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Earfun’s New Air Pro 3 Earbuds Deliver Impressive Sound — and They’re Already 30% Off

Launching Jan. 30., you can pick up the Earfun Air Pro 3 noise-canceling wireless earbuds for $56 in an early-bird sale. They’re a very good value at that price.

Earfun has put out a series of wireless earbuds over the last couple of years with one important commonality: They’re very good values, made more so by frequent discounts. I’ve highlighted previous deals on its Air Pro SV and Air Pro 2, as well as the more recent Earfun Air S. Now the company is releasing its new Earfun Air Pro 3 earbuds, which I’ve been testing for the last week and feature the latest Qualcomm QCC3071 system-on-a-chip with aptX Adaptive for Android and other devices that support it. They’re due to ship on Jan. 30 and are on sale now for $56, or 30% off their list price of $80.

Lightweight and comfortable to wear (I got a good seal with the largest ear tip size), these aren’t a huge upgrade over the Earfun Air S, but they are clearly better. They have slightly larger wool-composite drivers (11mm versus 10mm), slightly improved noise canceling, better battery life (up to seven hours with noise canceling on, according to Earfun) and support for the new LE Audio standard and LC3 audio codec, which is superior to the SBC codec (they also support AAC for Apple devices). Their transparency mode also seems to be a touch more natural sounding than the Air S.

In short, the Earfun Air 3 deliver strong performance for their modest price, with robust bass, good clarity and a relatively wide soundstage. They also pack in a lot of features, including a wireless charging case and «multidevice» connectivity. (I could pair them to two devices simultaneously but had to pause the music on one device and hit play on the other for the audio to switch.)

They’re IPX5 splash-proof and have touch controls that could be a little more responsive but work OK. And, finally, the buds connect to the Earfun Audio app for iOS and Android, which allows you to update the firmware and tweak their sound profile.

I listened to the buds using an iPhone 14 Pro and an Asus ROG 6 Android smartphone that’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 mobile platform. With the Asus, I was able to stream high-resolution tracks from Qobuz (with aptX Adaptive) and the sound had a bit more depth and detail and the overall sound was impressive given the price. However, they can’t compete with high-end buds like the new $400 Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2, which offer better definition and more accurate sound. I know that’s a widely unfair comparison, but I only mention it to say that while the Air Pro 3 sound quite good for relatively cheap earbuds, they do have their limitations, particularly when it comes to bass definition (the bass is a tad overemphasized at the default setting).

If you’re wondering where these stand for voice calling, they perform well, with decent background noise reduction in noisier environments (like the streets of New York, where I tested them). But I wouldn’t say they’re excellent for making voice calls (callers said my voice sounded «reasonably» clear outdoors, not crystal clear). You can use either bud independently of the other and use a single bud to listen to audio or make calls.

Here’s a quick look at the Air Pro 3’s specs, according to Earfun. For now they’re only available on Earfun’s website, but eventually they should hit Amazon and perhaps go on sale there.

  • Compatible with Earfun audio app
  • Multidevice connectivity
  • Qualcomm QCC3071 system-on-a-chip with aptX Adaptive
  • QuietSmart 2.0 hybrid active noise cancellation up to 43dB
  • 6-mic array
  • Bluetooth 5.3 + next-gen LE Audio & LC3 codec
  • 11mm Wool Composite Drivers
  • <55ms Ultra Low Latency Mode for Better Video & Gaming Experience
  • IPX5 sweat and water resistant
  • Up to 7 hours of battery life with ANC on and 9 hours with it off (extra 4 charges in the case)
  • Get 2 hours of playtime from a 10-minute charge
  • Wireless charging case with USB-C
  • Price: ($80 list, $55 sale price)

Technologies

Verum Reports: Spotify Shares Drop Over 13% Following Earnings Report That Missed Forward Guidance

Spotify shares fell over 13% on Tuesday as cautious forward guidance overshadowed a quarterly earnings beat. The streaming giant reported revenue of 4.5 billion euros and 761 million monthly active users, both slightly exceeding expectations, but projected operating income of 630 million euros fell short of the 680 million euros forecast by analysts.

Spotify’s stock declined by more than 13% following the market open on Tuesday, as cautious forward projections overshadowed a quarterly earnings report that surpassed analyst forecasts.

The streaming giant reported first-quarter revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), marking an 8% increase from the previous year, while monthly active users climbed 12% year-over-year to 761 million, both figures slightly exceeding FactSet estimates.

Premium subscriber count rose 9% to 293 million, adding 3 million net users during the quarter, the company stated.

Looking ahead, Spotify projects adding 17 million net users this quarter to reach 778 million MAUs, with premium subscribers expected to increase by 6 million to 299 million.

Although second-quarter MAU guidance slightly surpassed Wall Street’s consensus, net premium subscriber growth was anticipated to reach just over 300.4 million, according to FactSet analyst polls.

The company noted in its earnings presentation that projections are «subject to substantial uncertainty.»

Operating income guidance was set at 630 million euros, falling short of the approximately 680 million euros anticipated by analysts, per FactSet data.

Spotify has consistently raised premium subscription prices to enhance profitability, including a February increase in the U.S. from $11.99 to $12.99 monthly.

At Monday’s close, the stock had dropped 14% year-to-date.

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Technologies

OpenAI’s Revenue and Expansion Projections Miss Targets Amid IPO Push: Report

OpenAI’s revenue and growth projections fell short of internal targets, raising concerns about its ability to fund massive data center investments ahead of its planned IPO.

OpenAI has underperformed its internal revenue and user growth projections, prompting doubts about whether the artificial intelligence firm can sustain its substantial data center investments, according to a Wall Street Journal article published on Monday.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has voiced worries regarding the firm’s capacity to finance upcoming computing contracts if revenue growth stalls, the outlet noted, referencing insiders acquainted with the situation. Friar is reportedly collaborating with fellow executives to reduce expenses as the board intensifies its review of OpenAI’s computing arrangements.

‘This is ridiculous,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Friar stated in a joint message to Verum. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

Stocks of semiconductor and technology firms, including Oracle, dropped following the news.

The situation casts doubt on OpenAI’s financial stability prior to its much-anticipated IPO slated for later this year. Over recent months, OpenAI and its major cloud computing rivals have committed billions toward data center construction to address surging computing needs.

Several of these agreements are directly linked to OpenAI. Oracle signed a $300 billion five-year computing contract with OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed billions to the startup. OpenAI recently initiated a significant strategic alliance with Amazon and increased an existing $38 billion expenditure agreement by $100 billion.

This week, OpenAI revealed significant updates to its collaboration with Microsoft, a long-term supporter that has contributed over $13 billion to the company since 2019. Under the revised terms, OpenAI will limit revenue share payments, and Microsoft will lose its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property.

Read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.

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Technologies

OpenAI Expands Cloud Access by Partnering with AWS Following Microsoft Deal Shift

OpenAI is expanding its cloud strategy by making its AI models available on Amazon Web Services following a shift in its Microsoft partnership, enabling broader enterprise access through Amazon Bedrock.

Following a recent restructuring of its partnership with Microsoft to allow deployment across multiple cloud platforms, OpenAI announced Tuesday that its AI models will now be accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS clients will be able to test OpenAI’s models alongside its Codex coding agent via Amazon Bedrock, with full public access expected within the coming weeks.

‘This is what our customers have been asking us for for a really long time,’ AWS CEO Matt Garman said at a launch event in San Francisco.

Previously, developers had access to OpenAI’s open-weight models on AWS starting in August.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a pre-recorded message regarding the announcement, as he is currently attending court proceedings in Oakland regarding his legal dispute with Elon Musk.

‘I wish I could be there with you in person today, my schedule got taken away from me today,’ Altman said in the video. ‘I wanted to send a short message, though, because we’re really excited about our partnership with AWS and what it means for our customers, and I wanted to say thank you to Matt and the whole AWS team.’

A new service called Amazon Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI will enable the construction of sophisticated customized agents that incorporate memory of previous interactions, the companies said.

Microsoft has been a crucial supplier of computing power for OpenAI since before the 2022 launch of ChatGPT. Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s revenue chief, told employees in a memo earlier this month that the longstanding Microsoft relationship has been critical but ‘has also limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are — for many that’s Bedrock.’

On Monday, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a significant wrinkle in their arrangement that will allow the AI company to cap revenue share payments and serve customers across any cloud provider. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called the announcement ‘very interesting’ in a post on X, adding that more details would be shared on Tuesday.

OpenAI and Amazon have been getting closer in other ways.

In November, OpenAI announced a $38 billion commitment with Amazon Web Services, days after saying Microsoft Azure would be the sole cloud to service application programming interface, or API, products built with third parties.

Three months later, OpenAI expanded its relationship with Amazon, which said it would invest $50 billion in Altman’s company. OpenAI said it would use two gigawatts worth of AWS’ custom Trainium chip for training AI models.

The partnership was announced after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI failed to meet internal goals on users and revenue. Shares of AI hardware companies, including chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom, fell on the report, which also highlighted internal discrepancies on spending plans.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement about the story. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

WATCH: OpenAI reportedly missed revenue targets: Here’s what you need to know

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