjusts levels of noise cancelling in response to environmental noise, while active 'Live Translation' translates conversations in real time – two features we've already seen implemented in the five-star AirPods Pro 3 earbuds.

For voice calls, the Max 2 make use of Apple's voice isolation tech powered by the H2 chip, with the aim of emphasising human speech while effectively blocking out ambient noise from intruding on your conversations.

The second-gen cans promise up to 20 hours of listening time from one charge with noise cancelling on, matching the figures of the outgoing model.

Hands-free features also aim to make the new wireless headphones more accessible on the go. A camera remote lets users take pictures or record videos by pressing the 'Digital Crown' while using the Camera app or compatible third-party camera apps on iPhone or iPad.

'Siri Interactions', conversely, allow users to respond to Siri announcements by nodding or shaking their head.

According to Apple's director of Audio Product Marketing, Eric Teski: "With the incredible performance of H2, AirPods Max are upgraded with up to 1.5x more effective ANC for the ultimate all-day listening experience. The sound quality is remarkably clean, rich, and acoustically detailed, and when combined with capabilities like Personalised Spatial Audio, AirPods Max 2 deliver a profoundly immersive experience". But then he would say that...

The Apple AirPods Max 2 will be available to order on 25th March, priced at £499 / $549, in a choice of Starlight (the gold/silver finish seen on other Apple devices), Orange, Purple or Blue colourways.

We've been anticipating the second-gen headphones for quite some time now, so to see the Max 2 arrive – at the same price as their predecessors, no less – is something of a big deal.

Will they live up to our expectations? We'll let you know once we get hold of a pair for testing.

MORE:

Read our original Apple AirPods Max review

Apple AirPods Max vs AirPods Max 2024: what are the differences?

AirPods Pro 3 vs AirPods 4 with ANC: which of Apple's noise-cancelling earbuds will suit you best?

How do active noise-cancelling headphones work? Are they worth it?

HBO Max is coming to the UK and Ireland early next year. The streaming service will launch on these shores in March 2026, HBO has announced. But Sky customers will still be able to watch HBO content under the terms of the current deal.

Currently, Sky carries HBO content like Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, The Last Of Us, Succession, House Of The Dragon and The White Lotus via its Sky Atlantic and Sky Comedy channels. The two broadcasters also work together on joint productions like George McKay's forthcoming legal thriller War.

Sky customers will still be able to watch this existing content once HBO Max launches. HBO is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which also owns Warner Bros. Pictures and the DC Universe – giving Sky (and HBO Max) customers access to films like the Harry Potter franchise, Superman, The Batman and Dune.

For the first time in the UK, non-Sky customers will be able to subscribe direct with HBO Max to enjoy all this content.

So it's good news for Sky customers, right? This being streaming, it's not quite that straightforward.

Once HBO Max has launched in the UK, Sky customers will still have access to existing HBO shows – and any future series – on the same Sky channels as now. But new series – like the forthcoming Harry Potter show – will have to be watched through the standalone HBO Max service, the ad-supported tier of which will be bundled free for Sky customers.

So it won't cost Sky customers any extra. But they will have to watch through a different service, much as they do with Netflix content currently.

Complicating matters further, HBO is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which plans to split into two separate companies. HBO will be part of the 'Studios & Streaming' business, which is currently seeking a new owner. Bidders include streaming big hitter Netflix, Paramount Skydance (owner of Paramount+) and Comcast (which owns Sky).

The deal is hoping to conclude by the end of December. So by the time HBO Max launches in the UK, it could have a completely different owner, and hence be a very different proposition.

If Comcast wins, it could simply offer all the content as part of its Sky offering. This would mean either retiring the HBO Max service soon after it launches on these shores, or even not launch it at all.

The same could be said for Netflix – and as Netflix is bundled with most Sky subscriptions, Sky customers would get the same access to all the HBO content they do now.

Paramount could merge HBO Max with its Paramount+ service, but what would it call it?

As you can see, there are a lot of moving parts to this deal. HBO Max's UK tiers and pricing information are also yet to be confirmed.

The UK launch is the latest part of HBO Max's international rollout. In January, the service will expand to Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.

HBO Max launched in 2020. It was briefly renamed Max, but then changed its name back following widespread derision.

MORE:

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Read our Sky Stream review

Sky Stream vs Sky Q: what are the differences?

Watch Australian Grand Prix live stream 2025

You can watch Australian Grand Prix live streams from anywhere in the world. We have full details on how to watch Australian Grand Prix live streams from anywhere just below.

Australian Grand Prix schedule 2025

• Australian Grand Prix – Sunday 16th March | 4am GMT

Australian Grand Prix 2025: preview

Lando Norris' pole position woes were one of last season's major themes, but he has an early opportunity to challenge the narrative. He and Oscar Piastri have secured a front-row lockout for McLaren at Albert Park, with Max Verstappen, George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda completing the front five.

Lewis Hamilton could only go eighth fastest in his inaugural Qualifying session for Ferrari, which puts him behind Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc on the grid.

The opening race of the season being staged in Melbourne just feels right, but this is no ordinary curtain-raiser. At least three teams' driver pairings don't have a clear hierarchy, so for McLaren, Ferrari and Williams, it's every man for himself.

Norris might have won the drivers' title last season were it not for a multitude of errors, the majority of them from pole, and in case Piastri needed any further incentive to shine at his home GP, no Australian driver has ever made the top three at this event.

Here's all the info on where to watch F1 live streams anywhere in the world for the Australian Grand Prix.

Australian Grand Prix 2025 free live streams

Free F1 live streams of every race are available in three countries: Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg. There are also free extended highlights on offer in the UK and Australia.

Australia
10Play offers a free live stream of 2025 Australian GP, along with free highlights of every race this season.

Austria:
ORF is streaming the entire 2025 Australian Grand Prix weekend for free.

Luxembourg:
RTL Zwee has the rights to every 2025 Formula 1 race.

Belgium:
RTBF serves up free F1 live streams in Belgium (email registration required).

UK
Channel 4 airs free highlights of every F1 race.

Use NordVPN to access your usual free stream when abroad

VPN services are evaluated and tested by us in view of legal recreational use. For example:a) Access to services from other countries, (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).b) Safeguarding your online security and making your online privacy more robust when abroad.Future plc does not support nor condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. We do not endorse nor approve of consuming pirated content that is paid-for.

Watch Australian Grand Prix 2025 live from anywhere

Most F1 live streams are location-sensitive. So, you won't be able to access your home service when travelling abroad. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a small but powerful app that lets you select your preferred location and thus unblock any F1 live stream – including the free streams in Australia, Austria, Luxembourg and Belgium.

NordVPN is our pick of the best VPN services. It's affordable, fast, and easy to use. Try it risk-free for 30 days and see for yourself.

How to use a VPN for any Australian GP live stream

1. Sign up to the VPN of your choice. NordVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For the F1, you may wish to choose Austria for ORF.

3. Then head over to ORF on your browser or device and enjoy the free F1 live stream of the 2025 Australian GP.

How to watch Australian Grand Prix 2025 on your mobile device

In the US, iOS and Android users can stream every race live and on demand via the F1 TV Pro app.

In the UK, fans will need to subscribe to either Sky or Now and watch the Australian Grand Prix via the Sky Go or Now apps.

How to watch Australian Grand Prix 2025 in 4K Ultra HD

In the UK, you can watch the Australian Grand Prix, along with every F1 race, in 4K via Sky Q, Sky Glass and Sky Stream puck. You'll need to subscribe to an Ultra HD package and have a 4K TV.

Head over to the Sky Sports F1 Ultra HD channel to watch every race, qualifying and practice in 4K and HDR.

If you want to get the very best picture quality out of the 4K HDR stream, check out our guide to the best TV settings for watching Formula 1.

Sky does not offer Dolby Atmos sound but subscribers can enjoy the action in Dolby 5.1 surround sound.

Need Sky? Today's best Sky TV deals.

If you're in Australia, you can catch every race in 4K on Kayo Sports, but you will need the Kayo Basic subscription for AU$35 a month to access high resolution content.

F1 season pass

F1 TV Pro includes live HD coverage of every F1 practice, qualifier and race. No ad breaks.

Fans in the US can subscribe to F1 TV Pro for just $10.99 a month or $84.99 per year, while those in the Netherlands can snag it for just €11.90 a month.

In India, F1 TV Pro is just $3.99 a month or $29.99 a year after the 7-day free trial.

The service is available in over 188 countries – but not the UK (you can use the basic 'Access' version for live timings but you can't watch any races live).

F1 TV Pro is available via the F1 TV website, iOS/Android apps, Roku TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Google TV and other mobile devices.

Latest F1 TV Pro prices:

• F1 TV Pro in India – $3.99/month (cheapest)
• F1 TV Pro in South Africa – $4.99/month
• F1 TV Pro in Brazil – $5.99/month
• F1 TV Pro in Netherlands – €11.90/month
• F1 TV Pro in USA – $10.99/month
• F1 TV Pro in Mexico – $129/month

Watch Australian Grand Prix 2025 live streams in the USA

In the USA, the Australian Grand Prix is being shown on ESPN and ESPN Plus.

Qualifying is on ESPNU; Practice 3 is on ESPN3 and ESPN Plus; Practice 2 is on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes; Practice 1 is on ESPNews, ESPN Plus.

If you don't have cable access to those TV channels, it's actually cheaper to watch on streaming services such as Sling, Fubo or ESPN Plus.

Watch Australian Grand Prix 2025 live stream in Australia

Every session of the 2025 Australian Grand Prix will be free to watch on Network 10 and the 10Play streaming service.

Fox Sports, meanwhile, has the rights to show every live F1 race in Australia. That means Foxtel and Kayo Sports subscribers get a front-row seat too.

There are no lock-in contracts for Kayo Sports, and it gives you access to over 50 other sports events including NASCAR, the NRL, NHL, MLB and international cricket.

Once the trial is up, a subscription costs from $25 per month after a 7-day free trial.

10Play will also show free highlights of every 2025 F1 race.

How to watch Australian Grand Prix 2025 live in the Netherlands

F1 TV Pro offers live coverage F1 practice, qualifiers and races in 2025. F1 fans can also watch on Viaplay and Viaplay. NOS will provide free Dutch GP coverage.

How to watch the Australian Grand Prix 2025 live in Spain

DAZN has the exclusive rights to show Formula 1 in Spain until the end of 2026. The streaming service will show practice, qualifiers and races on its exclusive DAZN F1 channel. If you want a cheap Spanish F1 stream, you know what to do...

How to watch Australian Grand Prix 2025 live stream in France

All live races are available to watch on French broadcaster Canal+ until 2029 – that gets you full, live coverage of the 2025 F1 season, including practice sessions, qualifiers and every Grand Prix. The Bahrain, Monaco, United States and Mexico City Grands Prix will be shown on free-to-air C8.

How to watch Australian Grand Prix 2025 live in the rest of the world

• Feast your eyes on the best TVs
• Splash the cash on our cheap TV deals
• Our pick of the best streaming services

Watch F1 preseason testing live stream 2025

F1 preseason testing concludes today, with the second session of Day 3 starting at 12pm GMT / 7am ET. Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri are amongst the drivers on track, and here's where to watch F1 preseason testing live streams. ESPN Plus (USA), Sky Sports (UK), Kayo Sports (Australia) and F1 TV Pro (RoW) have extensive coverage of all three days. Full details just below.

F1 preseason testing 2025 preview

Carlos Sainz topped the timesheets on Day 2, after Lando Norris went fastest on Day 1, though barring major reliability issues, what we see in testing is rarely indicative of the year ahead.

That's because every team will implement further tweaks between now and the opening race of the 2025 F1 season in a fortnight's time, and some – we're not naming names – are definitely "sandbagging" by running significantly slower than full capacity.

All teams bar Red Bull and Williams are again giving both of their drivers a session each on Day 3. Verstappen and Albon have a full 8-hour stint, however, as Sainz and Liam Lawson have had all of their running already.

Read on as we explain how to watch F1 preseason testing online and on TV.

F1 preseason testing 2025 – schedule

Watch an F1 preseason testing live stream from anywhere

Most F1 live streams are location-sensitive. So, you won't be able to access your usual stream travelling away from home. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a small but powerful app that lets you select your preferred location and quickly unblock and watch your preferred F1 preseason testing live stream safely and securely from almost any location.

NordVPN is our pick of the best VPN services. It's affordable, fast, stable and easy to use. Try it risk-free for 30 days and see for yourself.

How to use a VPN 

1. Sign up to the VPN of your choice. NordVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open the VPN app and choose the location of the service you usually access (e.g. UK, Austria, US, etc).

3. Then head over to your home streaming service on your browser and enjoy your usual F1 preseason testing live stream as if you were back home.

VPN services are evaluated and tested by us in view of legal recreational use. For example:a) Access to services from other countries, (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).b) Safeguarding your online security and making your online privacy more robust when abroad.Future plc does not support nor condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. We do not endorse nor approve of consuming pirated content that is paid-for.

• Watch Brawn: An Impossible Formula 1 Story on Disney Plus

How to watch F1 preseason testing in 4K Ultra HD

In the UK, you can watch F1 preseason testing in 4K via Sky Q, Sky Glass and Sky Stream puck. You'll need to subscribe to an Ultra HD package and have a 4K TV.

Head over to the Sky Sports F1 Ultra HD channel to tune in in 4K and HDR.

If you want to get the very best picture quality out of the 4K HDR stream, check out our guide to the best TV settings for watching Formula 1.

Sky does not offer Dolby Atmos sound but subscribers can enjoy the action in Dolby 5.1 surround sound.

Need Sky? Today's best Sky TV deals.

If you're in Australia, you can catch the F1 in 4K on Kayo Sports, but you will need the Kayo Basic subscription for AU$35 a month to access high resolution content.

F1 season pass

F1 TV Pro includes live HD coverage of preseason testing, plus every F1 practice, qualifier and race. No ad breaks.

Fans in the US can subscribe to F1 TV Pro for just $10.99 a month or $84.99 per year, while those in the Netherlands can snag it for just €11.90 a month.

In India, F1 TV Pro is just $3.99 a month or $29.99 a year after the 7-day free trial.

The service is available in over 188 countries – but not the UK (you can use the basic 'Access' version for live timings but you can't watch any races live).

F1 TV Pro is available via the F1 TV website, iOS/Android apps, Roku TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Google TV and other mobile devices.

Latest F1 TV Pro prices:

• F1 TV Pro in India – $3.99/month (cheapest)
• F1 TV Pro in South Africa – $4.99/month
• F1 TV Pro in Brazil – $5.99/month
• F1 TV Pro in Netherlands – €11.90/month
• F1 TV Pro in USA – $10.99/month
• F1 TV Pro in Mexico – $129/month

Watch F1 preseason testing live streams in the USA

In the USA, all three days of preseason testing are being ahown on ESPN Plus.

Watch F1 preseason testing live stream in Australia

Preseason testing, plus every race of the 2025 F1 season will be live streamed on Kayo Sports in 4K via Fox Sports. Kayo offers new customers a FREE 7-day trial to test the waters, after which it starts at AU$25 a month for the base subscription tier, Kayo One. For simultaneous streaming on up to two devices, you'll need the Kayo Basic plan for AU$35 a month.

Subscribers can also stream the action via Foxtel Now by adding the Sports package ($30 a month).

Watch F1 preseason testing live stream in UK

In the UK, you can watch F1 preseason testing on Sky Sports F1 on TV and via Sky Go for on-the-go streaming.

Coverage will start at 6.50am GMT every morning, and each evening they'll sum up the day's action in Testing Wrap (8pm) and Ted's Testing Notebok (8.30pm).

If you don't currently have Sky Sports, packages start at £20/month on top of your regular Sky contract. Don't want to commit? You can also watch Sky Sports via Now, which offers day passes at £14.99 or monthly subscriptions for £34.99.

Need Sky? Check out the current best Sky TV deals.

Watch F1 preseason testing live in the Netherlands

F1 TV Pro offers live coverage F1 practice, qualifiers and races in 2025.

Watch F1 preseason testing live in Spain

DAZN has the exclusive rights to show Formula 1 in Spain until the end of 2026. The streaming service will show preseason testing, practice, qualifiers and races on its exclusive DAZN F1 channel. If you want a cheap Spanish F1 stream, you know what to do...

Watch F1 preseason testing live stream in France

All live races are available to watch on French broadcaster Canal+ until 2029 – that gets you full, live coverage of the 2025 F1 season, including preseason testing, practice sessions, qualifiers and every Grand Prix.

Watch F1 preseason testing live in the rest of the world

• Feast your eyes on the best TVs
• Splash the cash on our cheap TV deals
• Our pick of the best streaming services

The much acclaimed, supremely popular but rarely discounted Apple AirPods Max have sunk to close to their lowest-ever price. While there are plenty of deals vying for your attention during October Prime Day, this is one we urge you to consider.

The premium AirPods Max launched at £549, with that tag recently tending to hover around the £499 mark in more recent times. This supreme saving, though, drops things down to £429 at Amazon, one of the lowest figures we have ever seen for the much-coveted wireless over-ears – if you opt for a silver or blue finish and don't mind having your cans fitted with the slightly outdated Lightning connector port.

Hardly a huge hardship at this price, right?

Best Apple AirPods Max deal

We hoped that Apple's recent September 2024 launch event would bring the Apple AirPods Max 2 forth into the light. It wasn't to be, meaning we will have to wait until at least 2025 to get our hands on a second-gen pair of Apple's five-star premium over-ears. Waiting is overrated, and patience isn't that much of a virtue anyway, so you could always just bite the bullet and grab a pair of the current AirPods Max right now while saving yourself a fistful of notes.

There's just one small caveat: this discount is for the Lightning version of the AirPods, so just make sure you have got your old Lightning cable knocking around and the patience to endure ever-so-slightly longer charge times. Apart from that, these are the same AirPods Max to which we awarded five stars, boasting those pristinely machined, single-piece anodised aluminium ear cups connected by a robust and stylish stainless-steel headband. They are supremely light and comfortable to wear, with touch controls that are, on the whole, a pleasure to use.

Apple installed one of its H1 chips into each of the AirPods Max's earcups, with processors analysing information from eight microphones dotted around and inside the headphones to block outside noise and tailor the sound in real time. Battery life comes in at 20 hours, but the Max also provide you with noise-cancelling, spatial audio and even support for Dolby Atmos content, plus seamless integration with other Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad and the Apple Watch.

Best of all, the Max are a stunning listen. As we state in our review, they are "both organic and precise, with lovely, subtle degradation to the tail of each note, but a definite, precise end when the (sound) is stopped. All of the notes are full and solid, lending a physicality to the recording that is missed by lesser headphones, plus a texture that makes everything that bit more moving." Detailed, subtle, refined and superbly spacious, they are the best headphones Apple has ever made.

Swim over to Amazon and catch a pair of the most coveted premium cans at a devilish discount.

MORE:

Read our original Apple AirPods Max review

These are the best over-ear headphones you can buy

The best Day 2 October Prime Day headphones and wireless earbuds deals

Dali is taking aim at the premium end of the wireless headphones market with its latest pair of over-ear cans, the IO-8. Priced at £599 / €599 / $900 / AU$999, the new over-ear headphones are set to find themselves swimming with some of the biggest sharks in the water, including the five-star Apple AirPods Max, the Focal Bathys and the Bowers & Wilkins Px8. What, then, are the IO-8 offering to set themselves apart from the pack?

The IO-8 have been designed by the same team that came up with Dali's high-end Kore range of loudspeakers, and promise to deliver high-quality sound via both a wired and a wireless connection. The new headphones feature 50mm full-range drivers with paper-fibre cone diaphragms to deliver, in Dali's words, "true hi-fi speakers for your head" which offer a "natural, relaxed sound brimming with detail".

Dali also claims that the IO-8 have been made using the same design and sound principles that made into the brand's recent Rubikore series of loudspeakers – that's a good sign, as we highly praise the Dali Rubikore 2 standmounts in our review from a month or so ago.

As with the higher-end Dali IO-12 headphones, the cans' sonic profile can be adjusted thanks to two sound modes. There is a 'hi-fi' sound profile for a purer, more authentic listen, claims Dali, while a 'bass' mode offers more lower-end heft for a punchier performance. As you would expect at this level, the Dali over-ears offer standard active noise-cancellation alongside a Transparency mode for letting surrounding noise in.

The new premium headphones offer up to 35 hours of wireless playback with ANC switched off; this falls to around 30 hours when noise cancelling is deployed. Those are solid numbers, beating the 20 standard hours offered by the AirPods Max and the 30 hours granted by the Focal Bathys. The Bluetooth codec support is impressive, too: the IO-8 offer standard AAC alongside aptX, aptX HD for supporting audio up to 24-bit/48kHz and aptX Adaptive which handles 24-bit/96kHz and lower latency rates from your device.

The headphones use real leather earpads, and radial brushed and anodised ear-cup surfaces. Those ear cups offer control over functions such as volume, playback, taking calls and adjusting noise-cancelling and sound modes. You can also listen to the headphones wired, with a USB-C cable and 3.5mm stereo mini jack offered in the box.

The DALI IO-8 are available now in two finishes – iron black or caramel white – and are priced at £599 / €599 / $900 / AU$999.

MORE:

Read our recent Dali Rubikore 2 review

These are the best audiophile headphones for serious listeners

Austrian Audio's five-star wireless headphones have finally filled a gaping hole in the over-ear market

Though they carry “Pro” in the name, Apple has long championed its top-end line of iPads as portable home entertainment devices, billing them as ideal for discerning movie fans as well as creative professionals. The tech giant even went so far as to describe its latest Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) as a “home cinema in your hand” when it first unveiled the device. 

While we have heard claims like this many times before from other brands, Apple is unique in that its hardware delivers the goods in the real world, with the iPad offering the best picture quality we have seen on a screen this size in quite some time during testing. 

The only downside is that, while good enough for catching up on the latest episode of The Great Pottery Throwdown or Ru Paul’s Drag Race All Stars, the tiny inbuilt speakers can’t do justice to a decent movie – especially one with Dolby Atmos surround sound. That's why we suggest this pairing of Apple’s best premium iPad with its five-star wireless over-ear headphones, the premium AirPods Max, to create a truly great portable home cinema system. 

Why the AirPods Max specifically, rather than any other five-star headphones, such as our Product of the Year Award-winning (and more affordable) Sony WH-1000XM5? It comes down to Apple’s famous Walled Garden approach to designing its own iOS ecosystem, which helps the iPad Pro and AirPods Max perfectly complement one another – especially when used as a portable home cinema set-up.

The perfect portable system

• Headphones: Apple AirPods Max (£499 / $599 / AU$899)
• Tablet: Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) (£1299 / $1299 / AU$1699
• Total price: £1748 / $1898 / AU$2598

Tablet: Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M4)

Apple's iPads have been a staple in our best tablets for movies buying guide for quite some time, but even by these high standards the Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) proved to be something special when we reviewed it earlier this year.

The tablet’s most interesting feature is its "tandem OLED" screen. This is the first iPad to have an OLED panel and, in true Apple style, it’s not a "normal" version of the technology. Specifically, Apple has loaded the iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) with two OLED panels that, as the name suggests, run in tandem on top of each other. 

The design aims to let the iPad offer the pixel-level contrast and perfect blacks that OLED is prized for, but with a much higher peak brightness than is traditionally possible with the technology. Specifically, Apple lists the iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) as offering 1600 nits with HDR highlights and 1000 nits of full-screen brightness thanks to the tandem OLED arrangement. (A nit is a measurement of luminance – a higher number indicates a brighter picture.)

That doesn’t put it on a par with a current-gen flagship OLED TV with micro lens array or QD-OLED hardware – these can hit over 3000 nits peak brightness – but it is still impressive considering most OLEDs struggled to break the 600 nits mark even a couple of years ago. 

The hardware works a treat. Whether it's playing Napoleon via Apple TV+ or streaming Blade Runner 2049 on Amazon Prime Video, the iPad delivers a richly cinematic picture full of contrast. That's why we heaped praise on it in our iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) review, concluding:

“All told, this is a spectacular picture performance that combines pop and dynamism with superb subtlety and cinematic richness, resulting in a portable movie experience that is a match for the best home cinema displays.”

The only downside is that Apple hasn’t put a lot of work into the new iPad Pro’s speakers – that's somewhat understandable as they are still good performers by tablet standards. If you are sitting squarely in front of the iPad in quiet conditions, the audio is spacious and comes with decent clarity for casual viewing. Yet there is no form of Apple spatial audio (powered by Dolby Atmos) and the low end is a little too weak to create a truly immersive experience when watching movies. 

Headphones: Apple AirPods Max

Enter the Apple AirPods Max, Apple’s flagship, and first, pair of premium wireless over-ear headphones. The pair we have here is the original model released in 2020; Apple has just refreshed the AirPods Max for 2024, bringing with it USB-C connection (instead of the older Lightning connection port) and new colours. We haven't tested the new 2024 model yet, although Apple hasn't made any announcements about changes to the sound. While you can still buy the original Max at various retailers, Apple officially only sells the refreshed, USB-C-toting AirPods Max 2024 now.

We have documented how good the AirPods Max are for general music listening many times. When paired with an Apple source and a decent quality stream, the AirPods Max delivers engaging, spacious and authentic results that will delight music fans.

What earns them a place in this system is their brilliant performance as a pair of home cinema headphones. Paired with the iPad Pro 13-inch (M4), the AirPods Max offer a variety of features you won’t find on competing wireless headphones, the biggest of which is spatial audio. 

Spatial audio is a surround-sound technology specific to Apple devices and services that is powered by Dolby Atmos. It lets the AirPods Max offer 5.1, 7.1 and Atmos virtual surround sound when paired with a compatible Apple source. 

On top of that, our clever combination also features dynamic head tracking technology. This does what it says on the tin, adjusting the audio depending on your head’s movements and position to ensure the sound always maintains a realistic sense of direction.

Apple isn’t the only brand to offer this. The Sonos Ace headphones attempt to do a similar thing, but require a compatible Sonos soundbar rather than an Apple source to work. Bose also has head tracking in its flagship QuietComfort Ultra Headphones; after testing them all, we can confirm that Apple is the only one to really nail its execution and deliver a properly great portable surround-sound experience with its headphones.

As we state in our AirPods Max review: “This is something you don’t get from rival models, as you need that collaboration between the source and the headphones. Simply put, combining an iPad with a pair of AirPods Max headphones gets you the most convincing portable cinema experience that we can think of.”

Verdict

It is for the reasons above that we have built this system and wholeheartedly recommend it as the best portable home cinema money can buy. It’s the perfect (if pricey) option for everyone from frequent flyers to night owls who like to binge films in bed, offering the rich picture quality of the iPad Pro M4 combined with the sonic excellence of the five-star AirPods Max. For Apple fans who love to take their movies on the go, this setup is very tough to beat.

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When Apple launched the AirPods Max in December 2020, they quickly became a staple in our best wireless headphones buying guide. Now, four years on, Apple has finally updated its premium over-ear headphones. But are the changes in the new AirPods Max 2024 (or AirPods Max 2, if you prefer) enough to warrant an upgrade? 

While we’ve yet to review the new AirPods Max 2024 formally, we’ve still compared both headphones below, based on the official specs and everything we know. The fact that they’re both almost identical also means that we have a pretty solid idea of what to expect in terms of sound quality though, rest assured, we’ll be updating this comparison following our full AirPods Max 2024 review. Until then, however, it’s time to dive in…

Apple AirPods Max vs AirPods Max 2024: price and release date

The original AirPods Max launched at $549 / £549 / AU$899, positioning themselves firmly in the premium headphones market. Currently, you can snap up the original AirPods Max for less than the launch price – in the UK, for example, they’re available on Amazon for £499. As for the AirPods Max 2024, they’ll be available on 20 September for $549 / £499 / AU$899. UK buyers, it seems, are treated to a lower launch price, which is a nice bonus.

Ultimately, given the same asking price across most regions, there’s no reason not to choose the newer AirPods Max if you’re in the market for some Apple over-ears. If you’ve already got the original model though, then forking out the same amount of cash will depend on how the headphones themselves stack up against each other. 

**Winner: AirPods Max 2024**

Apple AirPods Max vs AirPods Max 2024: design and build

When it comes to design, Apple has largely stuck to its guns. Both the original and 2024 AirPods Max feature the same distinctive look – a sleek combination of aluminium earcups connected to a stainless steel headband via telescopic arms. The mesh canopy that forms the headband remains unchanged, providing comfort without the need for more traditional padding.

The earcups on both models are generously sized and feature removable magnetic cushions for easy replacement or cleaning. Neither version is foldable, which may disappoint frequent travellers, though the earcups can rotate to lie flat, which is something at least.

The most noticeable visual change in the 2024 model, is the range of new colours. While the original AirPods Max were available in space grey, silver, green, pink, and sky blue, the 2024 version introduces midnight, starlight, blue, purple, and orange options. This refresh aligns the AirPods Max more closely with Apple's current product colour palette.

In terms of build quality and materials used, both generations seem identical, although we'll need to get them in-hand to be 100% sure. They also share the same dimensions (187.3 x 168.6 x 83.4 mm) and weight (384.8g).

**Winner: TBC**

Apple AirPods Max vs AirPods Max 2024: features, battery life, and specs 

The most significant change in the AirPods Max 2024 model is the switch from a Lightning port to USB-C for charging and wired audio connections. This aligns the AirPods Max with Apple's broader move towards USB-C across its product line, and will be the single most compelling reason for existing owners to upgrade  — albeit a very minimal one. 

As for battery life, both generations of AirPods Max offer up to 20 hours of listening time with ANC enabled – a respectable figure for over-ear wireless headphones. They also both support fast charging, providing about 1.5 hours of use from a five-minute charge.

The original AirPods Max are powered by Apple's H1 chip, one in each earcup. And the same goes for the new 2024 model. If you’re disappointed, we don’t blame you. After all, we’re sure we weren’t the only ones hoping for an Apple H2 audio processor chip upgrade, considering it’s already present in the AirPods Pro 2 and new AirPods 4. 

That letdown aside, the H1 chip is still no slouch, and handles the audio processing, including Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Transparency mode, and Adaptive EQ — all of which impressed in our original AirPods Max review. Both AirPods Max models also support Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking.

The control scheme also remains unchanged, with a Digital Crown for volume adjustment and various functions, and a dedicated button for switching between ANC and Transparency modes. Voice control via "Hey Siri" is available on both models, as you’d expect. Both versions also feature the same array of sensors, along with nine microphones in total, used for a combination of noise-cancelling and voice-pickup duties.

**Winner: AirPods Max 2024**

Apple AirPods Max vs AirPods Max 2024: sound quality

Without having tested the second-generation AirPods Max, we can't make definitive comparisons in terms of sound quality. However, given that Apple hasn't mentioned any audio improvements and the internal components appear to be identical, we can reasonably assume that the excellent sound signature remains largely unchanged.

The original AirPods Max impressed us with their audio quality, offering a clean, well-balanced sound with impressive detail and spaciousness. If the 2024 model maintains this level of performance, it should continue to satisfy discerning listeners.

One notable omission in the newer update, by the way, is support for lossless audio. Despite Apple Music offering lossless tracks since 2021, neither generation of AirPods Max can take full advantage of this higher-quality audio, even when connected via a cable. Sad times.

**Winner: TBC**

Apple AirPods Max vs AirPods Max 2024: early verdict

The 2024 update to the AirPods Max is more of a refresh than a revolution. For some, the switch to USB-C will be long overdue, bringing added convenience to charging and connectivity. The new colour options also offer more choice for style-conscious users.

However, the lack of more substantial upgrades – particularly the newer H2 chip and support for lossless audio – may disappoint those who were hoping for a more significant leap forward. The absence of any mentioned improvements to sound quality or ANC performance also makes it hard to recommend the 2024 model over its predecessor for purely sonic reasons. However, this might change once we've had an opportunity to listen to the two different models side-by-side.

If you already own the original AirPods Max and are happy with them, there's little reason to upgrade unless you're particularly drawn to the new colours or the USB-C port. For new buyers, the decision may come down to price – if you can find the original model at a significant discount, it might represent better value.

Ultimately, we’ll have to wait for our full AirPods Max 2024 review for our definitive verdict, so watch this space…

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Of all of the AirPods I own, it's actually the AirPods 3 that I use the most. The AirPods Max are unsurprisingly my favourites from a sound quality point of view and what I use when at my desk, but they're just too big and cumbersome to be taken absolutely everywhere. The AirPods Pro, on the other hand, are really portable and offer high-quality sound and active noise cancellation, but I find that they work their way out of my ears a little too easily.

I also have this seemingly unusual desire to be vaguely aware of what's going on around me when I'm out and about, so I don't love using isolating headphones when walking or jogging across London. I am of course well aware that both the AirPods Max and the AirPods Pro have a 'Transparency' mode that pumps external noise through to your ears, but this doesn't always sound entirely natural to me.

All of which explains why I use the AirPods 3 so much. The open-ear design allows some external noise to get to me in a natural way, I find them super-comfortable and they're obviously super-portable, and while the sound quality clearly isn't up there with that of the AirPods Pro or Max, it's good enough, particularly as much of my listening is to podcasts.

However, from time to time I do still crave a little bit of noise-cancelling. On the noisy Bakerloo Line of the London Underground, for example, or when I'm cooking and need to block out my ridiculously noisy cooker hood (I really must get that changed). That's why I'm really rather excited about the new AirPods 4 with ANC which, along with a host of apparent sonic upgrades, feature (as the name suggests) active noise cancelling.

Now, I'm not sure how well the noise cancelling is going to work, seeing as the open-ear design remains, but it doesn't have to be perfect for me. The open-ear design really matters to me, and I don't mind dealing with average noise cancellation in order to keep that.

Of course, all of this depends on whether the AirPods 4 actually sound good, which we won't know until we get a pair in for a full review. Stay tuned for that.

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Apple unveiled an update to its five-star, award-winning AirPods Max wireless headphones at its September iPhone launch event, ending months of speculation about its plans for the line.

This would normally be a cause for excitement at What Hi-Fi? towers, with Apple's first generation over-ears remaining a stellar option for iPhone and MacBook users, but my immediate reaction to the launch was disappointment.

Why? Because rather than the holistic next generation AirPods Max 2 rumoured to launch alongside the iPhone 16 and new AirPods 4 earbuds, we got a very tepid refresh. The only upgrades include three new colours (blue, purple and orange) and a shift to use USB C charging, rather than Apple’s ageing Lightning connector.

Are these upgrades bad? No, I am willing to put my head above the parapet and admit I am particularly drawn to the orange option. The inclusion of USB C is also a good quality of life improvement that will reduce the number of cables you need to carry around.

But they don’t address key issues that are becoming more and more noticeable as the years roll on. The biggest is the fact they haven’t been updated to offer lossless playback. This feels like a really odd omission given that Apple Music has offered lossless audio quality tracks since 2021 and adding the capability could have made the already great sounding headphones so much better – trust us, lossless makes a difference when done right.

However, as my disappointment built up I realised I wasn’t surprised for one simple reason: the first generation AirPods Max are still among the best wireless headphones available for audio quality in their class, especially for Apple users. 

Though they require a compatible Apple source to unlock features, including Apple Spatial Audio (powered by Dolby Atmos), the first generation AirPods Max are so good, we continue to use them as a benchmark for quality during comparative testing. This was the case when we reviewed the Sonos Ace and Dyson OnTrac earlier this year.

And in this instance, running them head-to-head, we found the AirPods Max are still excellent, offering superb audio and noise-cancelling that was a cut above what the new headphones offered.

Apple’s also clearly aware of this as its reps’ boasted the AirPods Max will offer the same “highest fidelity sound quality” and “personalised spatial audio for film and music” as the first generation, rather than focus on any improvements.

With that in mind, it makes sense that Apple engineers don’t feel the need to do a holistic, back to the drawing board update yet. Why bother when the first generation are still doing so well and it’s easier to do a minor cosmetic, quality-of-life update?

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Apple has launched new AirPods Max over-ear wireless headphones at its September 2024 event.

The over-ear headphones were unveiled by CEO Tim Cook alongside the iPhone 16 line of phones and AirPods 4 wireless earbuds. The updated model appears to be a very modest tweak to the first-generation AirPods Max rather than a completely new model.

They have the exact same design, with the only difference being a switch from the old Lightning connector to USB-C connectivity and a wealth of new colour options. These include new midnight (blue), starlight (purple) and orange options.

The shift to USB-C will be welcome, but sadly it appears Apple hasn’t made any wider improvements, instead promising they would continue to offer the same “highest fidelity sound quality” and “personalised spatial audio for film and music” as the first generation. The new version will also retail for the same $549 as the original AirPods Max when they launch in September. They will cost £499 in the UK.

This goes against past rumblings that the company would launch a more significant next generation of its wireless headphones, commonly referred to in pre-event rumours as the AirPods Max 2.

These were expected to address some shortcomings of the original, like their inability to offer lossless audio, even when cable connected to a compatible Apple source. This has long been a desired feature among the What Hi-Fi? reviews team, due to the fact Apple added lossless audio quality tracks to Apple Music in 2021. The lack of an upgrade to support lossless feels like a key omission as a result.

We haven’t had a chance to test the AirPods Max yet to check if there have been any sonic improvements. But even if there have not been, if they can match the original AirPods Max for audio quality, they should remain a solid option for Apple fans. 

The original AirPods Max launched in 2020 and, despite their age, remain a staple part of our best wireless headphones buying guide and a step above many rivals, including the new Sonos Ace and Dyson OnTrac, when it comes to audio quality.

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Happy iPhone 16 launch day! That’s right, Apple’s annual product extravaganza has just finished and we've got all the news hot off the press.

In the build-up to this year’s ‘Glowtime’ event, the internet was awash with rumours, not just about its new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. And, while new iPhones have indeed landed, it's been a big(ish) night for Apple’s AirPods with the introduction of a brand new model and updates to two of its other models.

You can read all about the key announcements as they happened via our live blog below. And, we've also included links to all our relevant product preview pages if you want to read about the announcements in greater depth.

Apple iPhone 16 event: key announcements

• iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro: more powerful processors, new screen sizes and a new camera button design
• AirPods 4: new, more comfortable design, new acoustic architecture, $129/£129
• AirPods 4 with ANC: new variant with active noise-cancelling, $179/£179

Greetings! Andy Madden here, kick-starting What Hi-Fi's coverage of today’s Apple 'Glowtime' event. It looks set to be a busy day dominated by iPhone announcements, but I’m expecting big news on the AirPods front too, with the potential for a refresh of its entire line! Also, there’s always the potential for Apple to throw an AV curveball, which we’ll be keeping an eye on. So, without further ado…

AirPods Max 2 looking more likely?

While the much-rumoured AirPods 4 seem almost certain to be unveiled at today's Apple event, in the past 24 hours, the odds of the AirPods Max 2 appearing have shortened considerably.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who many consider to be an authority on Apple, claims they will be on the agenda with "better noise cancellation, adaptive audio & USB-C". Given the original AirPods Max went on sale back in December 2020, this won't come as a surprise to many. The market has moved on a long way and despite still being excellent wireless headphones, Apple now has several key rivals to contend with from the likes of Bose, Bowers & Wilkins and Focal.

We'd expect a new chip would be needed to boost the ANC of the headphones but whether Apple would tinker with the physical appearance of the headphones? We're not so sure. Head over to our AirPods Max review to see just how highly we rate these five-star headphones.

What will AirPods 4 look like?

The current AirPods 3 launched back in September 2021 and were quite the redesign compared to the AirPods 2 that went before them. We also found they offered a jump in sound quality compared to the second-gen model. Will the AirPods 4 change things?

We haven't seen much in terms of redesign rumours but you'd have to think at the very least we'll see a new processor for the buds. The introduction of the H2 chip from the AirPods Pro 2 could bring improvements to battery life, sound quality and ease of use, but could Apple go the whole hog and introduce noise-cancelling?

Surely, Apple will still want some separation between any new AirPods and its premium ANC earbuds?

R.I.P. AirPods 2 hello AirPods Lite?

New, cheap AirPods have been rumoured for some time now, but Apple seems to have been more than happy to keep the 2nd-Gen AirPods ticking over. If you thought the AirPods Max were old, these earbuds are positively prehistoric and launched back in 2019.

Not only are they a little long in the tooth, but they also feel expensive compared to some of the best cheap wireless earbuds we've tested in recent times. Industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple is trying to hit the $99 mark for its cheapest AirPods which would be quite the story.

Besides price, the other big question is could Apple redesign new cheap AirPods so they look (and sound) more like the AirPods 3? The AirPods (2019) didn't offer the most secure first for a lot of users, so a revamped design might be a welcome change.

The Apple store is down!

I repeat, the Apple store is down! You know it's Apple event day when you click to buy something and you're greeted with words: ‘Be right back. We’re making changes to the Apple Store. Check back soon.’ We all know what that means...

iPhone 16 rumours overview...

The Internet is awash with iPhone 16 rumours and expectations, so we'll run you through some of the key ones...

Unsurprisingly, all fingers are pointing towards four models: iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. It's rumoured Apple's A18 chip will be the big talking point and that the iPhone 16 Pro models could have bigger screens than the non-Pros, with the iPhone 16 Pro screen rumoured to be 6.3 inches (up from 6.1 inches) and the iPhone 16 Pro Max measuring 6.9 inches (up from 6.7 inches).

We could wave goodbye to traditional push buttons with new capacitive buttons making an appearance for the first time.

The iPhone 16 Pro’s camera zoom is expected to increase to 5x (up from 3x on the 15 Pro), while the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s ultrawide camera is expected to increase to 48MP (from 12MP). The vertical rear camera on the non-Pro models is rumoured to be able to record spatial video, compatible with Apple Vision Pro.

And finally, it's expected that AI features (dubbed Apple Intelligence) won’t be available at launch but should come with iOS 18.1 in October.

Will the pricing be right?

While it's fair to say price hikes won't be out of the equation for any of the new products unveiled tonight, Apple's pricing hasn't fluctuated too wildly in the past couple of years.

For example, Apple managed to keep the prices of the iPhone 15 and AirPods Pro 2 down when they both launched. And in another recent post from Mark Gurman on 'X' he states he expects the 16 Pro starting price to be the same $999 as the iPhone 15 Pro.

In the UK, the iPhone 15 Pro starts at £999, and in Australia it’s AU$1749. If Gurman is on the money, we would expect international pricing to remain the same too.

Could we see a new Apple TV 4K or HomePod?

While there's been plenty of internet chatter about new iPhones and AirPods, what haven't we heard about? The Apple TV 4k is comfortably the best streamer we've tested and the hardware isn't missing anything tech-spec-wise. Apple could supercharge the user experience with the addition of Apple Intelligence but we think it's unlikely to unveil a brand new streaming box today.

The same goes for the Apple HomePod. We've written about a rumoured version of the wireless speaker with a screen, but that was earlier in the year and everything seems to have gone quiet on that front. Again, with all the other announcements that look set to happen today, we doubt there'll be space to squeeze in a HomePod announcement. But you never know...

Your 5 minute warning!

There's still time to make a quick cup of coffee before all the Apple festivities get underway. If you haven't been following all the news and rumours in the build-up to the event, we're expecting big things in the worlds of iPhone and AirPods and more...

Join us for the ride!

AirPods news is coming!

So, we're up and running at the Apple event. First up is the new Apple Watch Series 10 which isn't huge news in the world of What Hi-Fi? but during Tim Cook's intro video, he confirmed big AirPods news is on the way. Ready yourselves!

AirPods 4 are official!

Powered by Apple's H2 chip, the new AirPods 4 come in two flavours - one with one without active noise-cancelling. They use Apple's H2 chip and also claim improved sound quality with a new audio architecture. 

Apple claims to have refined their design to create the “most comfortable AirPods ever”. They new models include personalised spatial audio which voice isolation will help remove background noise.

The AirPods 4 get a new wireless USB-C charging case (Apple's smallest ever) and total battery life of a claimed 30 hours. The standard AirPods 4 cost $129 while the ANC version costs $179. Both models start shipping September 20th.

AirPods Max get a minor upgrade

AirPods Max get a minor update with USB-C charging, new finishes and personalised spatial audio. Pricing remains the same at $549 and they start shipping on the 20th September.

AirPods Pro 2 are getting an update!

AirPods Pro 2 are getting a surprise update which includes a wealth of health upgrades including Hearing Protection, Hearing Test and a Hearing Aid feature.

iPhone 16 arrives with new finishes!

Here it is, folks. The iPhone 16 is official and available in five new finishes: blue, pink, teal, white and black. Powered by a new A18 chip, iPhone 16 uses a 2000 nits 60Hz OLED display and is available in 6.1in and 6.7in sizes. The design now includes a bigger battery and new camera button functionality for preparing the camera and taking pictures.

Don't forget the iPhone 16 Pro

Of course, there are also Pro and Pro Max versions of the iPhone 16. These handsets use a more powerful A18 Pro chipset, and feature an 'Always on', OLED ProMotion display (in 6.3- and 6.9-inch sizes) and the new camera button functionality of the non-Pro models. The range comes in black titanium, natural titanium, desert sand titanium and white titanium finishes. Good news - pricing for both models appears to be identical to their predecessors, starting at $999 for the Pro and $1199 for the Pro Max.

So, now you've had a few minutes to digest Apple's announcements, how do we feel? Do we think two variants of AirPods 4 is a good thing? How will the ANC fair on Apple's open earbuds? Will they sound better than the AirPods 3? We'll report back just as soon as we get our hands on a review sample.

And what about the AirPods Max? Their refresh is mild to say the least. New colours is nice and all that, but isn't it time we had a new version with some interesting new features? At least they can charge via USB-C now... 

Beyerdynamic is going big with headphone launches at IFA 2024, which is rather fitting considering both the German brand and German show celebrate 100 years this year. The headphone specialist is announcing not only premium wireless earbuds with a hefty 38-hour battery life but also flagship noise-cancelling over-ears that offer Dolby Atmos-powered spatial audio.

Let’s start with the latter, the $400 Aventho 300, which tick all the boxes necessary in order to pose a threat to the premium-priced class leaders such as the AirPods Max and Bose QuietComfort Ultra. Their headline feature is Atmos support with head-tracking technology, which, like their aforementioned rivals, offers a more immersive, three-dimensional listening experience than traditional stereo that can adapt as the listener’s head moves. 

More ‘standard’ albeit arguably more desirable is the Aventho 300’s inclusion of active noise cancellation (ANC), which is powered by dual Sony chipsets on either side of the headphones and features a Transparency Mode so that users can temporarily be aware of their surroundings when they need to without having to take off the over-ears.

• Read our hands-on review of the Beyerdynamic Aventho 300

A very respectable – and indeed above-par – battery life of 50 hours bolsters the spec sheet further and is complemented by a 10-minute fast charge that provides up to five hours of playtime. 

While we won’t know how the Aventho 300 perform against their competitors until they become available in the coming weeks, they look as promising on paper as they probably could. Firstly, their engineering is based around Beyerdynamic’s Stellar.45 drivers, which are found in its five-star DT 700 Pro X and DT 900 Pro X, the latter of which made our pick of the best Beyerdynamic headphones in its 100-year history. Secondly, the Aventho 300 support aptX Lossless, which is theoretically among the highest-quality Bluetooth transmission codecs available.

Speaking of Bluetooth, the latest 5.4 specification is supported here, ensuring Multipoint Bluetooth is on the menu for connecting two devices to the headphones simultaneously. Wired listening is naturally offered via a 3.5mm jack and cable, although a blot on their otherwise immaculate spec sheet does appear to be that their USB-C port is for charging only – not listening.

Beyerdynamic is shouting about its new app, which offers a five-band equalizer and genre-specific presets and is an accessory for both these new wireless headphones and the company’s latest wireless earbuds.

Speaking of which, the Amiron 300 also aim for the market’s big-hitters with a price tag of $280. Their stellar battery life is 38 hours in total (10 hours are held in the earbuds; 28 can be stored in the Qi-compatible charging case). A 10-minute quick-charge handily provides two hours of playback.

As you’d expect for their price, the new Beyer buds pack ANC, which is customisable and automatically adapts to your surroundings. They too have a Transparency Mode and support Multipoint Bluetooth, while a generous provision of five sets of eartips and a flat-back earbud housing should help with fit and comfort.

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Noble Audio is known for its high-end earbuds, many of which wouldn’t look out of place in a gemstone collection, but after more than a decade in the IEM business it is today spreading its wing further into the headphones market with its first pair of over-ears. The FoKus Apollo are premium wireless models with active noise cancellation, with a £599 / $649 / AU$tbc price tag putting them in the firing line of the five-star Apple AirPods Max, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones and Focal Bathys.

They look to justify that eminent position on paper with a generous 80-hour battery life; Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX HD and LDAC codec support and Bluetooth Multipoint; a design featuring aluminium (frame), Alcantara (headband) and pleather (earpads); and, most importantly, a unique driver arrangement. Indeed, they look to stand out from the crowd by being the first to use a hybrid dynamic and planar magnetic driver.

Noble has patented its 40mm dynamic and 14.5mm planar magnetic hybrid, which it says produces “a stunningly blissful audio experience like no other” – one that delivers the former driver type’s bass quality alongside the latter’s clarity for best-of-both-worlds performance.

The use of three microphones on each cup supposedly helps the hybrid ANC system reduce up to 35 decibels of noise. The increasingly universal transparency mode, which temporarily amplifies external sounds to allow users to hear, say, train announcements or traffic, is present too. And the FocKus Apollo are good for 60 hours of battery life with ANC activated (or an extra 20 hours when it isn’t) – a level of endurance up there with the very best.

Realising that built-in mics can only do so much when it comes to voice call clarity, Noble is also supplying a removable boom mic in the box – particularly handy for those who use wireless headphones for gaming or work calls, then. Also in the box is a 3.5mm auxiliary cable for wired listening (with a flight adaptor), a USB-C cable for charging, and a carry case.

The Noble FoKus Apollo go on sale today.

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Want to know how to connect two AirPods to your iPhone at the same time? You’re in the right place.

Gone are the days of sharing a single pair of earbuds to listen to music with a friend, destroying the stereo experience and immersion of your favourite tunes. Today, Apple's handy audio-sharing feature allows you to connect two pairs of AirPods (or other compatible headphones) to a single iPhone or iPad, letting you and a friend enjoy the same audio in full, glorious stereo. It’s not complicated either. Honest. Here's how to do it in five straightforward steps:

How to connect two pairs of AirPods to your iPhone

1. Pair the first set of AirPods

To begin, connect the first pair of AirPods to your iPhone or iPad. If you've already set them up, this should be as simple as putting them in your ears. If you're having trouble connecting, a quick reset should resolve any issues.

2. Access the Control Center

With your first pair of AirPods connected, swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone or iPad's screen to bring up the Control Center. This menu is where you'll find the audio-sharing options.

3. Tap the audio-sharing button

In the Control Center, locate the AirPlay icon. Tap it, and you'll see the option to Share Audio. Select this to proceed to the next step.

4. Bring the second pair of AirPods close to your device

Now for the key part — if you're using a second pair of AirPods or AirPods Pro, keep them in their case and bring them close to your iPhone or iPad. For AirPods Max, simply hold them near your device. If you're using compatible Beats headphones, put them into pairing mode before bringing them close to your device.

5. Confirm the connection

When your device detects the second pair of headphones, you'll see a pop-up. Tap Share Audio once more, and you're all set.

Once connected, both you and your listening partner can adjust your volume levels individually via the Control Center or directly on your AirPods, ensuring a personalised listening experience.

6. Sayonara

When you're ready to disconnect, simply swipe down to reveal the Control Center, tap the AirPlay icon, and deselect the pair of headphones you wish to disconnect.

And that’s all there is to it. It’s a particularly useful feature for watching films on long journeys, sharing podcast recommendations, or listening to music together — all without, crucially, compromising on sound quality or personal space.

Compatible devices and headphones

Before you dive into the steps above, it's also worth checking if your devices are compatible with Apple’s audio-sharing feature. For starters, audio-sharing only works on the following devices running iOS 13 or later:

• iPhone 8 and newer models
• iPad Pro (2nd generation 12.9-inch and newer)
• iPad Pro 11-inch
• iPad Pro 10.5-inch
• iPad Air (3rd generation and newer)
• iPad mini (5th generation and newer)
• iPad (5th generation and newer)
• iPod touch (7th generation)

As for headphones, the following models support audio sharing:

• AirPods (all generations)
• AirPods Pro (all generations)
• AirPods Max
• Beats Solo Pro
• Beats Studio3 Wireless
• Beats Solo3 Wireless
• Powerbeats Pro
• Powerbeats3 Wireless
• BeatsX
• Beats Flex
• Beats Fit Pro

If you've got one of the devices above, you're ready to rock. Enjoy sharing your tunes with your trusted partner of choice, without compromising on sound quality.

MORE: 

Read our AirPods Pro 2 review

Pixel Buds Pro 2 vs AirPods Pro 2: how do Google's new wireless earbuds shape up against Apple's best?

This portable DAC helped me get my hi-fi ‘Mojo’ back

The wireless headphones market is so competitive that, to stand out, you really need to offer something unique. Dyson – yes, that Dyson – has decided it has the answer. The Dyson OnTrac is a bold new pair of premium wireless headphones that offers an outstanding battery life and colourful customisation options that we’ve never seen before. It’s an exciting proposition… 

Price

Dyson’s positioning of the OnTrac over-ear headphones at the premium end of the market is a clear sign of its ambitions. Costing £450 / $500 / AU$799, the OnTrac faces formidable competition from the likes of the Apple AirPods Max (originally launching at £549 / $549 / AU$899 and now regularly seen for £499) and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (£450 / $429 / AU$649, down to £379). Both models have remained five-star powerhouses ever since their respective launches, and it will take some doing to match and beat their impressive levels of sound quality, noise-cancelling, design and features. 

Most recently, the Sonos Ace headphones launched at a similar price of £449 / $449 / AU$699, and it found out the hard way just how high the standards are and how fierce the competition is at this premium price range. 

Design & customisation

Let’s tackle the most obvious and eye-catching aspect of the Dyson OnTrac first, before we get into the finer details. The design of these OnTrac headphones is bold and loud even before we get to the various customisations on offer, which include being able to swap out the outer ear caps and ear cushions for different colours.

The OnTrac come in four main body finishes: CNC black nickel, CNC aluminium, CNC copper and ceramic cinnabar. Our review sample is the copper model – dark blue headband and ear cushions with shiny copper outer ear caps. Dyson also provided us with an extra set of ceramic cinnabar (a matte red-orange) outer ear caps and a pair of chrome yellow ear cushions to try out. 

Dyson has opted for a simple twist-and-lock method of attaching the caps and cushions, rather than, say, magnetic attachment. Each outer cap is machined intricately and feels well built. The twist-and-lock method is easy to get to grips with and the caps fit on securely. We love seeing the structure of the headphones themselves exposed when the caps and cushions are removed. The blueprint design – showing where the mics and buttons are – and seeing the drivers revealed is both appealing and informative. 

You can change the entire feel of the headphones depending on the colours you choose. Our standard blue/copper finish looked rather smart and didn’t stand out as much as when we switched to the more cartoonish, Fisher-Price look of the cinnabar/yellow combination. 

There is scope to customise the Dysons to look as sleek or as garish as you want. You get seven choices each for the outer caps and the ear cushions, including a subtle khaki green and very bright sky blue. Swapping out the caps yourselves is also just a lot of fun: it’s a level of interaction and personalisation you don’t get with headphones, bar replacing old ear cushions, and brings out the Meccano-loving child in you.

The one caveat? The extra caps and cushions are pricey, at £50 / $50 per pair. We wish Dyson would include an extra pair or at least give a discount when buying the OnTrac headphones, but £50 / $50 per colour is quite a lot, on top of that premium price tag. You’ll have to have fairly deep pockets if you want a selection of colours to play with. We imagine most people will simply buy one additional pair for the novelty factor.

Build & comfort

The customisable, swappable aspect means that the Dyson OnTrac do have a mechanical look compared with more seamless luxury designs. The build quality is sturdy. The over-ears have a robust structure with neatly machined hinges and a cushioned headband, with ample adjustment to fit the various head sizes within our review team. There are two battery packs on either side of the headband to offer an even weight distribution across the band, and this is managed well, with no undue pressure on any part of our heads. The clamping pressure is nicely judged; the cans feel secure and stay put, even when we are on the move. 

The ear cushions are larger and plusher than most models, too. The aim was to deliver a good standard of passive noise isolation even with active noise cancelling (ANC) off, says Dyson, while also delivering long-lasting comfort. And despite their large size, these headphones are very comfortable – the ear pads are roomy and cushion our heads with velvety comfort. 

The downside, however, is that our ears get warm fairly quickly thanks to those oversized cushions and the microfibre material. Nice as they are, we think they need to be a more breathable fabric. We tested these Dyson over-ears during the height of summer and it didn’t take long for our ears to get sweaty when walking, but they heated up even when sitting still at our desks in a cool room.

In comparison, the AirPods Max ooze luxury and offer a firm clamping pressure (albeit a bit too much at times, especially if you wear glasses), and the Bose are a better-balanced and more practical portable design. Neither heats up our ears as much as the Dyson does in such a short time, and they still manage to deliver effective ANC. The Bose also fold up, whereas the Apple and Dyson models only fold down flat. 

There’s no getting around the fact you will always be aware that you are wearing a pair of rather chunky headphones with the Dysons. Weighing 451g, the OnTrac are considerably heavier than the AirPods Max (385g) while the Bose QC Ultra Headphones are positively featherlight at 250g. For headphones designed for portable use rather than home use, we find the OnTrac are simply too bulky compared with their peers. It’s a puzzling design decision when nearly every other headphone brand has recognised the need to go more svelte and lightweight. The Bose can be easily slung around your neck, but the OnTrac’s large, round earcups can be cumbersome, to the point that our chin gets engulfed in the big cushions when resting around our neck. Perhaps a bit of everyday practicality has been compromised in search of ultimate noise reduction.

We like that Dyson has offered a combination of physical buttons and gesture controls, and these are simple enough to use. There’s one button for power and Bluetooth pairing, and the other is a multi-function joystick for playback and volume control. The joystick button is a great idea, but we find it’s just a little too small and can be fiddly to use. Moving the button left or right to skip tracks and pushing it to play/pause songs (and summon voice assistants) works fine, but pushing it up or down to change volume is less successful. The movement just isn’t as responsive or as precise as we’d like at this level.

You can double-tap on the earcups to swap between full ANC and Transparency mode – but bear in mind you’ll need to fire up the MyDyson app to turn ANC off entirely. It’s a good shortcut when travelling between noisy and quiet environments, but you really need to tap hard twice to make the action stick. You’ll hear a “whoomp” sound when it swaps over, but we wish this action was a bit more sensitive.

Features

The other (and arguably more useful) outstanding feature of the Dyson OnTrac is their whopping great battery life of 55 hours, with ANC turned on. That’s a huge amount of playtime, and we’ve barely made a dent in our week of testing. With moderate use – a mix of music, podcasts and voice calls every day – we still have 70 per cent of battery life left. For frequent flyers who can’t do without a pair of headphones to accompany them for a 24-hour trip (and back), these Dysons will certainly last the full journey. They leave the competition in the dust: Bose offers 24 hours, Apple a mere 20 hours, while Sonos Ace and Sony WH-100XM5 manage 30 hours.

You get a 1.2m braided USB-C cable in the box, and a 10-minute charge will give you 2.5 hours of juice. This cable is just for charging, not for wired listening; you’ll need to buy a separate adapter to use these cans wired. A collapsible carry case is also provided, giving decent protection against the elements.

The OnTrac have a head-detect feature that automatically pauses music when you take the headphones off and resumes playing when put back on. This works brilliantly, every time. The Dysons also automatically turn off after 30 minutes of inactivity to save their already considerable battery.

As far as extra features go, the Dyson OnTrac are a bit light on that front, and they feel as though they’re lagging a bit behind the times compared with fresh rivals. These headphones run on the older Bluetooth 5.0 – which is perfectly fine for a stable connection, but it does mean that certain features we’ve come to expect from premium wireless headphones are missing. The most glaring omission is Bluetooth multi-point, which offers seamless switching between two devices – a feature we constantly use during daily video meetings and music listening sessions. It may sound like a first-world problem, but having to manually re-connect the Dysons when switching from your phone to your laptop and back again feels like a backward step. Conversely, the Bose QC Ultra Headphones (Bluetooth 5.3) make this process so easy, and while the four-years-old AirPods Max also run on 5.0, they have the benefit of the H1 chip that makes connecting to iOS devices slick and seamless in comparison.

In terms of audio codecs, the basic SBC and AAC codecs are supported, as is the lesser-known 24-bit LHDC codec. There’s also no spatial audio support, although we don’t really miss it here, but it’s one to keep in mind if you’re a fan of the immersive format. You can’t customise the on-ear controls, nor are there any adjustments for the noise-cancelling or transparency modes. 

You do, however, get three EQ presets: Neutral, Enhanced, Bass Boost. We found that Neutral sounded the most balanced and even, Enhanced gave an energetic lift that was appealing, while Bass Boost is too boomy and unbalanced.

One clever feature you do get in the MyDyson app is the real-time “sound exposure” graph. This monitors the amount of in-ear and external noise you’re hearing when wearing the OnTrac, and displays any sudden or harmful peaks in sound levels. It’s an interesting bit of information you don’t get with any other headphone brand, and it can be fascinating to monitor over a long period of time. In fact, the only time the graph went over the recommended limit was when we had to tap hard to get the ANC gesture control working on the ear cups… 

ANC & call quality

If the lack of any exciting features has dulled the lustre of these Dyson headphones, their active noise-cancelling (ANC) talents should draw you back in. Dyson has made big claims about its noise-cancelling abilities: eight mics that monitor noise 384,000 times a second, reducing up to 40dB of unwanted noise combined with the massive cushions’ passive noise isolation. It’s clear they are gunning for Bose’s crown here, and it’s an area in which the OnTrac perform impressively well.

General environmental noise is dimmed down effectively when the full “isolation” ANC mode is turned on. Engine rumbles are smoothed out, passing traffic is a mere murmur and they do a fair job of dealing with sudden noises. You’re wrapped in a comfortable cocoon, leaving you with just your music (or your thoughts).

Is it better than the Bose at noise-cancelling? We went back and forth dozens of times and it was hard to be definitive. We think they’re pretty much on par – which is an impressive feat for the Dyson first-timer. If we were to split hairs, we think the Bose QC Ultra Headphones are a little better at smoothing out those lower frequencies of engine rumbles, but there’s no doubt the Dysons are just as effective. We haven’t taken these cans on a flight yet, but we’ll put their ANC – and long battery life – to the test as soon as the next opportunity arises. 

Transparency mode works well, too, allowing you to clearly hear train announcements and traffic noise and order a coffee (in the absence of a conversation mode/speak-to-chat feature). Dyson has done a great job of keeping artificial noise at a minimum, as well as not having that ‘vacuum-like’ feeling when ANC is turned on.

Call quality is decent too. Voices are clear, detailed and are projected well, from both sides of a phone call. They do pick up a bit of swirling wind noise, but it didn’t impede conversations. The Bose QC Ultra Headphones make voices sound a bit more solid and rounded, but the Dysons sounded clearer and crisper.

Sound

If you’re expecting the Dyson OnTrac to sound as bold and loud as they look, you’re in for a surprise. They sound clear and clean, with a neatly organised and evenly balanced presentation. It’s an easy-going and surprisingly restrained sound, with a flat balance that gently settles us into the music. 

There’s a good amount of detail, with voices in particular delivered in a pleasing manner. Waxahatchee’s beautifully undulating vocals on Right Back To It, Taylor Swift’s conversational delivery on no body, no crime and Eric Bibb’s lush tones on Booker’s Guitar are all projected clearly and smoothly. The Dysons have custom-built 40mm neodymium drivers, with the speaker housing tilted at an angle of 13 degrees towards the ear. 

The initial splashy high-frequencies of Philip Bailey’s Easy Lover are controlled and not too bright, while there’s a decent helping of bass in Massive Attack’s Angel. They’re fairly taut, but we find that the AirPods Max offer more power and muscularity at the bottom end, which delivers more satisfying impact and more rhythmically driven basslines in comparison to the OnTrac.

The Dyson headphones in general could do with a greater degree of solidity throughout. While it’s a pleasant listen with no undue flabbiness or sharp edges, we find its sensible, flat balance robs the headphones of a bit of fun and personality. The ferocious nature of Slipknot’s Duality is easy to follow, for instance, but we’d like the Dysons to let their hair down a bit more. The ‘Enhanced’ EQ mode injects a bit of zest to the music, but we find that the OnTrac are lacking in dynamic punch and subtlety overall. The heart-tugging strings on John Williams’ Schindler’s List need to have a greater sense of ebb and flow to fully convey those strong emotions, as well as offer greater textural depth to the instruments. Similarly, the piano notes on Clair de Lune and Erik Satie’s Gnossienne No. 1 may sound delicate and fluid, but the rival AirPods Max and Bose QC Ultra Headphones offer a greater sense of authority; there’s more detail, agility and solidity as the piano keys are struck. You get a better sense of flow and intent of the track, and the surrounding harmonies and decay of notes are revealed with greater detail and nuance through the AirPods Max. 

This affects not just engagement but the overall timing of the Dyson headphones. The sense of tension and drama in Game Of Thrones’ Light Of The Seven isn’t communicated as distinctly, while the repeated, rolling rhythm loses momentum in Billie Eilish’s Blue. It should be punctual and hold your attention throughout, but comes through a little leaden and safe through the Dysons. The Bose’s greater sense of control, agility and energy make them a more fun, engaging listen, while the AirPods Max – despite being an older model – still takes the lead with a more transparent, nuanced performance that gets to the heart of a song more accurately.

That Dyson has taken such an even approach for the OnTrac is admirable. The overall tone is easy to listen to, but at this premium level, the competition is high and the standards are even higher.

 Verdict

Dyson’s first wireless headphones are an interesting pair. There’s plenty to like here – outstanding battery life, great ANC, the hard-to-ignore design and unique customisation. But with such a premium price tag attached to the OnTrac, it means that every aspect of their usability, feature set, design and sound will come under careful scrutiny, especially when going up against more seasoned rivals in the astonishingly good Apple and Bose models. 

At this premium price, the concerns we have with the general usability and somewhat lacking features add up, and coupled with a sound quality that’s nicely even and easy-going but not subtle, dynamic or precise enough to worry the competition, it means the OnTrac have a bit more growing up to do before we can wholly recommend them.

The Dyson OnTrac are a great first draft; if they employ the lessons learnt from this solid effort, we have no doubt the 'mark two' version of these headphones will be even better.

SCORES

• Sound 3
• Build 4
• Features 3

MORE:

Read our review of the Apple AirPods Max 

Also consider the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones

Read our Sony WH-1000XM5 review

Best wireless headphones tried and tested by our experts

The Sonos Ace wireless headphones must be one of the most rumoured and anticipated pairs in the history of personal audio. After years of rumour and spectulation, they finally arrived in mid-2024, ready to take on the best of the competition.

Now, as anyone taking even a cursory look at our best noise-cancelling headphones list will know, the talent in this space is huge, and the Sonos Ace need to deliver in every area to compete with the best.

Among that talent are the Apple AirPods Max. From their similarly slick design to the premium price point, they seem to very much be in the Ace’s sights. So should you go Apple or Sonos for your next pair of headphones? Now that our expert in-house reviews team has put both through their paces for full reviews and compared them side by side, we are ready to answer that question. Below we compare their battery life, features, design and comfort, noise-cancelling effectiveness and, most importantly, sound quality.

Sonos Ace vs AirPods Max: price

• Both pairs are pricier than the majority of wireless headphones
• Sonos have a lower RRP and are already receiving discounts

The Sonos Ace cost a reassuringly expensive £449 / $449 / AU$699 – undoubtedly a premium price for a pair of wireless headphones, particularly when Sonos kit rarely budges from RRP. That said, we have already seen them drop by 25 per cent.

The Apple AirPods Max launched a while back, in December 2020, and at the time were the most expensive wireless headphones we had tested at £549 / $549 / AU$899. Their design is getting on a bit now, though. Sure, they were refreshed in September with a USB-C socket (goodbye, Lightning) and a new lineup of colours, but it was hardly the AirPods Max 2 update we expected. You might still be able to find the final pairs of original, Lightning connector-toting AirPods Max available at a discount, but the newer USB-C model is holding firm at around £499 / $499 / AU$899.

So the AirPods Max are the pricier pair and likely will be for some time, not least if the Ace continue to attract discounts at popular retailers like Amazon. The Ace are pricier than most wireless headphones, but Sonos has still carefully undercut one of its biggest competitors despite being considerably newer.

The best price for each pair today is displayed just below.

** Winner: Sonos Ace **

Sonos Ace vs AirPods Max: design

• Similarly seamless, luxurious designs
• Ace have vegan leather earpads; AirPods opt for fabric
• AirPods Max are better suited to larger ears
• AirPods Max come in several colours

Take one look at the Sonos Ace and you can’t help but be reminded of the Apple AirPods Max. The seamless and minimalist over-ear cup design of the Ace is a touch smaller and more rounded than those on the Max, and a little less shiny too, but it’s not worlds apart.

However, unlike the Max, which our in-house reviews team has used comfortably without issue for a few years now, some members did find the smaller earcups of the Ace a touch too small. This, they said, led to the feeling of them heating up quite quickly during wear – though this was not something that those with smaller ears felt was a problem.

This suggests that those with larger ears may well be better served by the bigger earcups on the Max.

There is a slight difference here, though – the AirPods Max go for fabric on their earpads, while Sonos has opted for vegan leather on the Ace. We overall prefer the cushioning on the Max, which is just a little thicker, but there's not really much in it.

The Sonos Ace are noticeably lighter than the AirPods Max, at 312g vs 385g, but both sit really nicely on our heads with a low clamping force that we don’t find at all fatiguing.

Just like the AirPods Max, the earcups on the Ace swivel to sit flat to make them easier for travelling, while keeping hinges very much hidden – an appealing design choice for anyone who has ever caught their hair in a pesky exposed hinge before.

As with most other Sonos devices, the Ace come in a choice of Black or Soft White matte finishes, while AirPods Max have a few more – and shinier – options: Silver, Space Grey, Sky Blue, Pink or Green.

With the Sonos Ace you get a matching travel case with a smaller travel pouch that can hold all necessary cables. There's a USB-C charging cable and USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable included in the box.

The Apple AirPods Max, on the other hand, come with a pretty flimsy protective cover for the earpads only and there are no audio cables included, which feels a bit stingy at the price.

** Winner: Apple AirPods Max **

Sonos Ace vs AirPods Max: features

• Both pairs sport intuitive physical (not touch) controls
• Both offer spatial audio with dynamic head-tracking
• Ace have significantly longer battery life (30 vs 20 hours)
• AirPods Max are more suitable for iPhone owners
• Ace have two Sonos ecosystem-specific features

Sonos has decided to take a similar route as the AirPods Max when it comes to controlling playback and noise cancellation and has swerved touch controls on the Ace.

While the Max really do keep things minimal with just a button and a dial for controlling volume, the Sonos Ace use a couple more – there is a button for power and Bluetooth pairing on the left cup, and a button to cycle through the noise cancelling and aware modes on the right, plus a multi-functional slider (or “elongated content key”, according to Sonos) for volume and playback that works brilliantly.

Just like the Max, the Sonos Ace are purely Bluetooth headphones and don’t feature wi-fi as once predicted – that may come in a later version, according to Sonos, but not just yet.

Instead, they use the latest Bluetooth 5.4 and are capable of playing lossless audio from compatible sources thanks to Snapdragon Sound’s aptX Lossless and Apple’s ALAC codecs support. There's currently no support for next-gen Bluetooth technologies like Auracast or LE Audio, but we don't think they will be missed at this point.

The AirPods Max, on the other hand, don’t support lossless playback at all – only supporting Apple's AAC format – and feature Bluetooth 5.0, since they are that little bit older. Unfortunately, this wasn't updated for the 2024 variant.

Both do, however, offer spatial audio with dynamic head tracking across Dolby Atmos or 360 Reality Audio music and movies, though this is limited to iOS only on the AirPods Max.

They also both feature a wear sensor for pausing and restarting your music automatically when you remove and replace an earcup, and include Bluetooth Multipoint for moving between two devices with ease.

The Sonos Ace do have a big advantage over the AirPods Max in that they manage 30 hours of playback from a full charge, and can get a three-hour boost from three minutes of charge. Apple's headphones can manage only 20 hours from a single charge, with one-and-a-half hours of extra playback from five minutes plugged in –and only if you fork out an extra £19 ($19 / AU$29) for Apple's 20W charger.

Apple's headphones are fairly low on other bells and whistles (and any it does have are limited to iOS users), but if you have a Sonos Arc, Beam Gen 2, Beam Gen 1 or Ray soundbar and either an iOS or Android device, the Ace headphones do have one more trick up their sleeve for you: TV Audio Swap. That means you can play the sound from your compatible soundbar through your headphones with a single button press.

Annoyingly, in practice, we found that this potentially useful feature (for, admittedly, a fairly niche group of people) had some pretty frustrating teething troubles, resulting in crackles, distortion and lip-syncing issues. Disconnecting and reconnecting usually fixed them, but it does mean this key USP isn't quite the homerun it could be... until a firmware update fixes them, anyway.

There's also a rather promising TrueCinema calibration feature, which will analyse your room and adjust the audio in the headphones to sound like you're listening through a home cinema system instead, but this won't roll out until later in the year.

** Winner: Sonos Ace **

Sonos Ace vs AirPods Max: noise cancellation and call quality

• AirPods Max have the edge in eliminating background noise
• Ace's Transparency mode is preferable
• AirPods Max have considerably clearer call quality

Both the Sonos Ace and the AirPods Max use eight microphones to help with noise cancellation, and while neither can bother the likes of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra for absolute silence from their surroundings, we found that both did a decent enough job at knocking the wind out of a lot of the major background noise.

However, if pushed, we do notice a little less consistency in the cancelling out of mid and higher frequencies on the Ace, and find the Max do a better job at cutting out office chit-chat. If you need to let that sort of stuff in though, we do prefer Transparency mode on the Ace, and found the Max have a bit of a synthetic quality to them by comparison.

When it comes to calls though, the Max are back on top. They sound a lot clearer than the Ace do, which we found could make our voice sound quite muffled – particularly with wind noise outside. There was also quite a lot of variation in how much background noise our callers could hear, depending on whether we were static or walking around.

However, it is worth noting that we heard a reduction in sound quality when noise cancelling is switched on with the AirPods Max – something we didn't notice with the Sonos Ace. This means you will have to decide which is most important every time you listen, which is just something to consider.

** Winner: Draw **

Sonos Ace vs AirPods Max: sound quality

• Ace sound safe and uninspiring; disappointing
• AirPods Max far more musical and insightful
• Spatial audio performances are more on par

Sadly, while the AirPods Max and the Sonos Ace may have exchanged blows pretty closely throughout this head-to-head so far, when it comes to sound, the Sonos Ace fall flat on their face.

While their sound is far from offensive, it simply doesn't inspire. Sure there's weight and solidity, yes they're rich and relatively detailed, but it's all been played a bit too safe – a bit too simple. Their sound lacks excitement and is a bit congested too, so you don't get a good idea of space in a mix, nor distinction between instruments. It's all just a bit blurry, confused and undistinguished.

The AirPods Max, on the other hand, pack in clarity, spaciousness and energy by the bucketload. They're as precise as they are exciting, and they don't gloss over a single detail for their level. Even with their lack of lossless playback, they trump the Sonos for sound quality in pretty much every way, with music at least. In every area that the Sonos struggle, the AirPods Max show them how it's done, and then some.

It's a bit more of an even keel with movies, with both offering a satisfyingly wide and open soundstage and a great experience from spatial audio. It'll be interesting how this is (we hope) improved further on the Ace once TrueCinema is available.

** Winner: Apple AirPods Max **

Sonos Ace vs AirPods Max: verdict

While the Sonos Ace look nice enough, have plenty of features (though some are yet to arrive) and put up a decent fight in the noise-cancelling department, sonically they just can't compete with the Apple AirPods Max. And while the rest of the stuff is important in a well-rounded pair of headphones, sound quality is naturally the most crucial aspect.

For that reason, we would recommend the AirPods Max over the Sonos Ace every time – especially if you are an iOS user who is going to benefit from spatial audio, fast pairing and stuff like Audio Sharing. If you've reasonably discounted the Ace and realised Apple's headphones aren't for you either, we suggest checking out our best AirPods Max alternatives buying guide.

** Winner: Apple AirPods Max **

MORE:

Read our Sonos Ace review

Check out our comparison of the Sonos Ace vs Sony WH-1000XM5

Or perhaps the Sonos Ace vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra

Apple AirPods Max tips: how to pair, reset, charge and more

Formula 1 has entered its annual European leg, which means races at UK-friendly times. No more waking up at the crack of dawn and yawning through another Verstappen domination with only a strong coffee to keep you company and a fluffy dressing gown to keep you warm: this is the cold drink and warm weather phase that F1 fans really love.

If that wasn’t enough to boost interest, cracks in Red Bull’s armour are beginning to appear and Max Verstappen actually looks beatable – as Lando Norris recently proved. On top of all that, this weekend’s Grand Prix is at Monaco, the most glamorous and most famous circuit on the calendar.

If you’re wondering how to watch the race, we’ve got you covered with our how to watch the F1 guide. Here, though, we’re concerned with how to make the F1 look its best (i.e. as it should) on your TV. Unfortunately, it’s not as straightforward as it might seem, but follow our five handy tips and you’ll be enjoying Rascasse almost as if you were there.

1. Don't use your TV's 'Sport' mode

You would be forgiven for thinking that the best picture preset for watching sport would be the one labelled ‘Sport’. Unfortunately, you’d be mistaken. There are exceptions, but most Sport modes add loads of picture processing and pump colours up into a garish mess.

Assuming you want to see the action closer to how it would look in real life, you want to avoid this mode like the wall at Tabac.

2. Start with Filmmaker Mode (or equivalent)

While there will be loads of film stars at Monaco providing lots of opportunities for toe-curlingly awkward grid interviews with Brundle, an F1 race is decidedly not a film – so why use the Filmmaker Mode?

The answer is that less processing is better when it comes to F1 (as it is with most content), and the Filmmaker Mode is almost always the least-processed mode that a TV has. You can then use that as a base level for making further tweaks.

If your TV doesn’t have a Filmmaker Mode, look for a mode labelled ‘Cinema’, ‘Movie’ or, in the case of Sony, ‘Custom’.

3. Consider changing the colour temperature

While Filmmaker Mode is the most accurate mode for movies, there’s one obvious way in which it’s not accurate for sport: the colour temperature.

Movies are mastered with a ‘warm’ colour temperature, so your Filmmaker Mode will have switched your TV’s colour temperature to Warm to match. However, sport is generally filmed and broadcast in a much cooler colour temperature.

If you already use Filmmaker Mode all the time and feel completely at one with its warmer look, you might want to simply stick with it, but if you want to watch the action in a more authentic manner, you should switch your TV’s colour temperature to ‘Normal’, ‘Standard’ or the equivalent.

4. It’s ok to boost the brightness

Filmmaker Mode is designed primarily for dark room viewing, and I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that you’re going to watch the F1 with the curtains open if the race is taking place during the daytime where you live, or with the lights on if it’s nighttime. In those conditions, your TV in Filmmaker Mode might look a little bit dim.

Many modern TVs have a setting that will automatically adjust the brightness depending on the ambient lighting in the room (it’s called ‘Auto Brightness’ on my Panasonic TV). These used to be rubbish but are now very good and I have this switched on at all times on my TV. If you use that setting, your TV should be bright enough already. If not, you can manually boost the brightness just a little bit.

5. You shouldn't need to add motion processing

It’s tempting to think that the fast action of F1 must require some fancy motion processing from your TV, but that isn’t really the case. Motion processing is at its most useful when dealing with the inherent judderiness of 24p movies, but sports are filmed and broadcast at 50p or 60p, depending on where you are in the world, so they look pretty smooth anyway.

Adding motion processing can add some additional smoothing to some moments, but it will often add shimmer and fizz in the next moment. So, for F1 (and other sport, for that matter) we recommend you leave it switched off.

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Ace – that’s not only what Sonos’s just-announced wireless headphones are called but also how good they appear to be. Should their closest rivals, namely the Sony WH-1000XM5, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones and Apple AirPods Max, be worried? They'd be silly not to be.

The Ace share much in common with one or more of their rivals, such as spatial audio with head tracking technology, like the AirPods and Bose, and a similar premium price tag to them too (£449 / $449 / AU$699). There’s Bluetooth multipoint support for connecting two devices simultaneously, as with the Sony and Bose, and physical (as opposed to touch) controls, also found on the AirPods. As with all three rivals, the Ace offer real-time ANC adjustment based on surroundings, the increasingly universal companion app for settings adjustments, and replaceable earpads.

It’s too early to tell how the Ace perform in the sound and noise-cancelling departments compared to their peers (watch this space), but based on the specifications and our initial impressions from our brief time with them already, as detailed in our hands-on Sonos Ace review, we can see where they already gain on their rivals – and where they comparatively fall short.

So let's start with their trump cards...

1. Better Bluetooth support

There are two ways Bluetooth quality can be measured (theoretically at least): in standards/specifications and codecs. The Ace support one of the latest and greatest in both respects, supporting Bluetooth 5.4 (specification) and aptX Lossless (codec).

In comparison, the Bose support 5.3 and aptX Adaptive, the Sony 5.2 and LDAC, and the AirPods 5.0 and AAC.

OK, so admittedly 5.4 doesn’t bring too many practical benefits over previous variants in the 5.0 standard, sticking with the all-important speed (2Mbps) and range (800-feet) figures; but it offers improvements in security, energy efficiency and stability.

The real ace in the hole, however, is in the codec department. aptX Lossless is technically superior to the aforementioned codecs supported by the Ace's rivals, able to passthrough lossless CD-quality audio at its peak due to having greater bandwidth than the ‘next-best’ LDAC and aptX Adaptive. AAC is pretty low down on the list. (You can get to know your aptX from your AAC in our handy Bluetooth codec explainer, if you’re interested.) That said, aptX Lossless isn’t supported by many phones or other audio devices (yet), so for now the advantage of supporting it over aptX Adaptive and LDAC is fairly moot.

Despite the Bluetooth specification and codec wins here, we’re a little surprised the Ace don’t support Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) Audio, the very latest version of Bluetooth technology that promises more power-efficient, higher-quality audio compared to the Classic Audio version we've had for years, because two years ago the company bought a Kentucky-based startup company that specialised in implementing it. Perhaps Sonos is saving that for its next pair.

2. Enable USB-C listening

The Bose and Sony both have USB-C sockets – but only for charging; they offer wired listening via their analogue ports, nowadays most typically to phones via 3.5mm-to-USB-C dongles. 

The Ace’s USB-C socket, however, is for charging and wired listening, allowing for lossless digital audio transmission through the USB-C-to-USB-C cable between them and your audio source. That leaves the Sonos Ace to do all the digital-to-analogue conversion rather than the connected phone or dongle – which should offer an improvement as it’s potentially of higher quality and less prone to noise interference down the cable. 

3. Unique soundbar integration

The Ace were rumoured to support wi-fi (in addition to Bluetooth) playback, which didn’t transpire. But they do have a wi-fi chip inside them to facilitate unique integration with the company’s Arc soundbar.

Rolling out later this year, Sonos’s TrueCinema calibration is similar to TruePlay on Sonos speakers, using new software to tailor the Ace’s acoustics to your room when watching Dolby Atmos (or upmixed stereo to 7.1.4 channels) soundtracks via a Sonos Arc and TV system, in a bid to deliver a more immersive experience so that it sounds like you're not wearing headphones.

Secondly, there’s the Swap feature, which is available at launch and lets you beam the sound from your Arc (other Sonos soundbars will be supported later) to the headphones with one button press, and vice versa.

4. Stellar battery life

OK so the Sonos Ace technically match the Sonys for battery life, offering 30 hours (with ANC and Bluetooth on) as well as three hours of playback from a three-minute charge. But the figures are far enough ahead of the AirPods (20 hours) and Bose (24 hours) that we think they’re worth highlighting here.

Sonos hasn’t published battery-life claims for when those modes are turned off, so we look forward to seeing how they fare against the Sony’s claimed 40 hours with ANC off.

Regardless, the Ace and Sonys are still some way off the class leaders – the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless offer 60 hours.

But, they're heavy...

Both of the ways in which the Ace potentially fall behind at least one of their closest rivals concern design. We actually like the Ace’s sleek, slimline aesthetic and found them comfortable during our brief demo time, but what will comfort levels be like over an extended period? Only proper time in their company will tell, but the Ace’s 312g weight suggests that the headband padding has its work cut out. 

While they’re lighter than the 385g AirPods, they’re significantly heavier than Bose (253g) and Sony (250g).

... and don't fold

While the earcups of the Ace and its rivals all fold flat, allowing them to sit comfortably on your collarbone when worn around the neck and fold neatly into a carry case, the Bose stick with a design element that has sadly perished from headphones in recent years: the ability to fold up. The folding inward hinge has presumably fallen from favour due to the complexity of a hinge mechanism (it’s just another thing that can break) and an overwhelming preference for clean designs, but it’s handy for curling up headphones into a pocket and ultimately something we wish the Ace had.

A minor shortcoming worth only a small mention is that the Ace offer only two ‘colours’ – black or soft white – compared to the Sony’s and Bose’s three and the AirPods’ five.

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We detail our first impressions in our Sonos Ace hands-on review

Everything you need to know about the Sonos Ace headphones

Sonos Ace vs AirPods Max: how the two rivals stack up

Sonos Ace vs Sony WH-1000XM5: are the Ace worth the premium?

The first Sonos headphones are finally here. The Sonos Ace headphones were originally rumoured to launch in 2021, so expectations are high. But the king of multi-room seems to have delivered, with custom drivers, plush build quality and spatial audio with dynamic head tracking. You can head straight over and read our Sonos Ace review or carry on reading for the key specs.

Let's start with the sound. Inside each earcup is a custom-designed 40mm dynamic driver – these promise to "render each frequency with impeccable precision and clarity". These drivers are 10mm bigger than the 30mm carbon fibre drivers inside the Award-winning and class-leading Sony WH-1000XM5 (against which the Sonos Ace will inevitably be compared), and the same size as those inside the AirPods Max.

They support lossless audio over Bluetooth thanks to Snapdragon Sound aptX Lossless codec, or through wired listening with the supplied USB-C cable.

Active noise cancellation (ANC) is onboard, along with an Aware mode to allow in ambient sounds (if you need to chat with a colleague or cross a busy road, for example). They're equipped with eight beamforming microphones for noise control and voice targeting.

They're built with home cinema in mind, too. Spatial audio with Dolby Atmos adds height channels for a more immersive experience, while dynamic head tracking keeps the sound anchored to the screen if you look away. You can instantly swap the audio from the Sonos Arc soundbar to your Sonos Ace at the tap of a button, so you can cut yourself off in your own private viewing. And later this year Sonos' TrueCinema tech will launch. Similar to TruePlay on Sonos speakers, this maps your room and then adjusts the audio accordingly, so it sounds like you're not wearing headphones.

In terms of the design, their look is in between the Apple AirPods Max and Sony XM5. Sonos stresses its use of lightweight, premium materials that give the headphones "an airy fit that gently hugs your head". The memory foam interior is wrapped in vegan leather, while the seamless design of the headband and earcups promise to seal off your ears from external noise without catching your hair.

They promise to be intuitive to use, too. Contrasting colours inside the earcups tell you which way to wear them, proper push buttons let you know when your press has registered, and they fold flat for easy storage. Wearer detection pauses playback when you take them off, and resumes when you put them back on. Like other Sonos products, your colour options are black or white in a matte finish.

Battery life is an XM5-matching 30 hours with ANC or Aware mode activated, and a three-minute charge provides a whopping three hours of juice.

And they're responsibly made, with replaceable ear cushions (in case they wear out) and circular materials that use 17 per cent less virgin plastic. The travel case is made of 75 per cent recycled felt that comes from plastic bottles. 

The Sonos Ace cost £449 / $449 / AUD$699 – that's broadly the same as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, but pricier than the Sony XM5 and cheaper than the AirPods Max. They go on sale on 5th June. 

You can read our detailed hands-on review here. Stay tuned for a full review.

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The rumour mill has been churning out Sonos wireless headphones reports for the best part of four years, with the most recent leaks suggesting that the multi-room mogul's first pair of headphones would finally break cover in the coming weeks. Today, that imminence seems all the more likely due to an apparent website blunder letting slip the model's name and aesthetic.

German Sonos parts dealer Schuurman reportedly listed the 'Sonos Ace' headphones alongside the images you see above and below. The listing has been removed, but not before Reddit user r/Sonos could publish the leak, spotted by The Verge. The user also found a mention of the unconfirmed headphones being available to pre-order on the Sonos website.

So what do we know about the upcoming Sonos headphones? If the leak is legit, as it certainly appears to be, we have a name – Ace; a design – sleek, black, ovular and, dare we say, a little AirPods Max-like; and the accessories coming in the box – storage cases for the headphones and cables, plus USB-C-to-USB-C and 3.5mm-to-USB-C cables. Another (now disappeared) Schuurman listing for 'replacement ear cushions' seems to all but confirm design nods to sustainability, too.

Nothing about this 'reveal' strikes us as disappointing in the least, with their svelte, minimalist form and polished matte finish certainly looking the part from the images. The inclusions of a 3.5mm cable and sturdy-looking case are good news too (eh, Apple?). And hey, we even like the name; it's pretty... cool.

There are plenty of remaining beans for Sonos to spill when it is ready (unless, of course, yet another leak beats them to it), but thanks to scrupulous Sonos headphone leaks in recent months we have an idea of what else to expect. Chief among our expectations is a lofty price tag – one not far from that attached to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra and AirPods Max, around the $400-500 mark.

Among their headline features will likely be active noise cancellation and a unique Swap feature, as seen on the Roam, that will allow owners to easily 'hand off' the music playing through them to a Sonos speaker. Will next-gen Bluetooth codec support or wi-fi playback be part of the parcel? Considering Sonos's CEO confirmed only weeks ago that it was on schedule to launch a brand-new product type before the end of June, we shouldn't have to wait long to find out.

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Warner Bros Discovery has announced that its popular streaming service Max (formerly HBO Max) is coming to select European countries starting in May. The service will be available in three tiers in the Nordics, Iberia (Spain and Portugal), as well as Central and Eastern Europe. It will launch at a later unspecified date in France, Belgium, Poland and the Netherlands. 

Starting on the 21st of May, viewers in the aforementioned territories will be able to select one of three subscription options to access a range of TV shows, movies and live sports – including the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Each tier will include the following features:

• Basic with Ads: The cheapest of the four options, this tier will stream in Full HD on up to two devices at once and include advertising breaks in content. It will be available in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Romania, France, Belgium and the Netherlands first.
• Standard: This plan will stream without ads in Full HD on up to two concurrent devices, with the ability to download up to 30 titles for offline watching. 
• Premium: This tier streams in up to 4K resolution with Dolby Atmos on up to four devices at once. It will also allow for up to 100 downloads to watch offline.
• Sports Add-on: This is an optional extra that can be paired with any of the above tiers. It will feature sports events including the tennis Grand Slam, 24 Hours of Le Mans Motorsports and cycling Grand Tour. You will be able to stream on up to two devices at a time. 

Much like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, HBO has decided to lock 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos behind a paywall, allowing users to access them only on the more expensive subscription tiers.  

And there is, you will notice, no UK on that list of European territories. HBO has an exclusivity contract with Sky here in Britain, which is why you will see the likes of House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, True Detective and Succession stream almost exclusively on Sky or Now if you live in the UK. That deal is set to continue through to 2026, after which Warner Bros Discovery may explore bringing its service direct to the United Kingdom (according to Cord Busters). That, though, is still to be confirmed.

There is always the VPN route, of course, but many consumers will prefer the ease of just logging on to an app that runs natively in their home country. To which end, UK users may want to look into Now or Sky Stream if they wish to stream HBO content before 2026.

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Apple will launch two new models of AirPods later this year, according to a new report. But don't expect replacements for the AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Max – these new models will be at the more affordable end of the market, says Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, and one could offer active noise cancellation (ANC).

ANC has always been reserved for the AirPods Pro and Max. If Apple did bring it to the standard AirPods, it would have to find another way to differentiate the Pro model, which would mean upgrades in other areas.

According to the report, the new models will replace the AirPods 3 and second-gen AirPods from 2019 (the cheaper model could be called the AirPods Lite). They're apparently codenamed B768(E) and B768(M) – the E stands for "entry" (as in entry-level) and M for "mid-tier". Only the mid-tier offering – expected to be called AirPods 4 – will have ANC and Find My speakers built into the case (which play a sound to help you locate it). Both pairs should have a new design, better fit and USB-C charging cases.

There's no mention of how this improved fit will be achieved, but if Apple did use interchangeable ear tips, it could risk cannibalising sales of the AirPods Pro further. The Pro model is currently the only to offer ear tips (the AirPods Pro 2 introduced a fourth size, XS).

Gurman adds that Apple is working on a new hearing test feature for the AirPods, and a hearing aid mode for the Pro model. Both of these features would be delivered via iOS 18.

According to Gurman, this year's unveiling will be the "biggest AirPods launch to date", with a production run of 20-25 million units. The launch date is expected around September or October – right around the time the iPhone 16 is expected.

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The main criticism Apple TV+ has faced in its five years of operation is that its content offering couldn't go toe to toe with the likes of Amazon Prime Video and Netflix when it came to quantity. It was practically the only streaming service on the market that didn't offer content from other providers; thankfully, that's about to change. 

Apple has added 53 titles to the service, with a thorough mix of high-brow Academy Award winners and blockbuster Hollywood action flicks. You'll find titles such as The Prestige, A Star Is Born, Mad Max Fury Road, The Wolf Of Wall Street, Spider-Man, Kill Bill, Mean Girls and Saving Private Ryan. You can find a full selection of new third-party titles here.

That's quite a list of titles that should suit most tastes, with Apple using its powers to unite content from most major film studios in one place, including offerings from Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, Paramount, Universal, Lionsgate and Disney. 

Many of the available titles support Dolby Atmos for audio and Dolby Vision HDR, and if you've invested in a Vision Pro headset then you'll be pleased to find some will stream in 3D. 

There are some major downsides here, as is usually the case. Foremost is that you'll only be able to access these titles on Apple TV+ if you live in the US, with no word as to whether these titles will come to users in other countries. Secondly is that, unlike the rest of Apple's content on the service, these titles will be timed exclusives, meaning you'll have just a few weeks to stream some of these films. In fact, some titles will be removed from the service by the end of March, so you'd better start streaming quickly if you've got your eye on a specific movie.  

Despite the addition of new content, Apple says that it's still totally focused on developing its own original content first and foremost, unlike its competitors which balance a constant slew of new and existing content. We're unsure if this is Apple testing the waters for a future expansion of its streaming service, but we'd certainly like to see more content come to the service in more regions soon.

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Watch Drive to Survive season 6

Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 6 starts its engines on Friday, 23rd February 2024 on Netflix in the UK, US and Australia. Netflix costs from £4.99 / $6.99 / AU$6.99 a month with ads. Looking for pre-season testing? Here's how to watch F1 testing free online.  

• Watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive S6 on Netflix
• Watch from anywhere with ExpressVPN

Drive to Survive season 6 preview

It's fast becoming the real season opener. The team launches are great but F1 fanatics know that the real business is about to begin when the next season of Formula 1: Drive To Survive drops on Netflix. To find out where to watch the races this year go here but to find out what what's happing behind-the-scenes, you are going to want to watch Drive To Survive season 6.

Everybody will have their personal highlights and flashpoints from 2023 that they will want to receive the Drive to Survive treatment – the return of eight-time GP winner Daniel Ricciardo to the grid with Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri, Lance Stroll’s hissy fit in Qatar, the emergence of Oscar Piastri  and the bouncebackability of Lando Norris and everything to do with last year’s race of the season in Singapore - but two questions persist.

Will Red Bull’s temperamental Max Verstappen be making an appearance after famously refusing to participate in season 4? Yes, he will. More importantly, will season 6 be the swansong for Guenther Steiner, the potty-mouthed boss of Haas who recently left the team "with immediate effect"?  Hopefully not, thanks to Drive to Survive he now has a real cult following and is a gift to both the show and F1, but time will tell. Anything can happen in F1.

As with previous seasons, all 10 episodes of Formula 1: Drive to Survive season six will drop on the same day: Friday 23rd February, just before the Bahrain Grand Prix on 2nd March, 2024. You can watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive on Netflix. And if you're abroad, you can watch it from wherever you are using a VPN.

Watch Drive to Survive series 6 in the UK

Watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive 2024 from anywhere

You won't be able to watch your regular Formula 1: Drive to Survive live stream while travelling abroad. The streaming service will spot that you're in a foreign country and block you. You can use a VPN (virtual private network) to get around this, though.

It's a straightforward piece of software which sets your device to appear as if it's in the right country, allowing you to watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 6 live streams from anywhere in the world.

We rate ExpressVPN as the best VPN. It offers a 30-day guarantee for all your money back if you're not happy with the service.

How to use a VPN for Drive to Survive S6

1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPNis the one we recommend.

2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" season 6, you may wish to choose 'US' for Netflix.

3. Then head over to Netflix on your browser or device and enjoy the Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 6 live stream!

Where to watch Drive to Survive S6 in the USA

Formula 1: Drive to Survive season six is a collaborative production between Netflix and Formula One, so it's exclusive to Netflix. In the US, Netflix starts at $6.99 a month – the free trial is a thing of the past, we're afraid. But there's no contract and you can cancel any time.

• More motorsport: watch Brawn F1 documentary online

How to watch Drive to Survive S6 in Australia

If you're in Australia, you can watch Drive to Survive season six on Netflix from AU$6.99 a month (with ads). Just like in the UK and US, all 10 episodes are available on 23rd February, 2024.

Outside Australia? Simply use a VPN to access Drive to Survive on demand, without being geo-blocked.

Watch Drive to Survive 2024 in Canada

The sixth season of Drive to Survive is also available on Netflix in Canada. Netflix starts at $5.99 a month in Canada – that's for the Basic with ads. Standard (with no ads and downloads for offline viewing) is $16.49 a month, while Premium (which adds 4K HDR video quality) is $20.99 a month.

What to know about Drive to Survive

Formula 1: Drive to Survive S6 official trailer

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• How to watch F1 live streams 2024

Rumblings have re-emerged suggesting Sonos will release a pair of over-ear headphones to rival AirPods Max after the firm confirmed it will expand its range of products in Q3 this year.

CEO Patrick Spence confirmed the company would be entering a new product category while discussing financial outcomes and goals during the 'Sonos First Quarter Fiscal 2024 Conference Call'.

Spence said, "We are at the onset of a multiyear product cycle as we harvest the benefits of our investments to enter new categories and launch new products, starting with the one we will be announcing and shipping in Q3."

Could this be the highly anticipated Sonos headphones? We're already anticipating a few products from the brand, such as the second-generation Arc soundbar and a set-top box, but the Sonos headphones have been hotly rumoured for several years now.

In terms of specifications or anything of this sort, we know next to nothing yet. A patent emerged in September 2020 which appears to show two over-ear, wireless designs. Sonos also took a controlling stake in Glasgow-based RHA Audio (recently renamed Origin North Ltd.) which is an in-ear specialist. Could this suggest Sonos is also planning to release in-ear headphones? 

A recent Bloomberg report suggests the headphones could retail for around $400 to $500 (around £350, AU$650). This price point puts them up against serious competition in the form of the five-star Sony WH-1000XM5, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, and Apple AirPods Max. It would be quite an achievement for the company to seriously rival these models on its first foray into the headphones market.

This release would mark another step outside of the usual multi-room speakers and systems that Sonos is famous for. The company has previously branched out with subwoofers and Dolby Atmos soundbars in recent years and has a great track record, so it wouldn't be a surprise if its headphones entered the market successfully as well. 

During the conference call, Spence also spoke about the ongoing partnership between Sonos and Sonance, with the duo recently announcing an 8-inch in-ceiling speaker. He said, "We designed this in direct response to the needs of our customers and their installers who asked for more size, options and flexibility during installation. This product will be available in spring 2024 for $999 per pair."

We're looking forward to finding out more concrete information about the launch, stay tuned for more. 

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We’ve all been there – faced with shelves and shelves of various branded yoghurt, page after page of food menus, and seemingly never-ending rows of Netflix titles, wishing there were fewer options to choose between. When it comes to streaming services, the paradox of choice has never been so prevalent: every entertainment giant has seemingly thrown its hat into the ring, from Amazon, Apple and Google to Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount, but your Toms, Dicks and Harrys only have the will and budget to subscribe to one or two, at best three.

It’s hard to prevent FOMO (the 'fear of missing out') from creeping in when the hottest TV show in town is on a video service you don't subscribe to, and the anguish when that movie you suddenly think about for the first time in decades and absolutely must watch is too.

Thankfully, the music streaming service sea has somewhat fewer fish, but for many people that monthly tenner will still eat away at their carefully devised monthly entertainment budget like a “small” football bet every weekend. The truth is that the rising prices of music and video subscriptions (and everything else) are putting a squeeze on how many we can juggle at one time.

Unlike with many phone or broadband contracts, you can generally do as you please and nomadically hop from one subscription (or, ahem, free trial) to another to limit a monthly cost to rival your mortgage… if you can be bothered. You can also form allegiances with friends or family to collectively tick off several services and password share amongst yourselves, though with password sharing crackdowns likely to come down hard this year, that honeymoon is nearly over.

Neither option is ideal for the consumer, or the companies who have to accept sign-up churning and, consequentially, volatile subscription bases. It’s high time we were offered bundles, and I'm optimistic they will come.

So what’s the current state of play? Well, in the US, Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ – all under The Walt Disney Family of Companies umbrella – can be bought in a bundle that costs 44 per cent less than the price of the three subscriptions bought separately. Following its purchase of the remaining stake in Hulu from Comcast last year, Disney plans to integrate Disney+ and Hulu for a ‘Bundle’ tier from next month. That’s a pretty decent deal for, I imagine, a lot of people – good for you, Americans – but it obviously doesn’t cover any music service needs.

Amazon and Apple also offer an intra-family bundle (Prime and One, respectively) of their own services – though I wonder how many would agree that a pairing of Amazon Music and Prime Video or Apple Music and TV+ would fully satisfy their entertainment needs? 

A Spotify and Hulu bundle costs just $6… for US students only. At the end of last year, Verizon announced it would offer its US customers a Netflix and (HBO) Max bundle for just $10 – 41 per cent less than the price of the two subscriptions bought separately. Not bad, but you’re tied into telecoms too. Meanwhile, news surfaced that Apple and Paramount Global were in early discussions to join forces and offer Apple TV+ and Paramount+ in a similarly reduced-cost bundle to help boost subscription bases. Better, Apple.

It’s a start, but I hope we see more of this inter-company collaboration across the streaming service market and in more territories. I believe cost-effective access to more entertainment services would be high on many people’s priorities, and for companies it would be advantageous in reducing subscription churning and cancellations. Not that there aren’t any disadvantages for them, of course – we’d have bundles already otherwise!

The political competitiveness, not to mention the difficulties around lower revenue-per-user averages and data control, will probably forever block ideal ‘pick and choose’ mega-bundle opportunities – “I’ll have Tidal, Netflix and MUBI for 30 per cent off, please and thank you” – but I hope more companies manage to navigate down a shared path soon. If recent ripples are anything to go by, I'd say things are starting to look up.

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If you've heard of technology's buzzword of the moment – 'spatial audio' – you may well have come across two flavours of it: Apple Spatial Audio and Sony 360 Reality Audio. Both are audio technologies designed to immerse you in a 3D soundfield that emulates a surround sound experience through simply a pair of headphones or wireless speaker, no full home cinema system necessary.

If that sounds like a music experience you are keen to try but aren't sure how to get it or which variation of the technology would be best for you, we're here to help. Below is an explanation of the Apple and Sony spatial audio technologies, followed by their similarities, key differences, and which streaming services and devices support them.

What is Sony 360 Reality Audio?

Sony 360 Reality Audio is an audio format designed to offer, as the name suggests, a 360-degree sound experience. The idea is to give the listener a sense of being surrounded by audio, as opposed to being presented with 'just' the two channels (left and right) of traditional stereo.

This technology was primarily built by Sony for music applications, and it uses the MPEG-H 3D Audio standard, meaning it's ideally optimised for audio streaming. It supports 64 channels so that different audio strands can be finely tuned and pinpointed in various places in a soundfield.

Sony has made this format available to developers so that more and more content can be created and listened to in 360 Reality Audio. As such, a 360 WalkMix Creator plugin allows music labels and producers to mix their music in this immersive format.

• Read the in-depth answer: What is Sony 360 Reality Audio?

What is Apple Spatial Audio?

Apple Spatial Audio is similar in that it aims to create the experience of audio coming from different directions in space, though it has been designed to work with movies as well as music.

The technology takes stereo and multi-channel surround sound signals and works some Apple magic by adjusting the directional audio filters. This is done by adjusting frequencies so that each ear has an experience of variations in sound placement. The technology itself is powered by Dolby Atmos, a 3D audio technology that is at the forefront of cinema (and home cinema) surround sound, as well as some music (see our Dolby Atmo Music explainer).

The 'Dolby Atmos for Headphones' technology offers a similar experience and has been around for a while, but the key difference here is Apple's addition of head tracking, which takes into consideration the positions of both the headphones and source device (i.e phone) to create a consistent spatial sound experience for the user when they're moving.

• Read the in-depth answer: What is Apple Spatial Audio?

Which devices support Apple Spatial Audio?

Unsurprisingly, hardware and software from Apple and Apple-owned Beats support Apple Spatial Audio. This includes:

- AirPods Pro (1st and 2nd generation), AirPods Max, AirPods (3rd generation)

- Beats Fit Pro, Beats Studio Pro

- iPhone 7 and later

- iPad Pro 12.9‑inch (3rd generation and later)

- iPad Pro 11‑inch

- iPad Air (3rd generation and later)

- iPad (6th generation and later)

- iPad mini (5th generation and later)

- iOS or iPadOS 15.1 or later

- The built-in speakers on a Mac computer with Apple silicon

- Apple TV 4K with tvOS 15 or later

- Apple HomePod (1st and 2nd generation), HomePod Mini

- Audiovisual content from Apple TV+ and Apple Music

Additionally, the Disney Plus app for Apple TV 4K now supports Dolby Atmos with spatial audio with AirPods, while Netflix supports spatial audio with head-tracking when used with compatible AirPods.

And as of March 2023, Sonos' Arc and Beam Gen 2 soundbars and Era 300 smart speaker support Apple Music's spatial audio library too.

Which devices support Sony 360 Reality Audio?

Sony claims that 360 Reality Audio can be experienced “using headphones from most manufacturers”, though its Headphones Connect app needs to be downloaded on the source device, whether it is iOS or Android. It offers a head-tracking feature, but only through a pairing between Sony's Xperia 1 V or 5 V smartphones and WF-1000XM5 or WH-1000XM5 headphones.

Otherwise, the key to experiencing 360 Reality Audio in hardware is that each product needs to have Sony’s custom decoder built-in.

Sony has a decent array of headphones, speakers, soundbars, smartphones and AV receivers that specifically support the format, most of which are Sony branded but also include a handful of third-party products like the Amazon Echo Studio smart speaker and family of Sennheiser Ambeo soundbars. You can also play Sony 360 Reality Audio music over an HDMI connection through select Denon, Marantz and McIntosh AV amplifiers. To get the full list, visit the Certified Product section on the Sony website.

In terms of content, you can find 360 Reality Audio music via the iOS and Android apps of Deezer, Tidal, Amazon Music HD and nugs.net. The Nugs option has over 10,000 concerts in its catalogue, for example, so there's plenty to enjoy.

Apple Spatial Audio vs Sony 360 Reality Audio: which is better?

While these formats are pretty similar in their intent and purpose, they do differ in a few areas. Firstly, Apple Spatial Audio is designed to work across music listening and movie watching, whereas Sony 360 Reality Audio is simply music-orientated. Sony has 360 Spatial Sound Mapping for the movie space.

Secondly, Apple Spatial Audio is built on the widely adopted Dolby Atmos technology and works predominantly within Apple's ecosystem, meaning it can offer a wealth of music and movies available in spatial audio albeit only to those who buy Apple/Beats products. Meanwhile, the Sony format has been created from the ground up and has been designed to work with as many software services and hardware as possible, though hardware support is still primarily within Sony's camp. Sony says it aims to get the technology "into the hands of all creators", so it seems to have big ambitions for the future.

Ultimately, the products you use will determine which – if any – 3D audio technology is best for you, but either way the promise is an immersive, 'sound everywhere' experience. We have tried multiple flavours of immersive audio and find the technology to be generally more useful for movies and sports, though it has its value with music (despite being a little inconsistent in our minds) and we're looking forward to seeing how the music industry and consumer electronics giants like Apple and Sony help steer the 3D audio path in the future.

MORE:

How about Dolby Atmos Music? Here's everything you need to know

These are the best music streaming services: free streams to hi-res audio

Bose’s spatial audio tech is a nice idea for headphones but it’s too hit-and-miss

Move over Dolby Atmos, a new rival from Samsung and Google is coming

November is over and what a month it was. Not only did we reveal the Product of the Year winners at the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2023 for each category, we also contended with the annual deals bonanza that is Black Friday. 

As a final treat, before we go into full-on festive mode, we have one more present for you – our latest Pick of the Month column.

In it, we detail the top-performing products that earned a perfect five-star score after passing through our test rooms over the past month. And it’s been a particularly competitive 30 days with only five products impressing our team of reviewers to five-star success and guaranteeing an appearance in this column.

Without further delay, here are the What Hi-Fi? review team’s top picks for November 2023.

 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones

Bose is a big name in headphones, with its latest wireless sets constantly impressing us during testing. And this remained the case with the firm’s new QuietComfort Ultra Headphones over ears. Unveiled alongside the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (also five stars) and the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar in September, the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are being pitched as a rival to the premium Apple AirPods Max and feature Bose's own take on Spatial Audio.

And while our reviewers aren’t completely convinced about the perks of Spatial Audio for music in its current state, our testing showed the QuietComfort Ultra to be an excellent set of wireless over-ears. Active Noise Cancelling proved to be close to best in class and more than effective enough to drown out background office noise and the rumbling of trains on our testers’ morning and evening commute. This, plus their rich, full-bodied sound and punchy delivery, led our reviewers to conclude:

“Bose has brought its ‘A’ game with the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones – they’re expensive, but they also deliver sound quality and noise cancelling straight from the top drawer.”

Score: 5/5

Read our Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones review

Audiovector QR 7

The Audiovector QR 7 are the latest floorstanding speakers to pass through our test rooms, and while they may be a high-end option, they're an excellent option for any music fan looking for thundering audio performance.

They feature a three-way design that combines an AMT (Air Motion Transformer) tweeter to a 15cm midrange and a pair of 20cm bass drivers, with a downward-firing port. These speakers are also designed to be relatively undemanding to drive and their easy-going nature means that during the testing period, our reviewers were able to partner them with a wide variety of amplifiers and sources.

Most of all, the performance is excellent, with the speakers delivering impressive scale and authority while proving surprisingly unfussy around matching. This led our experts to conclude:

“In our opinion, the Audiovector QR 7 represent a lot of ability for the money. They do all the things big speakers are expected to do but combine that with levels of finesse, resolution and insight that aren’t common.” 

Score: 5/5 

Read our Audiovector QR 7 review

iFi hip-dac 3 

As the name would suggest, this is the third generation of iFi’s line of flask-shaped DACs and, based on our testing, a great purchase for any music fan. 

The DAC has a new "Titanium Shadow" finish and reworked internal circuitry that aims to reduce signal distortion. Battery life has also been raised to 12 hours and a new PowerMatch button is added. The latter changes the internal amp’s gain for easier headphone matching.

But on to the more important question, how does it sound? Based on our testing, very impressive. During our review, we found the iFi hip-dac 3 constantly delivered a pleasingly smooth, well-balanced sound regardless of which headphones we paired it with. This led our reviewers to conclude:

“Smart, versatile and a pleasure to listen to, the third-gen iFi hip-dac 3 enhances your audio experience with a sonic profile that feels lively and energetic without ever becoming unrestrained or unwieldy. Like your favourite tipple, it really hits the spot.” 

Score: 5/5

Read our iFi hip-dac 3 review

Panasonic MZ1500B 

The Panasonic MZ1500B is the middle child in the Japanese tech giant’s current OLED line, sitting above the MZ980, but below the flagship MZ2000. This makes it a direct rival to the Sony A80L, which picked up the TV Product of the Year accolade at the 2023 What Hi-Fi? Awards mere weeks ago.

While we still recommend the A80L to most people, the MZ1500B is an incredibly accomplished set, that delivers the understated “as the director intended” picture we’ve come to expect from Panasonic. This, plus its intuitive software and good, but not great, inbuilt speaker system, make it a great option for any fan of Panasonic TVs and led our testers to conclude:

“The step-down OLED in the company’s 2023 lineup delivers the same authentic, understated picture quality Panasonic’s become famous for in recent years. During all our checks, colours and motion all hold a wonderful authenticity that makes for a wonderful viewing experience, especially if you want to experience movies as the director intended.”

Score: 5/5

Read our Panasonic MZ1500B review

Panasonic MZ2000

The MZ2000 is the second Panasonic TV to earn a place in this month’s Pick of the Month. It’s the most expensive OLED in the company’s current line and a direct rival to the Sony A95L and LG G3. Key differences between it and the MZ1500 are its use of brightness-boosting Micro Lens Array (MLA) screen tech and a more powerful Technics-tuned internal speaker system.

As was the case with the MZ1500, though the MZ2000 impressed during testing it didn’t quite perform well enough to fully dethrone the Sony A95L as the top option for most people at its price. However, for cinephiles who value authenticity, it is a fantastic five-star option, which is why our testers concluded: 

“Be in no doubt, though – this is a superb TV that delivers the authenticity for which Panasonic is renowned with an extra hit of bright impact, plus a weighty, solid sonic presentation.”

Score: 5/5

Read our Panasonic MZ2000 review 

MORE:

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Here are our picks of the best OLED TVs

Check out our picks of the best DACs

So, you've already found an amazing Cyber Monday TV deal and now you need a top-tier streaming service to start making use of your shiny new set. The good news is that some of the most popular streaming services are currently available for extremely tempting discounts.

Services such as (HBO) Max, Hulu, Disney+ and Paramount+ are on sale thanks to the holiday season, and the deals are still live for Cyber Monday. Read on to see all the best streaming service deals for Cyber Monday.

Hulu Cyber Monday deal

There's a great Cyber Monday Hulu deal on offer. Treat yourself to a full year of Hulu (With Ads) for a stunning 99c/month, saving you 87% over the regular monthly price.

After your 12 months at this sale price, your subscription will auto-renew at the regular $7.99/month price, and you can take advantage of this deal through November 28th. This offer is open to new subscribers as well as returning subscribers who have not had active subscriptions in the past month.

If you're looking for a Disney+ deal, look down below, as you can bundle in Disney+ for an extra $2/month with this 99c/month Hulu deal.

Max Cyber Monday deal

Once known as HBO Max, the freshly rebranded service Max is also on discount for Cyber Monday. Sign up for Max (With ads) at just $3/month for 6 months, saving you 70% from the original $10/month pricing.

Sign up now through November 27th, and with this deal, you also get the Sports Add-On for free, too. That includes NBA, NHL, MLB, and more content. This add-on usually goes for $10/month itself, so getting it free is a nice addition.

This offer is open to both new and returning subscribers, and after your 6 months of deal pricing expires, your subscription will auto-renew at the standard $10/month price. Unless you cancel, of course.

Disney Plus Cyber Monday deal

If you're looking to watch some Disney content, there's no better place to do that than on Disney+. Luckily, you can find an impressive Disney+ deal, thanks to Cyber Monday, bundled in with the Hulu deal above.

Sign up for a year of Hulu (With Ads) for 99c/month and you can add on a year of Disney+ (With Ads) for an extra $2/month, coming in at a grand total of $3 a month for both Disney+'s and Hulu's ad-supported versions.

Like Hulu above, this offer is open to new returning Hulu subscribers; although if you're a current Hulu or Disney+ subscriber you can't just 'upgrade' your current subscription to this Cyber Monday bundle.

Paramount+ Cyber Monday deal

If you're looking for some different streaming content outside the biggest names such as Hulu or Netflix, Paramount+ is worth a look, especially with these Cyber Monday deals. 

For U.S. customers, get Paramount+ Essential for $2/month or Paramount+ with SHOWTIME for $4/month for 3 months. That's a saving of 67%, for both new and returning subscribers. Once your 3 deal months are up, you can expect your subscription to auto-renew at the standard price, unless you decide to cancel at that point.

Starz Cyber Monday deal

Starz, much like HBO, has a slate of interesting original content, such as Outlander, as well as a big catalog of movies, and you can sign up for cheap on Cyber Monday. 

Act fast and get Starz for just $3/month for three full months. After your deal months are up, your subscription will auto-renew at the standard $10/month price. However, you can choose to cancel your subscription at any time.

If you're a Hulu subscriber, or if you sign up for Hulu at its Cyber Monday price of 99c/month, you can add on Starz for an additional 99c/month for 6 months, too. Once those six months are up, your subscription will return to $10/month.

If you're interested in Hulu, Starz is cheaper for longer if you get Starz as an add-on, so definitely consider going through Hulu first.

Peacock Cyber Monday deal

If you want to stream Harry Potter, The Office (US), Poker Face (and many more), Peacock is the right service for you. What also may be right for you is Peacock's Cyber Monday deal where you can sign up for $2/month for 12 months.

If you would rather pay annually, you can also get a full year of Peacock for $20 upfront, too, thanks to this Cyber Monday sale. These offers do exclude current Peacock subscribers, though, and after the deal months expire, you will be back to paying the normal subscription price each month.

It's also worth noting that this offer is for Peacock Premium, which is Peacock's ad-supported subscription, so you will have to deal with the occasional ad. If interested, make sure to sign up before this offer goes away on November 27th.

Cyber Monday deals quick links

• Amazon: 55% off wireless headphones
• B&H Photo: $160 off Sonos
• Best Buy: $50 off Jabra headphones
• Bose: save 50% on headphones & speakers
• Crutchfield: $1000 off Sony TVs
• eBay: 70% off refurbished headphones
• Google: $200 off Pixel 8 Pro
• JBL: up to 70% off speakers & headphones
• Samsung: $1000 off some TVs
• Sonos: 25% off select products
• Sony: save up to $300 on headphones
• Target: $100 off Beats headphones
• Walmart: $250 off some Beats headphones
• World Wide Stereo: $60 off Sonos bundle

120 best Cyber Monday tech deals 2023: TVs, headphones, soundbars and more

The 7 very best Cyber Monday headphones deals

Amazon's Cyber Monday AirPods Pro deal is still under £200, but is it cheaper elsewhere?

Watch FREE South Africa vs Australia live stream

India vs New Zealand – the second Cricket World Cup 2023 semi-final – is FREE to watch on 9Now in Australia, and on PTV Sports in Pakistan. In the US, it's live on ESPN Plus and Willow TV (via streaming service Sling) . In UK, you'll need Sky Sports. And you can use a VPN to watch any South Africa vs Australia live stream from anywhere, if you happen to be away from home.

South Africa make one change as Tabraiz Shamsi comes in for Lungi Ngidi. Captain Temba Bavuma isn't fully fit but still plays for the Proteas and Gerald Coetzee keeps his place. Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell return for Australia. South Africa won the toss and chose to bat, despite some favourable bowling conditions that have yielded an early wicket for Starc with the fourth ball. 

South Africa limped 212 all out, with David Millar the only batter to really get going with a superb century – the country's first World Cup semi-final history – that contributed nearly half the Proteas' run total. Heinrich Klaasen also made 47. Mitchell Starc took 3-34 and with opening bowler Josh Hazlewood, the Aussies' deadly duo tore out the Saffas top order in helpful conditions. Australia will chase 213, a very gettable target, shortly for a place in the final against hosts India up for grabs.

South Africa vs Australia semi-final preview

South Africa face Australia in the second Cricket World Cup 2023 semi-final that couldn't be dripping in more narrative. The Aussies memorably beat the Proteas at this stage in 1999 and 2007, while the Saffas have never lifted a limited-overs world crown. Will the ghosts of World Cups past come back to haunt the Proteas again or can South Africa finally end their hex against Australia? This is a semi-final not to be missed. 

South Africa edged out Australia on net run rate in the group stage after both sides finished with seven wins and two defeats from their nine outings and also won the previous meeting between the teams in this tournament by 134 runs. They have 15 of the past 18 meetings between the sides and are the only team to have a winning ODI record against Australia, yet the Proteas have never beaten their semi-final opponents in a World Cup knockout fixture. Allan Donald dropping his bat to be run out in 1999's tie is the biggie – Australia going through on a better Super Six finish – but the 2007 walloping has also left its own scars, too. On the plus side, Quiton de Kock is 2023's second-highest run scorer with fast bowler Gerald Coetzee picking up an impressive 18 wickets. 

Australia just know how to win the World Cup, lifting the trophy a record five times and on four of the past six occasions. Evergreen opener David Warner is one run away from 500 this tournament, Glenn Maxwell smashed 201 against Afghanistan and leg spinner Adam Zampa has taken more wickets than anyone else (22), but it's the know-how of victory that makes them such a difficult prospect. Captain Pat Cummins will be sure to remind his side of their opponents' past fragility at this stage and expect him to force South Africa to chase if he wins the toss to put the pressure on.

With a cyclone forecast for Thursday, this could be a reduced-overs match – could South Africa exit with a Duckworth Lewis Stern misreading like in 2003? Make sure you know how to get a South Africa vs Australia live stream from wherever you are. 

Free South Africa vs Australia 2023 live streams

If you're lucky enough to live in Australia, Channel 9 will show South Africa vs Australia for FREE, live on TV and via the 9Now streaming service, along with the other semi-final and the final at the weekend.

Cricket fans in India can also enjoy every game of the 2023 World Cup, including South Africa vs Australia, live and for free via the Hotstar mobile app for iOS and Android devices.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan, selected games will be shown for free on PTV Sports. 

Travelling outside India, Australia or Pakistan? No problem – use our favourite cricket VPN to unblock your regular streaming service from overseas. Details below.

Watch South Africa vs Australia live stream from anywhere

You won't be able to watch your regular cricket live streams while travelling abroad. The streaming service will spot that you're in a foreign country and block you. You can use a VPN (virtual private network) to get around this, though.

It's a straightforward piece of software that sets your device to appear as if it's in a different country, allowing you to watch any Cricket World Cup 2023 live stream from anywhere in the world.

We rate ExpressVPN as the best VPN for streaming sport. It offers a 30-day guarantee for all your money back if you're not happy with the service.

How to use a VPN for South Africa vs Australia

1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For South Africa vs Australia at the Cricket World Cup 2023, you may wish to choose 'Australia' for 9Now.

3. Then head over to 9Now  on your browser or device and enjoy the free South Africa vs Australia live stream!

Watch South Africa vs Australia live streams in the US

Cricket fans in the US can watch a South Africa vs Australia live stream in the World Cup semi-finals on ESPN Plus, which can be accessed through many cable packages. 

The broadcaster has the rights to live stream all 48 matches at the tournament and a subscription costs $10.99 a month or $109.99 per year. It won't unlock all regular ESPN content, but it you will be able to catch thousands of live events, original shows and series that can't be found anywhere else (not even on the standard ESPN service). 

You can also watch the Cricket World Cup on the Willow TV cable channel, which is available with a Sling subscription that costs $10 a month. The cord-cutting service allows you to stream various channels live on up to three devices, as well as enjoying highlights and catch-up tv. There are no long contracts, either – if you're not happy , you can cancel at any time.

These services are only available within the States so be sure to use a VPN if you're a US subscriber stuck abroad. We recommend ExpressVPN as it's reliable and comes with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.

• Expert TV advice: best OLED TVs for sports fans

Watch South Africa vs Australia live stream in the UK

Great news cricket fans in the UK – South Africa vs Australia is being broadcast on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event in the UK.

Take a look at the best Sky TV deals if you're interested in watching the cricket, plus plenty more live sport, in top-quality resolution.

Even without a full Sky subscription, fans can enjoy a 2023 Cricket World Cup live stream with a Now day pass or a monthly pass. Here is our pick of the best Now deals.

TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) customers can also enjoy the tournament so long as they're subscribed to the TNT Sports Big Sport Bundle, which includes the Sky Sports channels as well as the TNT and Discovery ones. You can add it to your BT/TNT package for £35 per month (reduced from the regular £43).

Virgin Media customers can watch the Cricket World Cup 2023 with a Sky Sports subscription through Virgin Media’s Bigger + Sports bundle.

If you have a Virgin TiVo box and access to TNT or Sky, you can watch on-the-go through Virgin's TV Anywhere app.

Remember, if you're away from Blighty at the minute, you need to use a VPN to access your local live stream from overseas – without being blocked.

Watch South Africa vs Australia live stream in Australia for FREE

For cricket fans Down Under, you can watch South Africa vs Australia for free on Channel 9. The broadcaster's 9Now streaming service has the rights to the semi-finals and final, and has been the home for every Australia match during the Cricket World Cup 2023. 

There's also a pay-TV option for cricket-loving Aussies. The Fox Sports channels have been showing every fixture in the tournament `and if you don't have those through Foxtel, you can try Kayo Sports. Kayo offers access to over 50 sports live and on-demand. Prices start at $25.

Away from Oz? Use a VPN to access your local live stream from overseas – without being blocked.

Watch South Africa vs Australia live stream in India for FREE

For cricket lovers in India, and there are plenty of you, the good news is that every game of the 2023 World Cup – including South Africa vs Australia – is being live streamed for free via the Hotstar mobile app (iOS and Android).

However, if you want to tune in on a larger screen over the smaller one, you'll need to pay for a Disney Star subscription. Matches will be shown live on a range of Star Sports channels.

Able to cut the cord and stream instead? Expect to pay around Rs 1,499 per month for Disney Star's all-access content plan.

If you already subscribe to one of those services but are outside of India right now, remember to sign up for a VPN service such as ExpressVPN to follow the World Cup live stream wherever you are are.

• Upgrade the action: best TVs
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Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Headphones have been a long time coming. For context, the last time we saw a flagship pair of wireless headphones from the brand was all the way back in 2019 with the launch of the strangely named Noise-Cancelling Headphones 700.

It’s certainly unusual for a brand as big in the space as Bose to go so long without injecting a new top-end QuietComfort model into the market. Sony, for example, has been more consistent in its launches, which has given it the chance to really stamp its authority at this premium end of the market.

With the 2023 launch of the top-of-the-range Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, however, Bose has shown that it was worth the wait – and that it can play with the current class leaders as well as raise the bar in certain areas.

Price

• Bose is more premium than Sony XM5 at £450 / $429 / AU$649
• Occasional discounts; still cheaper than AirPods Max

It’s fair to say a lot has happened in the world since the Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 launched back in June 2019 for £350 / $399 / AU$599. So, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones sit at a higher price point.

They launched at £450 / $429 / AU$649. This elevates them well above the class-leading Sony WH-1000XM5 (£380 / $399 / AU$550), especially when you take into account online discounts, and the likes of the five-star Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e £379 / $399 / AU$599. There’s an even bigger gap between the Bose and Sennheiser’s flagship ANC over-ears, the Momentum 4 Wireless £300 / $349.95 / AU$549.95.

The Bose still sit below the even more premium Apple AirPods Max, which are priced at £499 / $549 / AU$899. However, the price of the QC Ultra Headphones can occasionally dip, especially during sales events – we've seen prices as low as £299 / $299 recently.

Build & comfort

• Lightweight, foldable design is great for portable use
• Not quite as luxurious and premium-feeling as B&W and Apple rivals
• Clever, responsive controls
• 24 hours total battery life lags behind Sony XM5's 30 hours

Like a lot of modern designs, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones fold flat, but they’re still hinged which means they (and the supplied carry case) take up less space and are easier to just throw in a bag if you’re in a hurry. That’s something you can’t say about the WH-1000XM5 or Apple AirPods Max.

The Ultra Headphones look like a premium pair of over-ears and the use of metal for the arms and yokes combined with the pleather on the headband and earcups make for an attractive combination. The headphones come in either a Black or White Smoke finish at launch, while a third Lunar Blue and special Diamond 60th Edition options are also available now.

The Bose feel a bit more premium than the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM5, but they aren’t on a par with the stylish and robust Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e which really impress at this level.

The grip pressure on the Bose is well-judged, though, and the clamping force is slightly stronger than the Sonys, which we think some users will prefer. The all-round cushioning on the earpads is still good enough to make for a comfortable listening experience – they offer a good seal and a level of isolation.

On the right earcup there’s a button for power/Bluetooth pairing, a clever capacitive touch strip for volume and accessing shortcuts, and a multifunctional button which can be used for various tasks, including switching listening modes, answering calls and controlling playback.

The capacitive strip (or ridge) is quite short and tucked away but we found it nice and responsive when sliding our thumb to move the volume up and down.

The left earcup has an LED indicator, 2.5mm jack, and USB-C charging port (unfortunately, you can’t listen over a wired USB connection). Bose claims battery life is up to 24 hours with Immersive Audio turned off and 18 hours with it turned on and these figures seem to be matched during testing, although they do still lag behind the Sony XM5’s 30 hours.

Features

• Excellent ANC quality – great scope for customisation too
• Immersive Audio is Bose's take on spatial audio
• Multipoint Bluetooth works well

The big news for the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones is the debut of Bose’s Immersive Audio tech, which is basically its take on spatial audio. The general idea is to get the sound out of your head so it feels less like you’re listening to headphones and more like you’re listening to an image served up by a traditional pair of speakers.

You’ve got two modes of Immersive Audio to switch between: Still and Motion. Still is recommended for when you’re stationary and you want your music to be in a fixed position. Motion “allows the audio to move with you, so it’s always out in front of you – great for staying immersed on the go,” according to Bose. More of our thoughts on this later.

The Ultras also include Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound Technology suite which gives them aptX Adaptive support and the latency and stability benefits the tech brings. It’s also good to see multipoint Bluetooth connectivity is part of the feature set too, so you can be connected to a couple of different sources simultaneously. We found it worked well during testing, switching between an iPhone 12 and MacBook Pro.

• Bose’s spatial audio tech is a nice idea for headphones but it’s too hit-and-miss

Bose’s CustomTune calibration automatically optimises the noise-cancelling from the headphones to match your surroundings, while Bose Aware Mode with ActiveSense automatically adjusts the amount of ANC you’re hearing automatically, so your music isn’t drowned out by particularly loud noises.

There’s a very good level of customisation on offer too, so you can set your own noise-cancelling presets and tweak the amount of outside noise you want to let through, depending on how you want to use them.

With a lot of attention being placed on their Immersive Audio feature, it’s good to see Bose hasn’t taken its eye off the main USP of any headphone in its QuietComfort range, i.e. noise-cancelling. The QC Ultra Headphones don’t let us down during testing, dramatically reducing background rumbles while out walking, and the sound of the London Underground during our daily commute. The ANC is better than that of the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e and we think the Bose actually have the edge over the Sony WH-1000X5 in this department, which is no mean feat.

Interestingly, one of the same quirks we experienced with the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds rears its head again with these over-ears. During testing it happened on a train journey when the clunk of the doors closing together was emphasised instead of being subdued.

Call quality

• Good call quality
• Sony XM5 has slight edge with clearer voices and quieter background noise

Bose claims to have improved call quality in the QC Ultra Headphones, with more advanced microphones in a beamform-array that reduce the impact of external noise. There are five microphones in each earpiece now, compared to four in the old 700 model.

During testing we found the Bose performed perfectly well, although comparing them directly to the Sony XM5, we found the Sony still had the edge – our voices sounded slightly clearer when taking calls, and we also think they do a better job of cancelling out background noise whilst having a conversation.

Spatial audio

• Immersive Audio remains unconvincing and reduces battery life
• Motion mode feels too unnatural

We’ve already had experience with Bose’s Immersive Audio tech when testing its QuietComfort Ultra in-ears. We weren’t hugely convinced then and our opinion isn’t changed by the over-ears.

Once again, though, the general feeling was it works well for some tracks (and sounds better through the over-ears than the earbuds) but can also sound off with others. Robyn’s Dancing On My Own is presented with a wonderfully spacious and immersive soundfield but Kanye West’s Bound 2, in our opinion, sounds overly processed and we found it hard to gel with.

Also, as was the case with the Ultra Earbuds, in the Motion mode we can still hear delay and phase issues as the processing tries to track your head movements. Even with gentle side-to-side head movements, the shifts in the imaging are distracting.

Did we miss spatial audio when switching back to the standard setting? Not really. And, you have to remember that Immersive Audio also slices six hours off the total battery life of the headphones.

Sound

• Hugely entertaining, enthusiastic and refined sound
• Punchy, precise and dynamic
• Richly textured detail and full-bodied presentation
• Sony XM5 is leaner and more transparent; Bose sounds weightier

Whether you take spatial audio or leave it, you’ll be wanting to know how the Bose stack up against the very best sonically, and we have to say, we’re impressed.

Out of the box, the QC Ultra do sound a little uptight and forward so definitely give them plenty of time to bed in. Once they do loosen up, though, you’re in for a sonic treat.

What strikes you from the off is they’re a hugely entertaining pair of headphones. Their enthusiasm crosses over to every genre of music as their precise, punchy delivery is mirrored by your feet tapping away in agreement.

We start our testing with the 2007 remaster of Joy Division’s Disorder and the Bose are quick out of the blocks with speedy and precisely struck drum beats followed by a constant flurry from the bass guitar that runs the whole length of the track. Every note is tightly defined and they have no problem painting texture and giving them shape.

Switch over to Mombassa from the Inception soundtrack and we immediately start to panic. Not because there’s anything wrong with the sound, but because the headphones immediately capture the drama and danger that this track tries to convey.

Highs and lows are painted with a sense of richness and refinement which we think will be hugely appealing to potential buyers. Drums attack hard and fast and there's a real sense of dynamism as the track shifts up through the gears as the intensity and frequency increase.

The Bose also show their versatility with tracks that demand greater care. Play U2’s With Or Without You and the headphones paint a very intimate and atmospheric picture. The timing is spot on and the headphones lay bare the emotion in Bono’s vocal, and the delicacy of the cymbals and tambourine that flutter in the background.

The Bose key rival, the Sony WH-1000XM5 sound quite different. Their character is slightly leaner with a more natural balance. Adam Clayton’s bassline has a bit more weight and treads a finer line when listening through the Bose compared to the Sony. The Sonys deliver greater transparency but at the expense of richness and body. It’s one of those that will come down to personal preference.

Verdict

Bose is back with a bang. Yes, Immersive Audio is hit and miss, and the QuietComfort Headphones are expensive compared to other flagship pairs (which have been on the market considerably longer and thus have an advantage).

But build quality is solid, Bose’s noise-cancelling has gone to a new level and sonically, they have you coming back for more. We haven’t heard a pair of Bose over-ears sound as entertaining or refined for quite some time.

First reviewed: November 2023. Review updated: December 2024.

Tester's notes

Our testing process includes evaluating the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones in several key areas and comparing them to recommended rivals at the same price point. This offers readers a handy comparison and fuller picture of where the Bose headphones sit amongst their rivals in this category. Our findings (ratings out of five) are listed below.

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There are seismic changes coming to the streaming TV landscape.

As Warner Bros. Discovery prepares to sell HBO Max programmes to its biggest rival, and advertising becomes standard on your favourite telly platforms, I’m left wondering if the time is right to fall out of love with streaming TV altogether, or celebrate the dawn of a new era of cheap binge watching?

So what exactly is happening, and how does it affect you and watch you watch? Let’s dig a little deeper…

All maxed out

I want money. That’s what I want. So said The Flying Lizards – and that’s increasingly the mantra coming out of Hollywood.

Studios are waking up to the fact that running a streaming service is no longer a licence to print money. They need to change the game, and fast.

Warner Bros. Discovery and its HBO Max service was one of the first to get a rude awakening. When new CEO David Zaslav took the reins, there was an almighty shake-up.

Streaming service HBO Max, once positioned as a crown jewel in the Warner Bros. portfolio, had become a problem child. When it became clear that a rebrand to Max wasn’t going to solve its woes, Zaslav announced that he would license content to arch-rival Netflix.

Zaslav needs to reduce the company’s debt, and one way to do that is to have a yard sale.

The idea of keeping shows behind a subscription paywall makes little sense if you can’t sign up enough eyeballs.

While we don’t know exactly what HBO shows are heading to Netflix, it’s been reported (via Variety) that Warner will only license shows that have finished their runs – so don’t expect The Last Of Us or House Of The Dragon to turn up on Netflix. More likely are dusty jewels like Band Of Brothers and The Wire, and possibly its original movies, like Extraction and Army Of The Dead.

Of course, this isn’t so different from the international deals the studio has had with premium Pay TV outlets such as Sky, but it does signal an end to a walled-garden streaming philosophy.

Ads and price hikes ahoy!

A more overt change to the landscape is advertising. Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video are all banking on ad revenue to help pay for new content creation.

Netflix was the first major streamer to introduce a Standard with Ads plan, yours for £4.99 / $6.99 per month. By way of comparison, its Premium 4K HDR plan with Dolby Atmos and spatial audio is £14.99 / $19.99. Earlier this year, the streamer reported that it had signed up almost 5 million customers for its ad-supported plan in just six months, with more than 25 per cent of newcomers taking the bait.

Disney Plus is launching its ad-supported tier in the UK on 1st November. The Standard with-ads tier will cost £4.99 / $7.99 a month. For Dolby Atmos, 4K and HDR, you’ll need to pony up £10.99 / $13.99.  

Even Amazon, which largely uses Prime Video as a hook for its delivery service, is adding ads to its service in 2024.

If you’re a Prime Video viewer in the UK, USA, Canada and Germany, you’ll see advertising early next year, unless you top up your existing £95 / $139 Amazon Prime subscription. Australia, France, Spain, Italy, and Mexico will follow with ads later in the year.

It’s not clear how many ads per hour are coming – Amazon says the ad intrusion will be ‘limited’ – but Amazon is looking for significant revenue to fund shows like its Lord Of The Rings series.

It’s expected that you’ll have to stump up an additional $/£2.99 a month to stay ad-free.

Will physical media make a comeback?

Personally, I don’t fancy the idea of copious ad breaks in my streaming shows, but I suspect plenty will be happy to put up with ad-breaks to get cheaper subscriptions.

That said, this shift away from affordable ad-free streaming could have the opposite effect, with subscribers turning from services with even greater frequency, as the viewing experience deteriorates.

One way for studios to shore up revenues would be to re-engage with their Blu-ray audience, and (to a certain extent) that does seem to be happening.

Disney may have quit the Blu-ray and DVD business down under, but it seems to have renewed enthusiasm for physical media elsewhere, recently announcing a slew of mouth-watering releases.

The 118-disc Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection (pictured above), featuring 100 animated films from the Disney and Pixar vaults is priced at a whopping $1,500. 

There’s a 4K Ultra HD release of the original animated Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937), freshly restored and remastered, and for Marvel fans, we have Loki: The Complete First Season and WandaVision: The Complete Series to look forward to, as well as the first two seasons of Star Wars The Mandalorian. All will land on UHD discs before the end of the year.  

Maybe the arrival of ads and more expensive streaming tiers is the incentive we all need to get back into physical media, and a superior sound and vision viewing experience they offer, all over again?

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Amazon Prime Video has become the latest streaming service to add adverts. It will follow Disney Plus (in the US), Netflix and Max to bring ads from early next year. If you want to avoid them, you'll have to pay extra.

That means the price of Prime Video won't change, but you will have to put up with adverts. Avoiding them brings a $2.99-a-month surcharge – international pricing is yet to be announced. Live events like sports will continue to have ads even if you pay the extra fee.

Amazon claims the move is necessary to increase investment in original content without putting up the price. It says it will "aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers."

The US, UK, Germany and Canada will be the first countries to see ads on Prime Video early in 2024. France, Italy, Spain, Mexico and Australia will follow later that year.

Netflix introduced adverts last year. The ad-supported tier includes four to five minutes of adverts per hour of programming, each 15 to 30 seconds in length and playing before and during TV shows and movies. Disney soon followed suit, though only in the US for now. Disney is also following Netflix in cracking down on password sharing.

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I haven't been more excited about a Bose headphone release in years. The just-announced QuietComfort Ultra are the wireless noise-cancelling over-ears I've been hoping for since Apple's AirPods Max arrived and consequently spurred on this new generation of premium premium models – those above your Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700s and your Sony WH-1000XM5s. That they replace the former and crawl back to the company's iconic QuietComfort naming, which the 700 surprisingly shunned in favour of their irritating full name, is further good news.

But I'd be lying if I said that excitement wasn't tinged with a little anxiety – the kind you feel when you're about to sit down for a movie you've been excited to see for ages, just in case it doesn't meet your expectations. Because Bose will have to have come a pretty long way in advancing the sound quality of its recent models for the Ultra to make their mark in this hugely competitive industry.

You might be sitting there thinking “well duh, every pair of headphones should evolve performance over the outgoing model”. And most of the time, they do. Look at the Sennheiser Momentum and Sony WH-1000 ranges – as far back as I can remember, generations of those models have notably advanced audio performance, keeping them at the forefront of the premium wireless headphones field. I know, as I’ve been fortunate to listen to (and, most of the time, live with) generation to generation over the years. But Bose’s hasn’t. At least, not for a while.

The quantum leap necessary

The 2017-released Bose QC35 II brought notable sonic changes over the previous QC35, but since then the company has focused more on advancing features, making design tweaks and ensuring its noise cancellation remains the best on the market – all things it has been very successful in. Audio, however, seems to have taken a backseat. 

Bose admitted that the sound quality of its Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 was comparable to its QC35 II (which upon hearing both pairs, I and others in the What Hi-Fi? reviews team agreed with), and even the succeeding QC45 kept the same drivers. I'm not saying sound quality has stood completely still in the move for these generations, but it’s hardly come on leaps and bounds in the past six years either. And that’s why the last few Bose over-ears have received four, as opposed to five, star reviews; they simply haven’t kept up with the sonic progression their Sony and Sennheiser peers have demonstrated. It’s been disappointing and, quite frankly, rather puzzling.

After all, Bose is more than capable of producing class-leading headphone audio – it’s done it many times in the past, and it is doing so presently with its flagship wireless earbuds, the QuietComfort Earbuds II. The Ultra not only have to move on the performance of the 700 and QC45 considerably to catch up to class-leading Sony XM5 quality, but they have to go beyond that level to justify their extra expense – £449/$429 compared to £380/$399. Indeed Bose is looking to knock the AirPods Max off their lofty perch too, and to fall much short of that would be a damn pity.

A spatial audio priority?

They will need to make sonic gains over the 700 and QC45 that are significantly bigger than is typical for a single generational jump. And I hope a focus on spatial audio – or 'Immersive Audio', as Bose is calling it – hasn't distracted Bose from that. Because if my experience of the fledgling immersive audio tech so far has told me anything, it's that its enjoyment is pretty hit-and-miss depending on the content. That said, I can't wait to see what Bose has done in this space.

What Hi-Fi?'s deputy editor (and headphones guru) Andy Madden was gifted some hands-on time with the Ultra during a Bose press event this week, and reports in his hands-on QuietComfort Ultra review that "a large chunk of Bose’s demo was, understandably, its new Immersive Audio tech". He seems impressed (and he isn't easily!) by the greater sense of immersion it produces – "open and spacious, but also full of detail". First impressions of the general sound quality were also pretty favourable, though I know as well as anyone that it's difficult to form a lasting opinion from a brief demo session in a less-than-ideal environment, often without benchmark pairs for comparison. 

Only proper testing time by our expert reviews team will reveal how they stack up sonically against the competition, but for now I'll remain quietly confident. Everything else – the sleek, foldable design, 24-hour battery life, support for the higher-quality aptX Adaptive, and, of course, the intriguing Immersive Audio – looks promising at least.

Hopefully, then, the QuietComfort Ultra seize the opportunity to allow Bose to take back the wireless over-ear market, not least as it arguably already leads the class in the aesthetic and noise-cancelling sides of things. If they do right by the Bose QC line's legacy here, I'm here for them.

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Check out the other new Bose headphones: Bose's new QuietComfort Ultra range of wireless headphones goes big on spatial audio – and includes Sony XM5 rivals

Well, hasn’t Bose been busy? Following recent reports which pointed to a brand new pair of premium wireless over-ears and earbuds being readied for launch, Bose has officially whipped off the covers for the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones and QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds.

Available in Black or White Smoke, the former replace the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, while the latter take the place of the five-star QuietComfort Earbuds II.

Bose Immersive Audio makes its debut on both Ultra pairs. The tech is designed to make “spatial audio accessible to all” thanks to some powerful new onboard processing. According to Bose, the mode reveals music’s “true depth, spatialising what you're hearing by virtually placing it in front of you” and “virtually seating you in the acoustic sweet spot.”

• Hands On: Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones review

There are two modes of Immersive Audio to switch between – Still and Motion. Still is recommended for when you are stationary and you want your music to be in a fixed position. Motion “allows the audio to move with you, so it’s always out in front of you - great for staying immersed on the go,” according to Bose.

The Ultra models also get Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound Technology suite which gives them both aptX Adaptive support.

On top of the new spatial audio processing and aptX Adaptive, the QuietComfort Ultra models also feature Bose’s CustomTune calibration and Bose Aware Mode with ActiveSense which automatically adjusts the amount of ANC being used automatically, so your music isn’t drowned out by particularly loud noises

Bose claims to have improved the call quality of the over-ears too, with more advanced microphones in a beamform array that reduces the impact of external noise.

The QuietComfort Ultra Headphones fold flat like the old 700 model but they have been given a cleaner design. On the right earcup there is a button for power/Bluetooth pairing, a capacitive touch strip for volume and accessing shortcuts, and a multifunctional button which can be used for various tasks, including switching listening modes, answering calls or playing your music.

The left earcup has an LED indicator, 2.5mm jack, and USB-C charging port. Bose claims battery life is up to 24 hours with Immersive Audio turned off and 18 hours with it turned on.

So what do the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones cost? Well, the pricing makes for interesting reading. They are more expensive than their predecessors and will cost £450 / $429 / AU$649 when they go on sale in October. This places them at a higher price point than the excellent Sony WH-1000XM5 £380 / $399 / AU$550 but still keeps a decent amount of distance between themselves and the Apple AirPods Max £549 / $549 / AU$899.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds get Immersive Audio, CustomTune, touch controls and an IPX4 rating. Again, Bose claims to have improved call quality in tricky environments – the headphones can prioritise the mic on each bud that is experiencing the least noise, and also filter noise out so your voice sounds clearer.

Look closely and you will see that the buds have a new metallic treatment, while the fit of the stability bands that wrap around the edge of each earbud has been tweaked too.

Battery life comes in at an average of six hours when Bose Immersive Audio is turned off and this drops to four hours when it’s turned on. This seems like quite a sacrifice – hopefully the experience will be worth it.

The new earbuds are also getting a price increase over the outgoing model. They will be available for £300 / $299 / AU$450 from early October. In comparison, the Sony WF-1000XM5 cost £259 / $299 / AU$419 and Apple AirPods Pro 2 £249 / $249 / AU$399 at launch.

Bose also now offers a £50 / $49 optional wireless charging case for the earbuds cover which slips over the normal case. It goes on sale on the 20th October and is also compatible with the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II.

But two new headphone models aren’t enough for Bose. It has also launched another pair of over-ear headphones that do without ‘Ultra’ status and their associated features. They are simply called the Bose QuietComfort Headphones. They replace the QuietComfort 45 and add the ability to adjust levels of ANC and set custom noise-cancelling modes. There’s also multipoint Bluetooth and up to 24 hours of battery life.

They are available in Black and White Smoke and a limited edition Cypress Green colourway and will launch on September 21st for £350 / $349 / AU$550.

Well, that’s quite a lot to take in. We have to say it’s a little surprising that Bose is replacing the QuietComfort Earbuds II so soon. They are barely 12 months old, but launching the complete ‘Ultra’ range in one go does make sense.

When it comes to the over-ears, it always seemed a little strange that Bose had a flagship model without QuietComfort in the title given the rich history of the sub-brand. And given the Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 launched way back in 2019, a new flagship pair has arguably been a long time coming.

We will hopefully be going hands-on with all the new pairs in the near future, so stay tuned to What Hi-Fi? for our first impressions.

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Apple has confirmed that its AirPods Pro 2 wireless earbuds will now come with a USB-C charging case, replacing the old case with a Lightning connector.

As revealed during the company’s annual Apple Event on 12th September, AirPods Pro 2 users will be able to get their hands on a USB-C charging case in the near future and we hope that this new feature will carry over to future models. However, for now, Apple has only confirmed the change for the AirPods Pro 2.

The move was rumoured to be on the cards for the last few months and was announced alongside the inclusion of USB-C on the newly-launched iPhone 15.

The change follows pressure from EU regulators for Apple to fall into line with the increasing majority of consumer technology products and do away with its proprietary connection in favour of the more common USB-C. 

What's the upside for consumers? Fewer cables, hopefully, and less material waste in the long run. 

There could also be a hi-res audio upside to the addition of USB-C, though we will have to wait until we have our hands on the new AirPods before we can be sure of that.

Sadly there was no other audio news at the event. Despite pre-event rumours Apple didn't so much as mention the AirPods Max 2, AirPods 4 or AirPods Lite during the iPhone 15 launch event.

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AirPods have become something of a cultural phenomenon since they were first introduced back in 2016, easily becoming Apple’s most popular accessory.

And it’s not hard to see why. If you have an iPhone, AirPods are some of the best wireless earbuds on the market, working intuitively with your iOS device for snappy user-friendliness and offering exclusive features such as adaptive audio, conversation awareness and personalised Spatial Audio.

So we’ve rounded up the best deals on all the current models, including the tech giant’s latest flagship: the AirPods Pro 3.

Apple generally reserves its biggest price drops for Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day, and even then the savings can be a bit hit-or-miss. Luckily, even the fresh-faced Pro 3 has seen some early discounts.

We’ve also got the latest deals on the AirPods 4 (with and without ANC) as well as the premium over-ear AirPods Max, as well as expert advice on each model.

We will also add the recently announced AirPods Max 2 once we've reviewed them, so watch this space!

For now, though, scroll down for the best AirPods deals, including live prices in the widgets.

Best AirPods deal UK

Best AirPods deal US

AirPods Pro 3 deals

Apple AirPods Pro (3rd Generation)

Apple’s flagship AirPods Pro 3 are a step forward from their predecessors in nearly every way that counts, resulting in another five stars from us.

Noise cancellation is one area that’s seen a significant improvement, with new ultra-low noise microphones, advanced computational audio, and foam-infused eartips that claim to offer twice the noise-cancelling capability as the Pro 2. During short-haul flights and daily commutes, we found mid and low frequencies were quietened down further.

A fifth XXS ear tip is included for an even better fit, while internally, a new "multiport acoustic architecture" claims to precisely control the airflow into your ear to deliver greater bass and a wider soundstage.

New features include a heart rate sensor to track health and workout stats, and an IP57 water- and sweat-resistance rating. The battery life of the earbuds has increased to eight hours, though the overall battery life with the charging case is down to 24 hours.

Though perhaps most importantly, the sound has also gotten a boost. The Pro 3 have the same balanced sonic character we have come to expect from Apple AirPods, but they now sound clearer, more detailed, more spacious-sounding and more dynamic to boot.

Voices in particular are clean with greater richness, while the Pro 3 manage the balance of frequencies not sticking out nor overly smoothed out, allowing songs to sound enjoyably punchy yet still deliver ample subtlety.

If your budget can stretch to them, then the Pro 3 are the best in-ear AirPods you can get and one of the most user-friendly wireless earbuds if you’re an iOS user.

Read our full AirPods Pro (3rd generation) review

AirPods 4 deals

Apple AirPods 4 with ANC

The Apple AirPods 4 are the newest 'standard' AirPods. The fourth-gen AirPods opt for an 'open' design, sporting no eartips and a refined design that we found fit easily to the contours of our ears. At just 4.3g each, they're also feather-light, although be warned there are still many who don't quite get along with the fit.

The AirPods 4 come in two variants: one with active noise-cancelling and one without, both now sporting the H2 chip. The standard, non-ANC model will set you back $129 / £129, while the AirPods 4 with ANC retail at $179 / £179.

The ANC AirPods 4, aside from noise cancelling, come equipped with a slightly different charging case that supports wireless charging and has a small built-in speaker which can play a noise to help you find it. Both models features USB-C charging.

We didn't think an open design would work that well with active noise cancelling, but the result is seriously impressive. The AirPods 4 with ANC target low-level noises specifically, so the rumble of traffic, engine hums and such are cancelled out effectively.

While some noise still comes through, it does a great job of keeping droning noises away so you can hear your music clearly – while still being aware of your surroundings. Pro 2 features such as adaptive audio, conversation mode and personalised volume are included in the ANC model.

Both versions of the AirPods 4 are equipped with personalised spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, as well as clear voice call capabilities and hands-free gesture controls for responding to Siri.

Battery life hasn't changed much since the last iteration, sitting at 30 hours in total with the charging case, a figure which lags a little behind the competition; the Cambridge Audio M100, for instance, offer a whopping 52 hours in total with ANC switched on.

Sonically, the AirPods 4 with ANC have a similar balance to the Pro 2, serving up the clarity, detail and balance that made those exceptional buds such a pleasure to listen to.

Voices are particularly impressive, with the updated drivers offering a nimble and clean sound that is nice to hear, although it doesn't quite have the heft or dynamic subtlety of the flagship Pro models.

The AirPods 4 with ANC (and the standard models without) are decent earbuds for iOS fans, however, and their mix of price and features will certainly appeal.

Read our Apple AirPods 4 with ANC review

AirPods Max deals

Apple AirPods Max

In 2020, Apple finally delivered its first over-ear, noise-cancelling, wireless headphones: the AirPods Max, and while we found them to be large, rather heavy and very expensive, we also thought they were some of the finest headphones of any type produced by Apple.

With a five-star review and a 2021 What Hi-Fi? Award to their name, the Max offer exceptional build quality, superb noise-cancelling and, most importantly, some of Apple's best-ever sound.

Their authenticity, detail, crispness and spaciousness elevate their audio quality enough to be considered alongside genuine hi-fi products at this price point. They work best with iOS devices, naturally, with cinematic spatial audio and Siri voice control amongst the many Apple-only features.

If you're an Android user, you might want to consider worthy rivals such as the Focal Bathys, the Sony WH-10000XM5 or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones.

While the discounts on Apple's over-ears were never usually major, that has really started to change as the Max have aged and, more importantly, a new 2024 update – a sort of Max 1.5 – arrived with USB-C charging and some new finishes.

Do note that whichever you choose – with USB-C or Lightning charging – you'll get the same audio quality, though, so there's no fear that you're missing out on better sound if you opt for the original pair.

Read our full AirPods Max review

AirPods Pro 2 deals

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

Apple's previous generation flagship AirPods Pro 2 earbuds earned the brand its first five-star review for the in-ear models. Thanks to the powerful new H2 chip, the noise-cancelling is improved twofold, sound quality is now on par with the class leaders, and there are plenty of additional user-friendly features.

Battery life has increased to six hours in the earbuds, with 24 extra hours with the charging case, which now has a built-in speaker to emit tones. A fourth XS ear tip is included for an even better fit, and a new "Adaptive" Transparency Mode damps down loud and sudden harsh noises to great effect.

Thanks to the iOS 17 software update, you also get nifty new features like Adaptive Audio (which dynamically adjusts the ANC according to our surroundings) and Conversation Mode (which pauses music when it recognises that you're speaking).

But it's the excellent sound quality that's king here. Weighty, detailed, open and with plenty of dynamic subtlety, these really are accomplished performers.

Voices in particular sound natural, there's more power than before, and overall it's an airy sound that is easy to listen to for hours. For iOS users, they might be the only wireless earbuds you'll ever need.

Do note that in 2023, Apple swapped out the old Lightning connector charging case with a USB-C charging case and a new £229 price in the UK. There's no change to the earbuds or the sound quality, but be careful when buying online to make sure you pick the correct case option.

AirPods Pro 2 stock is starting to dry up following the release of the Pro 3, but there are some good discounts to be had if you're able to find a pair still on sale.

Read our full AirPods Pro (2nd generation) review

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The success of Apple's AirPods cannot be denied. Not only did they make true wireless earbuds mainstream at a time when the technology was relatively niche and expensive, but they have also remained the dominant model of choice today when more or less every headphone manufacturer has produced rival pairs. 

While the earlier models didn't bowl us over in terms of sound quality, the AirPods Max, AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro 2 have made the line much more competitive. So if you own one of those models in particular, congratulations – you've made a fine choice.

If you have landed on this page, the chances are you are an AirPods owner who is searching for, or curious to know, ways to get more out of them. Because even if you are an experienced AirPods user, you may well only be scratching the surface of what they can do. Below are several AirPods tips and FAQ answers to help you get to know your Apple earbuds better, from how to care for them correctly to tracking them down if you've mislaid them.

Switch between devices automatically

You can switch your AirPods automatically between Apple devices, providing you're signed in with your Apple ID on each. For example, make a call on your iPhone, and your AirPods will switch to it from whatever you're listening to on your Mac or iPad.

Try Conversation Boost

Ever struggle to hear what someone is saying, despite the fact they're standing right in front of you? You're not alone. And your AirPods can help. Connect them to your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and enable Headphone Accommodations on said device (it's in Settings  > Accessibility > Audio/Visual). Tap Transparency Mode, turn on Custom Transparency Mode, then turn on Conversation Boost.

And hey presto – your AirPods will pick up the dialogue from the person in front of you and boost it over background noise so you can hear what they're saying. Whether you'll like what they're saying is another matter...

Have Siri announce your notifications

Siri can announce your notifications from certain apps like Messages and Reminders, and you can reply by speaking. Turn it on in the Notifications sub-menu of the Settings menu. When Siri has read it out it'll listen for your reply. It'll then read it back to you to check before sending.

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These are the best AirPods deals going

The wait for cheaper AirPods goes on. The AirPods Lite have been rumoured for a while now, but Apple's September 'Glowtime' iPhone launch event didn't see a cheap pair of earbuds arrive alongside a raft of other new AirPods and iPhones.

Apple has fared extremely well at the high end of the headphone market, with the flagship AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Max both earning five-star reviews from our test team and selling by the bucketload, so it makes sense that it would want to expand its purview to the cheaper end of the wireless earbuds spectrum. Sadly, though, we've yet to see the rumoured Lite arrive as the year wears on. 

We did see new entry-level AirPods 4 and iPhone 16 become a reality at the September 2024 launch event, plus health-focused features for the AirPods Pro 2 and some minor updates to the much-loved AirPods Max over ears. The wait for even more budget Apple buds goes on, though, leaving us to continue speculating just what these phantoms AirPods will look like and sound like, what they'll do, and how much they'll cost. 

• Apple iPhone 16 launch event live: AirPods 4, iPhone 16 and updates to the AirPods Pro 2

Apple AirPods Lite: release date rumours

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently claimed that production lines are readying for a run of 20-25 million pairs of new AirPods, which were expected to launch at the end of summer 2024 at the same time as the iPhone 16.

In a report last year, analyst Jeff Pu claimed that Apple was working on a cheap pair of earbuds, a model he referred to as the “AirPods Lite”. Inveterate Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo only fanned these flames, predicting that the next generation of AirPods would ship in the second half of 2024 or the first half of 2025.

We thought that we'd see the AirPods Lite revealed at Apple's Glowtime event on September 9th, 2024, yet that didn't happen. Instead, we were treated to updates to the AirPods Pro 2, USB-C charging for the AirPods Max and the official reveal of the new AirPods 4 in two variants, but no truly budget in-ears. The most likely release date, then, does seem to be early 2025. 

Here's something else to bear in mind: it's quite possible that Apple has lined up the standard version of the new AirPods 4 as its new cheapest version of wireless earbuds and positioned the AirPods 4 with ANC as its replacement for the outgoing AirPods 3. The standard model without ANC will now cost $129 / £129, but that could end up falling to around £99 / $99, while the version with ANC will cost $179 / £179 when they go on sale on 20th September, around the same price as the outgoing AirPods 3. 

Apple AirPods Lite: price predictions 

Pricing at this stage is predominantly on US-based predictions, but industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo does have a specific number in mind. Kuo claims that Apple plans to target a $99 price point for the AirPods Lite, undercutting the current cheapest AirPods 2 model by roughly $30. 

However, some speculate that Apple might introduce a new, cheap pair of AirPods at a slightly higher price and, instead, cut the price of the standard AirPods 3 to turn them into a more budget option.

Either way, it's unlikely Apple will have three pairs of 'standard' AirPods in its lineup. Apple now has a noise-cancelling version of the AirPods 4 costing $179, so that might help to justify a slightly higher price than the AirPods Lite. It may, however, negate the need for a cheaper model at all, as the AirPods 4 will become the budget version and the ANC iteration will be the more costly alternative. 

If the Lite do eventually arrive, a serious cut from the current $129 benchmark feels like the most likely outcome. We reckon somewhere around $100 is more likely, which translates to around £80 / AU$150.

Apple AirPods Lite: design 

We can pretty much safely bet that the AirPods Lite will be wireless earbuds, almost certainly daubed in the company’s now-iconic white paint and most likely with stem designs, although the length of the stem itself is up for speculation. 

What we’d most logically expect is a similar design to the proposed model’s cousins, the AirPods 3 – i.e. short listening stems, an unobtrusive ear tip configuration and hopefully some touch controls for skipping tracks and changing volume on the fly. They were themselves an update on the AirPods 2's longer-stemmed, double-tap-control design, which Apple is now likely to have firmly moved away from for future models.

The excellent Pro 2 flagship model of the AirPods feature interchangeable silicone ear tips depending on the size of the wearer’s lugs, something that wasn't featured with the AirPods 3 (or the new AirPods 4). Our guess at this cheaper end of the price spectrum is that you’ll get an unadjustable tip rather than interchangeable ones, even if this unalterable design gives your inner-ear cartilage a potentially rougher time of it. 

Perhaps to cut costs (and help differentiate the models) Apple will also do away with touch controls altogether on a cheaper Pod.

Apple AirPods Lite: features 

The most likely competitors to the AirPods Lite would be the Sony WF-C500 and the Panasonic RZ-S500W. These class-leading budget wireless earbuds retail for around £89/$79/AU$149 and £100/$150/AU$219 respectively. And they show what to expect from cheaper AirPods.

You can’t expect too much from such affordable products, of course. But the excellent Sony WF-C500 do have IPX4 waterproofing, Bluetooth 5.0 and a 20-hour battery life, so we would expect the AirPods Lite to include similar specs at this price level, if not better. The AirPods 2 have a 24-hour battery life, so Apple is unlikely to drop below that figure. The AirPods 4 offer 30 hours.

We wouldn’t expect AirPods 4-level features like spatial audio support and wireless charging, though. Because of such feature omissions, the AirPods Lite might find themselves with an older, less powerful Apple chip too.

Now, the brilliant Panasonic RZ-S500W offer noise-cancelling technology, but that’s a very rare feature for earbuds at their price, often saved for models around and above the £150/$200/AU$300 mark. One of the new AirPods 4 has ANC, but it's safe to say the Lite model won't – Apple has to differentiate between the two ranges somehow.

Apple AirPods Lite: sound quality 

This is the factor that matters most. After all, no amount of fancy aesthetic flourishes and clever functionality can mask poor sound quality, Apple label or no.

We’ve been impressed with the audio fidelity of Apple’s recent AirPods line. The AirPods 3 deliver a tonally balanced and decently detailed sound (even if it’s not as insightful as the best at their price), and we regarded the Pro 2 model as a five-star class leader in the sound quality department. Honestly, the AirPods 3's sound quality in a more budget model wouldn’t be far off what we can these days expect from a $99 pair, though this could again be one of the areas in which Apple chooses to differentiate the models. Fingers crossed it isn’t.

MORE: 

Apple's AirPods 4 launch with two model variants: one with noise-cancelling, one without

AirPods Max 2: release date rumours, potential price, features and spec leaks

AirPods Pro 3: release date rumours and price predictions and features we want

Need to know which Apple Music songs are available in Spatial Audio?

See the best AirPods deals live right now 

Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 5 live stream

Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 5 starts its engines on 24th February 2023 on Netflix in the UK, US and Australia. Netflix costs £4.99 / $6.99 / AU$6.99 a month – those are for the ad-supported tiers, you can pay more to do away with adverts and to get extras like downloads for offline viewing. Travelling abroad? You can use a VPN to watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 5 wherever you are.

• Watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 5 on Netflix
• Watch from anywhere with ExpressVPN

Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 5 live stream: preview

Formula 1: Drive to Survive is back for a fifth season. The documentary provides a behind-the-scenes look at the previous year's Formula One season, complete with analysis, background and commentary from those involved. Season five promises the first full appearance – including in-show interviews – from Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. That's big news, considering Verstappen previously criticised the show for fabricating events during the World Championships.

Verstappen is the reigning Formula One Drivers' Champion, having won for the second year running. But he refused to cooperate with the show since season one, after being angered at how he was portrayed. He publicly criticised the show for concocting rivalries between drivers and for making him look arrogant. So it's quite a coup to get him onboard.

The series will cover all the main events of the 2022 Formula One World Championship, of which there were many. Like the ups and downs experienced by Scuderia Ferrari, for instance, or the 'porpoising' effect (when airflow stalls due to the car being too low to the track, causing the car to bounce up) suffered by the Mercedes W13. Then there was Oscar Piastri's contract dispute, and Daniel Ricciardo's disappointing season at McLaren (which saw him criticised publicly by McLaren Racing's CEO Zak Brown before terminating his contract with the team a year early by mutual consent). 

So plenty to cover. As with previous seasons, all 10 episodes of Formula 1: Drive to Survive season five will drop on the same day: Friday 24th February, just over a week before the 2023 Formula One World Championship starts with the Bahrain Grand Prix on 5th March. You can watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive season five on Netflix wherever it's available. And if you're abroad, you can watch it from wherever you are using a VPN.

US: watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 5 live stream

Formula 1: Drive to Survive season five is a collaborative production between Netflix and Formula One, so it's exclusive to Netflix. In the US, Netflix starts at $6.99 a month – the free trial is a thing of the past, we're afraid. But there's no contract and you can cancel any time.

Watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive season five live stream from anywhere

You won't be able to watch your regular Formula 1: Drive to Survive live stream while traveling abroad. The streaming service will spot that you're in a foreign country and block you. You can use a VPN (virtual private network) to get around this, though.

It's a straightforward piece of software which sets your device to appear as if it's in the right country, allowing you to watch the Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 5 live stream from anywhere in the world.

We rate ExpressVPN as the best VPN. It offers a 30-day guarantee for all your money back if you're not happy with the service.

How to use a VPN for the Formula 1: Drive to Survive season five live stream

1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 5, you may wish to choose 'US' for Netflix.

3. Then head over to Netflix on your browser or device and enjoy the Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 5 live stream!

Watch the Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 5 trailer

Can I watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive season five in the UK?

Can I watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive season five in Australia?

If you're in Australia, you can watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive season five on Netflix. Just like in the UK and US, all 10 episodes are available on 24th February.

Outside Australia? Simply use a VPN to access your local Formula 1: Drive to Survive season five live stream without being geo-blocked.

Watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive season five in Canada

Formula 1: Drive to Survive season five is also available on Netflix in Canada. Netflix starts at $5.99 a month in Canada – that's for the Basic with adverts tier. Standard (which gives you no ads and downloads for offline viewing) is $16.49 a month, while Premium (which adds 4K HDR video quality) is $20.99 a month.

• Upgrade the action: best TVs
• Go big this year: best projectors
• Meet the new Apple 4K TV with HDR10 support

Watch F1 live stream 2026

The 2026 F1 season switches focus to the 4.326km Red Bull Ring now for the Austrian Grand Prix (26th-28th June), so here's our guide to where to watch F1 live streams. Races are shown live on Apple TV Plus (USA), Sky Sports (UK), Kayo Sports (Australia) and F1 TV Pro (RoW), though some lucky fans can watch free F1 live streams of every GP! Full details on how to watch F1 on TV and online where you are, just below.

F1 2026 season preview

Kimi Antonelli's lead has been cut from 68 to 41 points a third of the way into the season, but even though the Silver Arrows have won six of the first seven Grands Prix, his closest challenger isn't teammate George Russell. Instead, it's Lewis Hamilton who's been the best of the rest so far.

That's because Antonelli was behind five of those six Mercedes wins, whereas Russell has struggled, making only two GP podiums since winning the opener. At just 19 years of age, Antonelli is the youngest championship leader in F1 history, and it's worth remembering that any title aspirations he might have held in preseason were faint.

Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen have shown glimmers, following the unscheduled one-month break stemming from Israeli and American attacks on Iran, Lebanon and the Middle East, which gave the chasing pack enough time to completely redevelop their cars. However, even at this early stage they're each looking well short.

Read on as we explain how to watch F1 races online and on TV.

Watch F1 free live streams

Lucky F1 fans in Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg can pick up a free live F1 stream of every single race. There are also free, extended highlights available in the UK and Australia.

Austria
ORF On and Servus TV On are each showing 12 races for free in 2026.

Luxembourg
RTL Play has the rights to every 2026 Formula 1 race.

Belgium
Free-to-air RTBF Auvio will serve up a free F1 live stream of each race.

Australia
10Play will provide free highlights of every race this season, plus a free live stream of the Australian GP.

UK
Channel 4 airs free highlights of every race, plus a free live stream of the British GP.

VPN services are evaluated and tested by us in view of legal recreational use. For example:a) Access to services from other countries, (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).b) Safeguarding your online security and making your online privacy more robust when abroad.Future plc does not support nor condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. We do not endorse nor approve of consuming pirated content that is paid-for.

Watch an F1 live stream from anywhere

Most F1 live streams are location-sensitive. So, you won't be able to access your usual stream travelling away from home. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a small but powerful app that lets you select your preferred location and quickly unblock and watch your usual F1 live stream safely and securely from almost any location.

NordVPN is our pick of the best VPN services. It's affordable, fast, stable and easy to use. Try it risk-free for 30 days and see for yourself.

How to use a VPN 

1. Sign up to the VPN of your choice. NordVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open the VPN app and choose the location of the service you usually access (e.g. UK, Austria, US, etc).

3. Then head over to your home streaming service on your browser and enjoy your usual F1 live stream as if you were back home.

• Watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 8 on Netflix

How to watch F1 on your mobile device

In the US, iOS and Android users can stream every race live and on demand via the F1 TV Pro app.

In the UK, fans will need to subscribe to either Sky or Now and watch via the Sky Go or Now apps.

How to watch F1 in 4K Ultra HD

In the UK, you can watch every F1 race in 4K via Sky Q, Sky Glass and Sky Stream puck. You'll need to subscribe to an Ultra HD package and have a 4K TV.

Head over to the Sky Sports F1 Ultra HD channel to watch every race, qualifying and practice in 4K and HDR.

If you want to get the very best picture quality out of the 4K HDR stream, check out our guide to the best TV settings for watching Formula 1.

Sky does not offer Dolby Atmos sound but subscribers can enjoy the action in Dolby 5.1 surround sound.

Need Sky? Today's best Sky TV deals.

If you're in Australia, you can catch every race in 4K on Kayo Sports, but you will need the Kayo Basic subscription for AU$35 a month to access high resolution content.

F1 season pass

F1 TV Pro includes live HD coverage of every F1 practice, qualifier and race. No ad breaks.

Fans in the US can subscribe to F1 TV Pro for just $10.99 a month or $84.99 per year, while those in the Netherlands can snag it for just €11.90 a month. There's also F1 TV Premium if you fancy streaming F1 in 4K (not available in the UK).

In India, F1 TV Pro is just $3.99 a month or $29.99 a year after the 7-day free trial.

F1 TV Pro is available in over 188 countries – but not the UK (you can use the basic 'Access' version for live timings but you can't watch any races live). F1 TV Premium is available in the US.

F1 TV Pro is available via the F1 TV website, iOS/Android apps, Roku TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Google TV and other mobile devices.

Latest F1 TV Pro prices:

• F1 TV Pro in India – $3.99/month (cheapest)
• F1 TV Pro in South Africa – $4.99/month
• F1 TV Pro in Brazil – $5.99/month
• F1 TV Pro in Netherlands – €11.90/month
• F1 TV Pro in USA – $10.99/month
• F1 TV Pro in Mexico – $129/month

Watch F1 live in the USA

In the USA, all 22 races of the 2026 F1 season are exclusive to Apple TV Plus.

A subscription costs $12.99 per month after a 7-day FREE trial, though better deals are available to Apple customers.

Buying an eligible Apple devices, including select iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac models, gets you free Apple TV access for three months.

Apple One, which bundles Apple TV Plus with Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness Plus, Apple News Plus and 50GB of iCloud Storage, starts at $19.95 per month after a 1-month free trial.

Alternatively, for a limited time, the Apple Music Student Subscription includes Apple TV Plus, and costs $6 per month.

Watch F1 live stream in Australia

In Australia, every race of the 2026 F1 season will be live streamed on Kayo Sports in 4K via Fox Sports. Kayo offers new customers a FREE 7-day trial to test the waters, after which it starts at AU$25 a month for the base subscription tier, Kayo One. For simultaneous streaming on up to two devices, you'll need the Kayo Basic plan for AU$35 a month.

Subscribers can also stream the action via Foxtel Now by adding the Sports package ($30 a month).

Happy with highlights? 10Play will show free highlights of every 2026 F1 race, plus free coverage of the Australian Grand prix.

Watch F1 live in the Netherlands

F1 TV Pro offers live coverage F1 practice, qualifiers and races in 2026. F1 fans can also watch on Viaplay and Viaplay. NOS will provide free Dutch GP coverage.

Watch F1 live in Spain

DAZN has the exclusive rights to show Formula 1 in Spain until the end of 2026. The streaming service will show practice, qualifiers and races on its exclusive DAZN F1 channel. If you want a cheap Spanish F1 stream, you know what to do...

Watch F1 live stream in France

All live races are available to watch on French broadcaster Canal+ until 2029 – that gets you full, live coverage of the 2026 F1 season, including practice sessions, qualifiers and every Grand Prix. The Bahrain, Monaco, United States and Mexico City Grands Prix will be shown on free-to-air C8.

Watch F1 live in the rest of the world

F1 2026 race calendar – start times

• Feast your eyes on the best TVs
• Splash the cash on our cheap TV deals
• Our pick of the best streaming services

It might be Blue Monday, but Sky customers have a reason to smile. Sky is making Discovery+ available on the service for free – previously it cost £6.99 a month. But not all Sky customers are eligible.

Want to know if you're one of the lucky ones? And if so, how to take advantage? Read on for everything you need to know about getting Discovery+ on Sky TV for free.

Can I watch Discovery+ on Sky for free?

Yes, providing you are an eligible Sky customer. If you have Sky Q, Sky Glass or Sky Stream, congrats – you can access the service with nothing to pay.

But if you have Sky Q Essentials, Sky Q Lite, or Sky+, unfortunately you can't, so you'll have to pay the usual £6.99 a month fee, or go without.

If you are eligible and you already pay for Discovery+, then Sky will upgrade you automatically, you don't need to do anything.

How to get Discovery+ for free on Sky TV

It's simple. Just select the Discovery+ app and sign up.

Discovery+ appears in the Apps rail on Sky Glass, Sky Stream and Sky Q. Or you can find it by voice search – just say "Get Discovery+" to your Sky Glass or into your Sky Q/Sky Stream voice remote, and it should find it for you.

What's on Discovery+?

Lots. With sport, entertainment, true crime, reality and more, there should be something for everyone.

Sports fans are covered with the 2023 Australian Open and Roland-Garros tennis tournaments. There are over 30 days of cycling action – including the Tour de France – as well as the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Those looking for real-life courtroom drama can get their fix with Vardy vs Rooney: The Wagatha Trial, which chronicles the Wagatha Christie court case that captured headlines recently, while Written in the Stars (which sees astrologers playing matchmaker) 90 Day Fiancé and Beauty and the Geek take care of the reality TV side.

True crime lovers will enjoy the Faking It specials, and there are passion projects in the form of Richard Hammond’s Workshop and Peter Crouch: Save Our Beautiful Game.

Discovery+'s parent company Discovery merged with HBO Max owner WarnerMedia last year, with murmurs that the two streaming services would become one. As yet, there's no sign of that happening, but we're not ruling anything out.

Does Discovery+ stream in 4K?

It does indeed, though sadly not on Sky. A Sky spokesperson tells us: "Currently, customers can't watch Discovery+ content in 4K on Sky." Shame. But the Discovery+ website says the service is "working hard to support more platforms and add more Ultra HD video all the time," so hopefully Sky will come to the Ultra HD party soon.

Even those who can watch in 4K (owners of the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and Apple TV 4K among them) can't access the service's entire catalogue in that resolution. Discovery+ has a "selection of episodes and specials" streaming in 4K, most of which is in the Nature & Animals collection.

But if you search using the terms "UHD", "Ultra HD", and "4K", you'll see everything that's available in Ultra HD.

MORE:

Sky Stream vs Sky Q: what are the differences? Which is better?

Gear up for Sky Stream with today's best TV deals 

In need of entertainment? The 40 best shows to watch on Netflix right now 

Our pick of the best streaming services for TV and movies

How to Watch The Last of Us

How to Watch The Last of Us: show preview

It’s been a long time coming, but The Last of Us has finally been adapted for the small screen. And word is that this intimate story about hope, survival, and love in a bleak, post-apocalyptic world isn’t just one of the best video game adaptations ever, but one of best TV series in recent memory, period. The first episode arrives on January 15. Here's how to watch The Last of Us online from anywhere in the world.

The Last of Us should delight both devoted gamers and fans of prestige drama. Craig Mazin – the Emmy award-winning writer of HBO’s 2017 miniseries Chernobyl – developed the show alongside the game’s esteemed original creator, Neil Druckmann.

Comprising of nine hour-long episodes, it follows middle-aged smuggler Joel (Pedro Pascal) and 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as they traverse an America ravaged by the spread of a devastating virus called Cordyceps, something that turns its hosts into fungal mutants. And Ellie’s survival is paramount, as her ostensible immunity to the disease might just hold the key to finding a cure.

It's already been praised for its bravura storytelling and performances with roles for Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus) and Nick Offerman (Fargo) as two men surviving the apocalypse together, while Lamar Johnson (The Next Step, Your Honor) and Keivonn Woodard also shine as two brothers in Kansas City trying to outwit merciless revolutionaries.

Prepare for one shatteringly brilliant drama.

When does The Last of Us air?

The Last of Us begins on Sunday 15th January or Monday 16th January depending on your location. Episodes air every Sunday/Monday after that with the final episode on 12th/13th March.

The the US and Canada, episodes air at 6pm PT / 9pm ET. The show is simulcast worldwide, so episodes arrive in UK at 2am GMT and in Australia at 1pm AEDT.

• Ep 1: When you're lost in the darkness - Jan 15 (US & CAN) / Jan 16 (UK & AUS)
• Ep 2: Infected - Jan 22 (US & Canada) / Jan 23 (UK & Australia)
• Episode 3 – January 29 (US and Canada) / January 30 (UK and Australia)
• Episode 4 – February 5 (US and Canada) / February 6 (UK and Australia)
• Episode 5 – February 12 (US and Canada) / February 13 (UK and Australia)
• Episode 6 – February 19 (US and Canada) / February 20 (UK and Australia)
• Episode 7 – February 26 (US and Canada) / February 27 (UK and Australia)
• Episode 8 – March 5 (US and Canada) / March 6 (UK and Australia)
• Episode 9 – March 12 (US and Canada) / March 13 (UK and Australia)

How to Watch The Last of Us in 4K HDR and Atmos

While The Last of Us is available on Binge, Now, Sky TV and HBO Max, not all services and subscriptions offer the full fat 4K HDR action or Dolby Atmos sound.

For the full experience in the UK, you'll need Sky Q and the Ultra HD add-on. There's no 4K content on Now at present. Here are all the best Sky Q deals available right now.

For those in the States, HBO Max is definitely the way but you'll need to pay for the HBO Max commercial-free subscription. Full details just below.

And, unfortunately, for those Australia, there is no 4K content on Binge and The Last of Us is not airing on one of Foxtel's 4K channels.

USA: How to Watch The Last of Us

How to watch The Last of Us online in the US

How to Watch The Last of Us from anywhere

Although HBO Max is only available in the US at the moment, it's relatively simple for subscribers to access the service while traveling outside the US using a reliable VPN or "Virtual Private Network" allowing you to watch on your laptop, smart TV, set-top box or streaming stick.

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For HBO Max, you may wish to choose 'US'.

3. Then head over to HBO Max on your browser or device and enjoy watching The Last of Us online.

Do I need a US credit card for HBO Max?

If you don't have a credit card issued in the US the best option is to use PayPal or subscribe on your iPhone/iPad or Android phone/tablet. 

How to sign up to HBO Max without a US credit card:

1. Launch your chosen VPN and select US as your country 

2. Create a new Apple ID/Google account remembering to have US as your country. (Apple users can use a UK phone number but should head to the Apple ID website to sign up, rather than using an app on their device). 

3. Use your new Apple ID/Google account to access the US Apple App Store or US Google Play Store and download the HBO Max app.

4. Subscribe to HBO Max through the HBO Max app, using PayPal (this can be a UK account) as your method of payment.

5. You should now be able to sign in to your HBO Max account from any device.  

Fun fact: you can use this method to subscribe to other US streaming services, including Hulu and Peacock TV, as well as the (cheaper) US versions of Disney+ and Netflix.

Do remember that if you can't get this working, you can always get your money back from ExpressVPN within 30 days if you've changed your mind about using their VPN service.

How to Watch The Last of Us: official trailer

UK: How to Watch The Last of Us

UK fans of The Last of Us can catch brand new episodes on TV channel Sky Atlantic from Monday, January 16 at the same time as its broadcast in the US. That means it’ll premiere at 2am GMT late Sunday night / early Monday morning, before getting a second airing later that evening at the more reasonable time of 9pm GMT.

Sky subscribers can also stream The Last of Us on the go with their mobile devices through the Sky Go streaming service, which has dedicated apps for iOS, iPadOS and Android devices, along with Xbox and PlayStation consoles.

If you're not already a Sky customer, check out our dedicated guide to Sky TV deals and packages for today's best prices.

Don't fancy being locked in to a long, expensive contract? Consider the more flexible streaming option, NOW (formerly Now TV). NOW entertainment passes start at £9.99 a month and can be cancelled at any time.

Finally, if you’re travelling and can’t access your regional streaming services like NOW, just download a VPN. That way you can easily connect to your preferred service and its entire library of content, no matter where you are.

Canada: How to Watch The Last of Us

Cable channel Crave will air new episodes of The Last of Us in tandem with their US release, meaning the show will air weekly beginning Sunday, January 15 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET.

But, if you don’t have cable, you can watch the series by subscribing to Crave’s on-demand service instead. You’ll need to choose between Crave Total for $19.99 (+tax) a month, or sacrifice simultaneous streams and offline viewing for Crave Mobile for $9.99 a month. First, though, new subscribers can enjoy Crave's 7-day FREE trial.

Crave offers classic HBO series, on-demand movies, Crave originals and Showtime content, including addictive TV shows like The Gloaming, Dexter, and 30 Rock, in addition to the latest HBO releases such as House of the Dragon, Lizzo: Live in Concert, and The White Lotus.

Out of the country when The Last of Us debuts? Overcome geo-blocking restrictions to connect to your streaming service back home when you purchase a VPN.

Australia: How to Watch The Last of Us

Last but not least, you can catch The Last of Us in Australia through the linear Foxtel channel from Monday, January 16 from 1pm AEDT, or on streaming services Foxtel Now or Binge, with new episodes available at the same time every week.

Binge is the most cost-effective option, with plans starting at only AU$10 a month. Even better, new customers are entitled to a generous 14-day FREE trial, meaning that you can try before you buy.

The Basic plan offers a single stream in SD quality, and you can upgrade to Standard and Premium plans if you wish and get additional streams and better video quality.

Then there’s the option of Foxtel Now, which offers more of a full package and cable-like experience. Boasting 70+ channels and a 10-day free trial, get the Foxtel Now Essentials Base pack and pay just AU$25 a month to watch brand new drama The Last of Us.

Once subscribed, you’ll get access to 10,000 hours of content: reality shows, dramas, comedies and documentaries including Keeping Up with the Kardashians, House of the Dragon, Modern Family, Mayans, and Gossip Girl. It also offers more than 800 movies, and content from HBO, FX, and Warner Bros.

• Fancy an upgrade? Here are the best TVs
• Or save money with these unmissable cheap TV deals

For years, Sony has consistently produced some of the best noise-cancelling headphones we have tested. Its latest model in the premium wireless over-ear market, the WH-1000XM5, blew us away with their sensational sonic clarity and strong noise cancellation, and have won the What Hi-Fi? Award in their category two years on the trot.

Sony has invariably faced plenty of competition: Sennheiser and Bose have always knocked on the door. But in recent years, so has Apple. In 2020, the iPhone maker boldly released its first over-ear headphones, the AirPods Max, at a considerably higher price point, and they scored top marks for their exquisite design, cinematic spatial audio and next-level sound quality. This year, Apple updated the AirPods Max – but only with new colour finishes and a USB-C charging port, so our comparisons here between the Sony XM5 and AirPods Max remain relevant.

These two top-class headphones are class leaders at their price point to this very day – so which should you choose? Having thoroughly tested and lived with both pairs since their respective release dates, we have compared their specs, designs, comfort, noise-cancelling performance and sound quality below to help guide your buying decision.

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: price

Both pairs are flagship models. The WH-1000XM5 sit at the very top of Sony's wireless over-ear line, above the WH-C720N, while the AirPods Max are currently Apple's only over-ears.

The AirPods Max are – and probably always will be – the pricier pair. They launched in 2020 at £549 / $549 / AU$899, and despite their age that RRP has held up pretty well. We have seen them discounted by as much as £/$/AU$100 during sales events such as Black Friday (November) and Amazon Prime Day (July and October), but a price drop of around 10 per cent is more typical outside of these times.

That said, now that the refreshed AirPods Max 2 have arrived – and at the same price – we could soon see the originals discounted by an unprecedented amount as the final stock makes way for the new USB-C variant.

The Sony WH-1000XM5, meanwhile, are significantly more affordable. In 2022, they launched more in line with previous WH-1000XM models and rivals from Sennheiser and Bose at £380 / $399 / AU$550, but they can now often be picked up for around £260 / $280 / AU$500.

Today's best prices for both pairs are below.

**Winner: Sony WH-1000XM5**

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: design

• AirPods Max justify their premium price with a more luxury build
• AirPods Max come in a choice of colours; Sonys are black or silver
• Sonys sport a much better carrying case

The Sony WH-1000XM5 sport a different design from their predecessors, the multi-award-winning WH-1000XM4. Their radical revamp incorporates a "noiseless design" (old joints and hinges have been removed to create a seamless look) and eco-friendly plastic formed from recycled car parts. Our in-house reviews team noted that the XM5 look less premium than their predecessor as a result, but we couldn't fault their wearability: "Comfort levels are up there with the best and the Sonys deliver just the right amount of clamping force, so they feel secure without threatening to crush our ears," reads our Sony XM5 review.

The Sonys do, however, look and feel almost cheap compared with the AirPods Max, which boast pristinely machined, single-piece anodised aluminium ear cups connected by a stainless-steel headband. Between the cups and your head are memory foam cushions that easily surround even the largest ears, creating a seal that our expert reviewers described as "both gentle and surprisingly effective at physically blocking out sound" in our AirPods Max review.

Apple's extroverted styling may not be to everyone’s tastes, but hand someone a pair of AirPods Max and they will have no trouble believing that they cost a fair more than the Sony XM5.

Apple's use of premium materials means that the AirPods Max are significantly heavier than many wireless headphones at 385g; they weigh 135g more than the Sonys. That said, such is the effectiveness of the weight-distributing design that they don’t feel heavy on the head.

The Sonys are controlled using touch gestures on the surface of the right ear cup. You can tap and swipe to play/pause, adjust the volume and skip to the next track. It all works a treat – no concerns for us here.

Apple, on the other hand, has resisted the urge to integrate touch controls into the design of the AirPods Max. Instead, it uses physical controls: a button for switching between noise-cancelling modes and a volume dial inspired by the digital crown of the Apple Watch. The latter is an elegant solution, although it is a little too easy to knock when adjusting the headphones.

If style is important to you, you'll be pleased to hear that the AirPods Max come in a range of colours. The originals are available in five colours – Space Grey, Silver, Pink, Green, and Sky Blue – while the newly updated pair can be purchased in your choice of Midnight (black), Starlight (beige), Blue, Orange and Purple. Sony XM5 buyers are limited to just two rather sober finishes (black and silver).

The only design area where the Sonys pip the AirPods is with the supplied case. The WH-1000XM5 come with a decent, practical carrying case while the AirPods Max have a daft 'slip' case that barely covers the headphones.

**Winner: Apple AirPods Max**

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: battery life

• The Sonys are competitive; the AirPods lag behind

The Sony XM5 manage an impressive 30 hours of use with noise-cancelling enabled. Switch noise-cancelling off, and you should be able to squeeze 40 hours out of them. Those fairly generous are increasingly common figures in the wireless headphones market (even at the more budget end), albeit not class-leading; the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless, for example, offer 60 hours with ANC on.

For the AirPods Max, Apple stipulates a run time of 20 hours with both noise-cancelling and spatial audio (Apple's immersive audio processing technology; more on that later) enabled. As headphone manufacturers have pushed ahead with battery life, that figure has felt pretty scanty for a couple of years now, and sadly the newly updated AirPods Max do not improve that aspect of the design.

Stepping out in a hurry? The Sonys will get you out the door quickest, too. They provide three hours of playback from a three-minute charge, while the Apples offer 1.5 hours from a five-minute charge.

**Winner: Sony WH-1000XM5**

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: features

• AirPods Max boast fantastic spatial audio
• AirPods Max are Apple device-centric; Sonys are more device agnostic
• Sonys support higher-quality Bluetooth transmission
• Sonys can be listened to wired without battery life; AirPods cannot

Both pairs have sophisticated processors that drive an impressive set of features. 

The WH-1000XM5 boast Sony's DSEE Extreme processing engine, which does a fabulous job of upscaling compressed music tracks to near hi-res quality. Not to be outdone, the AirPods Max boast an Apple H1 chip in each earcup, enabling them to make 200 adjustments per second to optimise noise-cancelling effectiveness.

One of the AirPods Max's USPs is their support for spatial audio, which provides a virtual surround sound experience from 5.1, 7.1 and even Dolby Atmos video content, and with music via Apple Music. The effect is truly stunning, particularly for movies, but you'll need an iPhone or iPad to experience it through the Max.

The WH-1000XM5 support the more fledgling Sony 360 Reality Audio immersive (music-only) format, but the effect isn't quite as compelling. More useful is their Adaptive Sound Control technology, which automatically switches noise-cancelling listening modes depending on your location (more on that in the noise cancellation section below), and their Speak-to-Chat feature, which allows you to talk to someone while the headphones are still on your head.

The Sonys also support LDAC Bluetooth for high-quality wireless transmission with a compatible (LDAC-supporting) Android device. The AirPods Max only support AAC transmission, which is a lower-quality Bluetooth codec. Neither pair, however, supports the popular, high-quality aptX codecs.

The Sony XM5 also have Bluetooth Multipoint so they can be paired with two devices simultaneously – ideal if you want to connect a laptop for playing music and a phone for taking calls. The AirPods Max don't support Bluetooth Multipoint, although they can switch between multiple Apple devices.

Lastly, the Sonys charge via USB-C and can be used as wired headphones when they are out of battery. The original AirPods Max use the Lightning connector, but the 2024 version uses USB-C. Unlike the Sonys, they require power even for wired listening (and don't come with an audio cable).

**Winner: draw**

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: noise-cancelling

• A close call; both ANC performances are excellent
• Both offer Transparency modes
• Sony can cleverly tailor ANC levels to your environment

Both pairs offer active noise cancellation that is up there with the very best on offer, even if the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones just have the edge.

Ultimately, the Sony WH-1000XM5 seem to be marginally better at blocking constant, consistent noise (engine sounds, for example). That said, the AirPods Max let very little through and are actually a touch better when it comes to combating loud conversations. So in terms of everyday effectiveness, it is a pretty close call between the two performances.

Both pairs pleasingly offer the increasingly common Transparency mode, too, which actively processes external noise and pumps it into your ears if you want to, say, hear a train announcement without having to remove the headphones.

There is one key difference to note, however. As mentioned in the features section of this article, the Sony XM5 boast an AI-powered feature called Adaptive Sound Control which allows the headphones to learn your behaviour and recognise your frequently visited locations. It uses this data to automatically tailor noise-cancelling levels to your current surroundings. For example, the XM5 will crank up the sound-blocking effect when you step into your local railway station, and then dial it back down again when you're cruising along on a relatively quiet train. It's a seriously smart feature, and well worth having. 

**Winner: Sony WH-1000XM5**

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: sound quality

Those are the features dealt with, and now we get to the most pertinent question of all: what are these headphones like to listen to? Very good, as you would expect from flagship pairs from two marquee brands.

In terms of acoustic engineering, the Sonys sport all-new 30mm carbon fibre drivers that have been specially made to be lightweight and yet extremely rigid, whereas the Apples have 40mm drivers that are said to maintain total harmonic distortion of "less than one per cent across the entire audible range".

The Sony XM5 excel sonically at their price point, delivering an effortlessly musical sound. The XM4 were our favourite-sounding headphones at this level, but the XM5 deliver even greater clarity and a more open presentation. "It’s actually quite a jump," said our testing experts. 

Bass notes are rendered with newfound precision, too, and the level of detail these cans dig up is astonishing. Dynamic shifts are conveyed with aplomb, while their sense of timing is exemplary. You won't find a more compelling performance from wireless over-ear headphones at their price.

But stretch to the AirPods Max's more premium asking price, and you will be rewarded with superior sound quality. "There’s a degree of clarity and energy that even the Sonys can’t match, and they sound more engaging and authentic," our reviews team noted. Lighter on their feet and even more precise and exciting, they feel like a significant step up in terms of sonic sophistication. Movie performance is excellent too, particularly when it comes to spatial audio virtual surround sound. The whole presentation is very open, spacious and convincing.

Ultimately, we believe the AirPods Max justify their premium over the Sonys in terms of sound quality, even if in our minds the Sonys are the better value pair, all things considered.

That said, those who want (and can afford) the very best wireless headphone sound quality available should note that there are now pairs that perform even better than the AirPods Max, such as the higher-priced Mark Levinson No.5909, Focal Bathys, Bowers & Wilkins Px8 and T+A Solitaire T.

**Winner: Apple AirPods Max**

Sony XM5 vs AirPods Max: which should you choose?

Apple's AirPods Max look and sound spectacular and provide a truly stunning spatial audio experience when paired with iPhone and iPad devices. There's no denying that iOS users with deep pockets should strongly consider them – either at full price with the new USB-C socket and colourways or, fingers crossed, if the older Lightning model can be bought at a bargain.

However, when it comes to outright value – and, indeed, non-Apple users – Sony's WH-1000XM5 are our number one recommendation. Hence their current What Hi-Fi? Award and position at the top of our best noise-cancelling headphones buying guide.

They are priced more accessibly, boast some fantastically advanced features such as the ability to upscale audio and optimise noise-cancelling according to your location, all while delivering a wonderfully engaging and detailed sound that is sure to impress most people. They also offer a longer battery life, support a higher-quality Bluetooth codec, and work well with both iOS and Android devices. 

MORE:

Apple AirPods Max vs AirPods Max 2024: what are the minor differences?

Apple AirPods Max tips: how to pair, reset, charge and more

See our Sony WH-1000XM5 tips, tricks and FAQ answers

Bowers & Wilkins Px8 vs Apple AirPods Max: which wireless headphones are better?

B&W Px7 S2e vs Sony WH-1000XM5: which ANC headphones are for you?

Did you miss the Mexican Grand Prix? Don't panic – there are lots of ways to watch an F1 replay online. That includes the full race and, in some countries, free highlights of every twist and turn. Whether you're rooting for Max or Charles, Lewis or Lando, make sure you know how to watch an F1 replay wherever you are in the world.

With a total of 23 races this season (including newcomers Miami and returning favorites Australia, Canada, and Japan), the 2022 calendar has delivered the most on-track action in F1 history.

There's barely been time for a pitstop as F1 fans tuck into crashes, controversies, and budget cap bust-ups, not to mention some truly epic wheel-to-wheel racing in Monaco and Baku. Max Verstappen has won his second world title while Red Bull has secured the Constructors', so Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix is a chance for the drivers to put the pedal down and go for broke.

Watching every race across varying time zones can be tricky. But whether you don't want to get up at stupid o'clock, or simply want to watch the race again, an F1 replay is just a click away!

Extended highlights of every Grand Prix are available to watch for free on Channel 4 in the UK. Full F1 replays of every race are available online with RTBF in Belgium. Make sure you know how to watch a full F1 replay from anywhere in the world.

How to watch a free F1 replay

There are multiple options for F1 fans looking for free highlights of this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix.

In Belgium, RTBF has full F1 replays of every race of the season.

In the UK, Channel 4 offers free-to-air extended highlights after every race. 

In Australia, 10 Bold and 10 Play broadcast free-to-air highlights on Monday night after each Grand Prix.

In the USA, ABC will broadcast the US and Mexican Grand Prix races for free. 

Remember: you'll need to use ExpressVPN to access your local F1 replay when traveling abroad.

We recommend ExpressVPN as it comes with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee. Full details are below.

VPN services are evaluated and tested by us in view of legal recreational use. For example:a) Access to services from other countries, (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).b) Safeguarding your online security and making your online privacy more robust when abroad.Future plc does not support nor condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. We do not endorse nor approve of consuming pirated content that is paid-for.

Watch an F1 replay from abroad in the world using a VPN

Even if you have subscribed to the relevant 2022 F1 rights holders, you won't be able to access the replay when outside your own country. The service will know your location based on your IP address, and will automatically block your access.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) helps you get around this obstacle. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and the internet, helping you access local streams from where you are – and saving you money!

How to use a VPN for an F1 replay

Using a VPN to watch an F1 replay is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For this week's Grand Prix highlights, you may wish to choose 'UK' for Channel 4.

3. Then head over to Channel 4 on your browser or device and enjoy the free F1 replay.

If, for whatever reason, you can't get it working, do remember that you have the comfort of a 30-day money-back guarantee with ExpressVPN. You could also try NordVPN, which also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and Surfshark which offers 24-hour assistance.

US: how to watch an F1 replay

F1 TV Pro, is a great place to find an F1 replay in the States. Subscription costs from only $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year.

ESPN2 usually re-airs the full race first, followed by ESPNEWS a few hours later. Don't have cable? Get instant streaming access to ESPN channels via Sling TV.

It's also worth noting that ABC will broadcast this season's US and Mexican Grand Prix races for free.

Australia: how to watch an F1 replay

10 Bold and 10 Play broadcast free-to-air highlights on Monday night after each grand prix. Use a VPN to access the 10's free highlights when traveling outside Australia.

Those wanting a full race replay of this week's Grand Prix will need a Foxtel cable or Kayo Sports streaming subscription (14-day free trial; from AU$25 a month after).

UK: how to watch an F1 replay

Channel 4 offers free-to-air highlights after every grand prix. Use a ExpressVPN to access the free highlights when traveling outside of the UK.

UK F1 fans who want the full race replay will need to sign up to Sky Sports. Here are today's best Sky TV deals. 

Cordcutters can get instant access to Sky Sports with a Now Sports pass (from £11.99 a day). Check out today's best Now TV deals.

Europe: how to watch an F1 replay

F1 TV Pro is the place to find an F1 replay in Germany, France, Belgium, Hungary, Netherlands, Switzerland, Lithuania, Latvia, Greece, Denmark, Portugal, Poland, Netherlands, Croatia and Estonia.

Subscription to the official Formula 1 streaming service costs around €7.99 a month.

F1 TV Pro is available through the F1 TV website, iOS/Android apps, Roku TV and other mobile devices. The F1 app is now available on Apple TV, too.

Spain: how to watch an F1 replay

DAZN has the rights to show Formula 1 in Spain until the end of 2023. The streaming service will show every Grand Prix – and later, a full replay – on its exclusive DAZN F1 channel.

Brazil: how to watch an F1 replay

F1 TV Pro is the place to stream an F1 replay in Brazil. Subscription costs from R$143 (US$27).

Italy: how to watch an F1 replay

Sky Italia is the place to watch a full replay of this weekend's Grand Prix in Italy. Can Ferrari mount a fight back against the title favourites Red Bull?

Don't fancy taking out a Sky contact? Italian F1 fans can stream and F1 replay via the Now app (from €14.99 a day).

• Feast your eyes on the best TVs
• Splash the cash on these cheap TV deals

Focal says that its first pair of wireless noise-cancelling headphones have been named ‘Bathys’ (pronounced “Bath-ees”) after their metaphorical association with the Bathyscaphe, a deep-sea exploration submersible. The French brand says that the vessel is “the embodiment of calm, depth and absolute silence”, so the connection it has made between that and something with active noise cancellation is indeed rather fitting… until you remember that that ‘something’ is designed to first and foremost bellow music into your eardrums. Still, we like the concept.

Had the Focal Bathys launched a couple of years ago, they would have arrived to a crowd of raised eyebrows and perhaps a sneering Reddit discussion, due to what would have been the unprecedented nature of their price in the Bluetooth headphones market. But since the late-2020 release of the Apple AirPods Max, which did have to bear the brunt of being the ‘first’ to push such parameters, a wave of pricier pairs such as the Mark Levinson No.5909 and Bowers & Wilkins Px8 have come along. 

All three have proven their extra worth in the sound quality department of late, and you can now add the Focal Bathys to that eminent list too. What’s more, they – perhaps uniquely to the lot – manage to look their price too.

Design & features

If you are familiar with the company’s wired headphones, the Bathys may not look uniquely special. (And if you aren’t, we apologise for future procrastination and inevitable envy at not owning every beautiful pair.) But trust us when we say that this level of build and beauty in the Bluetooth headphones market is very rare – perhaps unprecedented. They share their wired siblings’ sizeable ovular ear cups, their aesthetic defined by aluminium holey details that all but sufferers of trypophobia are bound to appreciate, speckled around a central circular Focal badge. 

Focal has been partial to blessing its high-end headphones with bold colour combos, though the Bathys are some of the safer of the lot in their single black and silver finish – and arguably all the sleeker for it.

The leather ear pads are thick and soft, and the headband substantial and cushioned. And yet despite their substantial build, they pull off chunky and beautiful like a newborn baby in its cute thigh-rolls phase. Too big to be portable? Not at all, but they aren’t as lightweight (they weigh 350g – 100g more than the Sony WH-1000XM5) or as discreet as most – and you should know that the earcups only fold flat as opposed to collapsing inwards, too. That they look a cut or two above regular wireless headphones means you would probably stand out on public transport wearing them, but we’ll let you decide if that’s a positive or not.

Naturally, they have a few design elements that give away their wirelessness. The first is the playback buttons on the right earcup and the single ANC button on the left, which are logically placed for easy access but, at odds with the rest of the design, plasticky and cheap feeling. 

The earcups’ Focal logos can light up – dimly, brightly or not at all, selectable in the companion Focal & Naim app. The relatively bare-boned app is also where owners can play around with EQ: select ‘soft’ or ‘silent’ intensities of ANC, or ‘Transparent’ mode for letting in noise when it’s convenient; choose voice assistant – Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa; and see battery status and the Bluetooth codec currently at play.

The progressive quality of Bluetooth codecs will undoubtedly have a say in the relevancy of high-end wireless headphones in the future, and right now the Focal Bathys support one of the highest quality codecs present in the market – aptX Adaptive (backwards compatible with aptX HD and aptX). 

Wireless headphones typically allow users to listen wired too, often through a 3.5mm jack. The Focals are no exception to that, however they also have a USB-DAC mode that supports 24-bit/192kHz through their USB-C port, and handily 1.2m cables for both 3.5mm and USB-C are supplied in the box.

The headphones do need power to be listened to through either wired connection, though, and the claimed battery life is a very reasonable 30 hours over Bluetooth, 35 hours over 3.5mm, and 42 hours over USB. We found that wireless performance lasts around 25 hours, though endurance is always dependent on Bluetooth codec and volume – and we listen mainly over aptX HD and, yes, pretty loudly.

Sound

We always find it difficult to resist playing Mogwai loudly, after all – especially when it comes through sounding as big, clear and weighty as it does through the Focal Bathys. Instantly we recognise the smooth, warm, full-bodied tonal balance the company’s wired headphones have found so much success with, and here too that is complemented by very good levels of resolution, dynamic subtlety and rhythmic ability within the context of their type and price. 

Play the Glasgow band’s Ritchie Sacramento and the Bathys' accommodatingly sizeable, spacious soundstage laps up the dense soundscape, giving those shimmering guitars and hammering drum pattern their due attention on either side of a clear and present Stuart Braithwaite vocal. Their richness gives mids and lows in particular a welcome substance, and without clouding the instrumental textures and high-frequency details too.

Over to dancefloor filler Down by Hot Chip and the Focal’s bold bass passes the test; the bassline groove is profound and pacey, driving the melody forward to get us toe-tapping away. The Focals are happy swapping party times for peacefulness too, their replay of Nils Frahm’s Over There, It’s Raining capturing the atmospheric background and the flow of his fingers across the piano keys. 

Considering the Mark Levinsons are leaner, faster and offer a little more detail and dynamic insight (albeit comparatively bass-light), and the Bowers & Wilkins are tighter in the low-end but less insightful, spacious and sprightly, we find that the Focal Bathys nicely justify their price positioning between the two. 

For a wireless headphone performance, it’s among the most engaging we have heard. And if you want them to double up as home headphones for longer listening stints, which they are more than comfortable enough to wear for, know that going wired via the DAC/USB-C does add a degree of refinement and tightness to the delivery.

Noise cancellation is fairly non-intrusive to the performance, too, and if you need it – as we did on two flights during testing – it does a decent job of diminishing distracting outside world noise from your music listening in ‘Silent’ mode. Just don’t expect Bose levels of silence, or indeed any Bathyscaphe-related “absolute silence”.

Verdict

Focal’s entrance into this burgeoning premium Bluetooth headphones market isn’t surprising considering its presence at the premium end of the wired space. Nor is the success of its first effort. The Bathys are highly recommendable for anyone after the convenience of portability in a premium pair of headphones at this price.

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Features 5
• Build 4

MORE:

Read our Bowers & Wilkins Px8 review

Also consider the Mark Levinson No. 5909

Read our Apple AirPods Max review

These are the best wireless headphones you can buy

House Of The Dragon is set for a thrilling finale this week when episode 10 – The Black Queen – hits TV screens. Ready to see those Targaryen dragons in beast mode? Beware of spoilers in the next few paragraphs. To parry them away, scroll to the regional viewing sections to learn how to watch House of The Dragon episode 10 just about anywhere in the world – including options for the UK, US, Canada New Zealand, Australia and India.

Last week's episode saw House of The Dragon rocked by a constitutional crisis. We saw the council meet in secret to discuss the death of ailing ruler Viserys. Who would ascend to the crown? In the end, it was Viserys’s son Valyrian who donned the ring Valyrian steel, pleasing but a few and setting up a mouthwatering finale...

Episode 10 – the final episode – is named The Black Queen, and it looks like the realm is about to be plunged into war. Can one really bend the knee to the Hightowers? Will the king unleash the kind of power that hasn't been seen since the old days of Valyria? Bring on the dragons!

House Of The Dragon (The Black Queen), lands on HBO Max at 9pm ET (2am BST) on Sunday 23rd October 2022 and it hits Sky TV in the UK at 9pm BST on Monday 24th October.

House of the Dragon episode 10 trailer

House of the Dragon release schedule

• Ep. 1 (The Heirs of the Dragon) – Sunday, 21st August 2022 
• Ep. 2 (The Rogue Prince) – Sunday, 28th August 2022
• Ep. 3 (Second of His Name) – Sunday, 4th September 2022
• Ep. 4 (King of the Narrow Sea) – Sunday, 11th September 2022
• Ep. 5 (We Light the Way) – Sunday, 18th September 2022
• Ep. 6 (The Princess and the Queen) – Sunday, 25th September 2022
• Ep. 7 (Driftmark) – Sunday, 2nd October 2022
• Ep. 8 (The Lord of the Tides) – Sunday, 9th October 2022
• Ep. 9 (The Green Council) – Sunday, 16th October 2022
• Ep. 10 (The Black Queen) – Sunday, 23rd October 2022

How to watch House of the Dragon Ep 10 on HBO Max

Although HBO Max is only available in the US, it's relatively simple to access the service from outside the US using a reliable VPN or "Virtual Private Network" allowing you to watch the House Of The Dragon finale on your laptop, smart TV, set-top box or streaming stick.

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For HBO Max, you may wish to choose 'US'.

3. Then head over to HBO Max on your browser or device and enjoy watching House Of The Dragon episode 10 online.

Do I need a US credit card for HBO Max?

If you don't have a credit card issued in the US the best option is to use PayPal or subscribe on your iPhone/iPad or Android phone/tablet. 

How to sign up to HBO Max without a US credit card:

1. Launch your chosen VPN and select US as your country 

2. Create a new Apple ID/Google account remembering to pick US as your country. (Apple users can use a UK phone number but should head to the Apple ID website to sign up, rather than using an app on their device). 

3. Use your new Apple ID/Google account to access the US Apple App Store or US Google Play Store and download the HBO Max app.

4. Subscribe to HBO Max through the HBO Max app, using PayPal (this can be a UK account) as your method of payment.

5. Bingo! You should now be able to sign in to your HBO Max account from any device.  

Fun fact: you can use this method to subscribe to other US streaming services, including Hulu and Peacock TV, as well as the (cheaper) US versions of Disney+ and Netflix.

Do remember that if you can't get this working, you can always get your money back from ExpressVPN within 30 days if you've changed your mind about using their VPN service.

Can I watch House Of The Dragon in the UK?

Yes. House Of The Dragon, episode 10 (The Black Queen) airs on Sky and Now on Monday 24th October – the day after it airs on HBO in the US. 

Don't forget: UK nationals travelling in the US right now can watch Sky and Now from abroad with a VPN. Instructions above.

Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India: Watch House of the Dragon, episode 10

While HBO and Sky will take care of broadcasting House Of The Dragon episode 10 (The Black Queen) in most territories, there are other broadcasters for the series in Australia and New Zealand.

Australia

Binge is the streaming service to sign up to in Australia to watch House Of The Dragon episode 10 and the rest of the series. Binge starts at $10 per month for the SD version but you can go HD for $18. All episodes air on Mondays.

New Zealand

You can watch House Of The Dragon finale on the Neon streaming service in New Zealand. It's $17.99/month for the HD version (or $12.99 for SD) but there's a there's a 7-day free trial to enjoy before you need to pay to continue.

Canada

In Canada, you can watch the final episode of House Of The Dragon on the Crave streaming service. It's $19.99 per month and the show airs at 9pm ET/PT each Sunday, just like in the States.

India

The House Of The Dragon season finale airs on Disney+ Hotstar in India.

• Fancy an upgrade? Here are the best TVs 
• Or save money with these unmissable cheap TV deals

First, the good news: we have a new entrant to our list of best AirPods. That doesn't happen too often, given Apple's relative scarcity of headphone launches. The bad news? The AirPods Max 2 didn't impress us quite as much as the original Apple over-ears.

It's not that the Max 2 are worse than their predecessors. It's just that the headphone world has moved on significantly since Apple first created the super-premium category of wireless cans.

The AirPods Max 2 are still a very good pair of headphones though, as are all the models on this list.

The AirPods Pro 3 are Apple's latest flagship in-ears, with better bass than their predecessors, and active noise cancellation (ANC) that's twice as effective. And the AirPods 4 with ANC offer a lot of what makes the Pro 3 so compelling but for a lot less money.

We haven't reviewed the standards AirPods 4, but they are identical to the ANC model but with no noise cancelling.

Bringing up the rear, we have the AirPods (2019). Yes, they're seven years old now, and yes, there are much better wireless earbuds available. But if it's an Apple pair you want, you should be able to pick these up dirt cheap (just not from Apple, as it no longer sells them).

And how do we know which AirPods are the best? Experience. Our in-house reviewers have more than 100 years of testing experience between them. Review verdicts are agreed upon by the whole team in order to avoid personal bias and we compare each model to its closest rivals to judge how they stack up.

To find out more about our reviewing process, read the how we test headphones page.

• How do active noise-cancelling headphones work?
• AirPods Pro 3 vs AirPods Pro 2: which are better?
• AirPods Max 2 vs AirPods Max: how do they compare?

The best AirPods we recommend in 2026

Best overall

Apple finally cracked a five-star rating for a pair of in-ears with the AirPods Pro 2, so how do the follow-ups fare? With improvements all round (apart from in one area, that is), it's another five-star score for Apple's latest, proving the firm can still mix it up with the best wireless earbuds around.

The built-in heart rate monitor might have grabbed most of the headlines, but for us, the best thing about the Pro 3 is the gains in the more prosaic – but significant – areas of sound quality and noise cancellation.

They've had a design tweak, too. With a smaller body and differently-angled eartip nozzle, they're designed to fit a wider range of ear shapes and sizes. But we still found them divisive – those who achieved a snug fit with the Pro 2 found these to protrude too far, while those who didn't get on with their predecessors found the Pro 3 fit well.

Our advice? Try them for yourself.

The charging case has also grown slightly larger than the Pro 2's, but is lighter.

You get all the features of the Pro 2 (yay!) but still no hi-res codec support (boo!). The new heart rate monitor can track health and workout stats, and the Live Translation feature is very neat (even if it's not exclusive to the Pro 3).

While Apple would seem to have made gains in the battery life, it's actually more of a mixed picture. True, the life of the buds themselves has grown from six hours to eight, but the total battery life (including the charging case) has dropped from 30 hours to 24. How annoying that is will depend on how you use them.

But the Pro 3 have upped their environmental protection from IP54 to IP57. That means greater resistance to rain, sweat, splashes, and water generally.

Of course, it's the ANC and sound quality we're really interested in, and Apple hasn't let us down. Despite having the same H2 chip as their predecessors, the new model's ultra-low noise microphones, advanced computational audio, and new foam-infused eartips combine to offer twice the noise-cancelling capability of the Pro 2.

And it shows. During a flight, "the deep rumble of the airplane’s engine noise was damped down further than when listened to through the Pro 2, while the general chatter from people and announcements from the pilot were quieter through the new earbuds on full ANC mode," we found in our AirPods Pro 3 review.

Sound too has been been upgraded, courtesy of a new 'multiport acoustic architecture'. This helps the Pro 3 to sound clearer and more detailed, more spacious-sounding and more dynamic.

The results are impressive across genres. "There is bite and attack to the crunchy, brash highs of Fontaines D.C.’s Starburster, while the basslines in Forgot About Dre are taut, agile and tuneful, and punch with quite a good deal of depth and power in Billie Eilish’s Blue," we found.

They're not quite as refined or spacious as some of the best wireless earbuds we've tested, but they are a lot of fun to listen to. If it's AirPods you're after, look no further.

Read the full Apple AirPods Pro 3 review

Best premium

Apple basically invented the category of super-premium wireless over-ear headphones, and it was quite a move by a company with no prior experience of making cans. That's probably why the original AirPods Max lasted nearly six years unchanged (bar a minor refresh in 2024).

Now we have the AirPods Max 2, and it's another great pair from Apple. That we awarded it four stars instead of its predecessor's five points to how far the competition has come.

There's plenty new about the AirPods Max 2. But the design and case remain disappointingly familiar, and the 20-hour battery life is comprehensively beaten seemingly by all comers nowadays. So in some ways, the Max 2 are a missed opportunity.

They are still very well made, though. The design might be unchanged, but is still very premium: the anodised aluminium earcups, the stainless steel headband, the memory foam earcups... The hinges, telescopic arms and buttons are all beautifully made and finished to precision.

They're comfortable enough to wear for hours, too. Though we do have a few gripes about the design. The headband could contract more to accommodate smaller heads. The headphones are much heavier than a lot of rivals. They don't fold at all. And the silly case makes an unwelcome return.

The new H2 chip does enable some new features, like Conversation Awareness and Adaptive Audio, as well as live translation (which requires an iPhone 16 or later). Higher-quality codecs are still omitted, which we've come to expect from Apple.

The H2 also helps improve the active noise cancellation (ANC), which is 1.5 times more effective than on the original AirPods Max. They do silence the rumbles and screeches of the London Underground, and the effect is more natural and airy than a lot of ANC headphones.

For sound quality, they improve on their predecessors, but not by much. That's not as bad as it sounds – the original Max were a standout pair – but it is still a little disappointing to those of us craving new standards in wireless headphone sound performance.

"The Max 2 headphones have an admirably smooth balance, one that is very easy to listen to," we wrote in our AirPods Max 2 review. "There’s a dash more punch to the sound and the edges of notes are etched out with a little more precision, and they sound a bit more open compared with the first-gen model."

Voices are strong, and Apple balances all the elements very well. Though a slightly rolled-off top end does sacrifice some bite.

But overall, the differences between these and the originals could be more substantial. You can get greater sound elsewhere, but if you want the complete Apple experience in an over-ear form factor, these are the cans for you.

Read the full Apple AirPods Max 2 review

• Apple AirPods Max tips: how to pair, reset, charge and more

Best mid-range

The AirPods 4 come in two varieties – one with ANC (for £179 / $179 / AU$299) and one without (£129 / $129 / AU$299).

Despite the ANC, they stick with the standard design without adding eartips, though their shape has been refined somewhat.

It's a partial success – some members of our team found they fit their ears very well, while others struggled to keep them in. Try before you buy.

The active noise cancellation is impressive, given there are no eartips to form an air-tight seal and block out unwanted sounds. The effect is most effective with lower frequencies – those further up the frequency scale are more likely to slip through the net. And it's not as comprehensive a solution as with the pricier AirPods Pro 3.

The AirPods 4 with ANC's charging case is the smallest yet, has a speaker for the Find My function, and supports wireless charging.

The non-ANC model lacks the latter two features.

Inside is the same H2 chip as the AirPods Pro 3, which means the Voice Isolation feature can make calls clearer in high wind, and the Personalised volume feature automatically adjusts the volume depending on how loud your environment is.

As well as ANC, the pricier variant of AirPods 4 also have the Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness and Transparency features from the AirPods Pro 3, all of which are useful.

What's disappointing is the battery life, which is a measly four hours on a single charge with the ANC turned on, although you do get a total of 30 hours with the charging case.

The AirPods 4 with ANC's sound is more detailed, powerful and overall more entertaining than their predecessor's.

"There’s clarity and detail, agility and balance, along with a focus on voices that make them immediately appealing to listen to," we wrote in our AirPods 4 with ANC review.

Though – as you would expect – they don't sound quite as superb as the AirPods Pro 3.

They're a great halfway house between the older, cheaper AirPods and the higher-priced model. A great value proposition with just the right amount of compromise.

Read the full Apple AirPods 4 with ANC review

Best budget

As a premium company, Apple takes a smart approach to cheaper devices. Instead of investing in new low-end devices, it drops the price of its older ones – or, as with the iPhone 17e, stuffs newer innards into an older chassis.

The first-generation AirPods aren't around anymore, but you can pick up the second-gen model (from 2019) for a pretty reasonable price – they're no longer sold through Apple's website, but they are available from other retailers.

Your money gets you Apple's typically seamless wireless tech, decent – if unremarkable – sound quality and healthy battery life.

There are downsides, of course. They don't sound as good as the latest model, and the battery doesn't last as long.

The stems are longer on this model too, and they don't fit as well as the fourth-generation model.

In terms of sound, they have that neutral, fairly balanced presentation that's present across all AirPods. It sounds more open and organised, offering a greater degree of subtlety and better dynamics than the first-gen pair, which sounded rather dull and lifeless.

But it's not perfect, as we said in our original AirPods (2019) review: "While cleaner and more organisationally adept than the preceding pair, they still veer towards harshness at high volumes and struggle to make sense of the most built-up sections of some tracks."

But if you're looking for the AirPods experience on the cheap, these are your best option. They're certainly better than some of the knock-offs.

Read the full Apple AirPods (2019) review

Also consider

The best AirPods alternatives we've tested:

Technics EAH-AZ100: Technics is better known for its record players, but the Panasonic-owned brand makes stunning headphones, too. These Award-winning wireless earbuds sound fantastic, and work just as well with Android phones.

Apple AirPods Pro 2: They've recently been superseded by the Pro 3, but the Pro 2 are still a decent proposition, with very good sound quality and noise cancellation. They share a lot of the Pro 3's features too, and cost a fair bit less.

Apple AirPods 3: Apple no longer sells the third-gen AirPods, so stock is likely not being replenished. They offer good sound quality, Spatial Audio and USB-C charging, but they're not quite as great as the AirPods 4.

Sony WF-1000XM6: Probably the best AirPods alternatives you can buy, the five-star XM6 outgun the AirPods Pro 3 for sound quality, and they work just as well with Android devices.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen): The second-gen Ultras offer wireless charging and more advanced ANC than the first gen, as well as an upgraded sound from the same driver. The best noise-cancelling earbuds you can buy.

Sony WF-C710N: Cheaper than the cheapest AirPods, these Award-winning Sony earbuds pack excellent noise-cancellation, very good sound quality and a bunch of features that far exceed their price. If you want to go even cheaper – and forego ANC – check out the Award-winning Sony WF-C510.

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: B&W's latest over-ears give the AirPods Max 2 a run for their money. They're slightly cheaper than the Max 2, with the usual premium B&W build quality and great sound.

Sony WH-1000XM6: Sony's best wireless headphones yet. Again, they're slightly cheaper than the AirPods Max 2, but deliver on all fronts. The over-ears to beat right now, and our current Award winners.

How to choose the best AirPods for you

First things first – are AirPods definitely the best headphones for you? If you don't have an iOS device like the iPhone 17, then probably not.

Yes, Apple's AirPods do work with other devices, but to get the best out of them, you really need to have at least one foot in Apple's ecosystem.

Next, you'll want to decide between an over-ear or in-ear design. Apple's over-ears are the AirPods Max, a pricey pair of noise-cancelling wireless headphones.

Your in-ear options are either the standard AirPods (choose between the AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with ANC or AirPods 3), and the AirPods Pro (first- and second- and third-generation models – the first-gen AirPods Pro are no longer sold by Apple, but you might find them elsewhere).

The AirPods Pro offer active noise-cancellation, as do the AirPods 4 with ANC, but other in-ear AirPods do not.

Then there's the question of budget. The AirPods Max 2 sit at the top of the range, and are even more expensive than most of the best noise-cancelling headphones offered by Sony, Bose and Bowers & Wilkins.

The AirPods Pro 3 are the next priciest pair, followed by the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, AirPods 4 and then third- and second-gen AirPods.

You can always find cheaper AirPods alternatives, but you have to weigh up whether they will meet your needs.

Whichever pair you choose, be sure to check out our AirPods tips and advice on how to clean your AirPods.

How we test AirPods

You've probably read all about our state-of-the-art testing rooms, but they're not the only place we review AirPods. Instead, we take them out and about where most people will use theirs: on the train, to the pub, in busy shops, on the bus.

And if the opportunity presents itself, we'll take them on a plane to see how their noise-cancellation handles screaming children.

We don't test AirPods in isolation – we pit them against the best wireless earbuds (or over-ear headphones, in the case of the AirPods Max 2) in the same price bracket to see how they compare. Because there's nothing worse than discovering you haven't bought wisely.

We test hundreds of pairs of headphones every year for our reviews as well as What Hi-Fi? Awards judging, and with over 100 years of experience between us, we know what we're talking about.

Our stock room stays chock full of class-leading products against which we compare new ones.

When it comes to analysing sound quality, the testing rooms come into their own – it's nice and quiet down there, with no distractions.

Like all headphones we test, we give each pair of AirPods plenty of time to run in, and play all manner of different music genres through them – ours is a broad church, and there's no better way to judge performance.

We try each and every feature – including the oft-overlooked call quality – and subject the ANC to all kinds of different background sounds in different environments (cue the screaming kids).

We agree our review verdicts as a team rather than giving one person the power to make or break a product. Not only does this eliminate the potential for personal bias, it also makes sure we're being as thorough as possible.

We don't take any suggestions from PR or sales people, not now, not ever. We've been delivering honest, unbiased reviews for nearly 50 years, and don't intend to stop now.

You can read more on our dedicated how we test page.

F.A.Q

Recent updates

• 14th April 2026: Replaced the AirPods Max with the AirPods Max 2. Updated references throughout with newer headphone models. Replaced 'The quick list' with the tabletop widget.
• 20th January 2026: Replaced the AirPods Pro 2 with the recently reviewed AirPods Pro 3. Moved the Pro 2 to 'Also consider.'
• 11th November 2025: Rewrote intro to mention AirPods Pro 3, which are now referenced throughout.
• 18th August 2025: Replaced Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds with the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) in 'Also consider'.
• 23rd May 2025: Added Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 and Sony WH-1000XM6 to 'Also consider', replaced Sony WF-C700N with WF-C710N in the same section.
• 18th March 2025: Added Technics EAH-AZ100 to 'Also consider'. Added mentions of the iPhone 16e and the AirPods Pro 2's hearing aid features.
• 9th January 2025: Rewrote intro. Updated references to more recent models of AirPods and other headphones. Mentioned that Apple refreshed the AirPods Max at the end of 2024.
• 17th October 2024: Added AirPods 4 with ANC to main list. Moved AirPods 3 to 'Also consider'. Rewrote intro.
• 16th August 2024: Deleted Jump Menu. Rewrote intro.
• 9th May 2024: Added Top Tip and a new intro.
• 23rd February 2024: Changed to new Best Buy format. Added new 'Also Consider' section, new F.A.Q section.
• 11th December 2023: Added new intro text.
• 5th October 2023: Added references to the iPhone 15 and the new USB-C case for the AirPods Pro 2. Dropped first-gen AirPods Pro from the list.
• 1st June 2023: Added new images for entries.

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