Technologies

How to Connect Bluetooth Headphones to Your Smart TV

Connecting headphones to your smart TV can keep the peace in your household after hours.

Whether you’re a parent, a roommate, a spouse or all of the above, you’ve probably given up watching TV at some point to avoid disturbing the people around you. The good news? You don’t have to retreat to a tiny phone or tablet to catch your favorite shows and movies. You can still watch on your big TV without bothering anyone else.

Bluetooth is the key, and it’s everywhere, including the best TVs. Connecting your wireless headphones or earbuds to your TV is usually quick and easy. Here’s how to do it, what you can do with it and what to do if you encounter issues.

Initial prep

First, update the firmware on both your TV and your headphones/earbuds (you’ll do this via the companion app for your headphones on your phone). Next, put your headphones into pairing mode. If needed, check the manual for specific instructions, but it usually involves pressing and holding a button on the headphones or earbud case until a light starts flashing.

Connect

Go to your TV’s settings menu, usually represented by a gear icon. Locate the Bluetooth menu, which may be accessible separately or within the sound/audio output options, depending on your TV model.

Once you’re in the Bluetooth settings, select Add device (or the closest equivalent). Your headphones/earbuds should appear there. Select them, and the TV should indicate that the headphones are now connected.

If your TV’s Bluetooth settings are separate from the audio output settings, you’ll need to change the audio output to Bluetooth as well. You should also hear a brief connection tone from the headphones.

Once a set of headphones is paired with your TV, you generally just need to put them on, and they should automatically reconnect to the TV. Some TV models may require you to revisit the settings and manually select Bluetooth as the sound output. Some TVs support audio output through both Bluetooth and the built-in speakers simultaneously, which can be handy if you’re watching with multiple people and one of them likes the volume cranked way up.

Multipoint and dual audio

If your headphones support multipoint Bluetooth, you should be able to switch from your TV audio to a phone call without having to manually switch and reconnect devices.

If your TV supports dual audio, you can connect to two headsets and watch/listen together without waking the kids. Pair the second device you’d like to connect using the same procedure above, and then go to the audio output settings. You should be able to choose multiple devices for simultaneous synced output.

Troubleshooting Bluetooth and TV connections

Some HDMI connections to devices like soundbars can hog up the audio output and prevent you from switching to Bluetooth. For example, I encountered a specific combination of devices — an LG OLED TV and a Sonos Arc soundbar — where I selected Bluetooth, and the HDMI connection took over the audio within a couple of seconds. If this happens, you can try unplugging the soundbar cable.

If an issue or problem comes up, such as a Bluetooth connection error message, return to your TV’s Bluetooth settings, select the device and choose either Forget device or Delete device. Then repeat the pairing process.

If your TV doesn’t have Bluetooth, you’re not left out in the cold. Bluetooth transmitters are easy to connect to older TVs with an audio output (typically an optical connection) and usually support two headphone connections simultaneously. However, be sure to look for a transmitter model that includes the aptX low-latency codec and use it with headphones that also support the same codec. If not, you may experience distracting lag time between audio and video, aka lip-sync issues.

To pair the transmitter with your headphones, place both devices in pairing mode, and they should connect automatically. If another device hijacks the connection to your headphones, turn off that device’s Bluetooth.

Technologies

Google’s Pixel 10A Is Coming to Japan With an Exclusive Blue Edition and Special Wallpaper

This model comes with creatively designed stickers and a special look for Pixel’s 10th anniversary.

Don’t be blue: Google is releasing an Isai blue edition of the Pixel 10A to celebrate the Android phone line’s 10th anniversary, setting it apart with its own sticker set, specialized wallpaper and custom icons. But it’ll only be available in Japan.

Announced Tuesday on the Google Japan blog, the Isai blue Pixel 10A has a dark blue look and includes bonus decorations designed in collaboration with Japan’s Heralbony art company. These include an exclusive bumper case and stickers for customization.

This edition of the Pixel 10A will arrive in Japan on May 20, following the April 14 release of the Pixel 10A in its original colors of lavender, berry, fog and obsidian. The Isai blue model costs 94,900 yen, which roughly translates to $595, and includes 256GB of storage.

This makes it slightly less expensive than the US model’s 256GB edition, but it comes with a number of fun extras at no additional cost.

Google’s creation of a country-specific model for Japan may also reflect strong sales in that market. In 2023, the IDC analytics firm (via 9to5Google) reported that the Pixel 7 series accounted for 10.7% of the country’s market share, a 527% increase from 2022.

Technologies

Can’t Wait for New Emoji? Here’s How to Create Your Own on iPhone

Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones can create custom emoji in a few easy steps.

Apple brought new emoji to all iPhones when the company released iOS 26.4 on March 24. The new emoji include «🫍» orca, «🫪» distorted face and «🫈» hairy creature — or as we might normally call it, Sasquatch. According to Emojipedia, there are 3,953 emoji with more on the way, including a pickle. But there’s no emoji for a dog wearing pajamas, a plate with burgers and fries and many other things. But if you have Genmoji on your iPhone you can create these emoji and many more.

Apple released iOS 18.2 in 2024 and the company introduced its own emoji generator, called Genmoji, to Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones at that time. The Unicode Standard, a universal character encoding standard, is responsible for creating new emoji, and approved emoji are added to all devices once a year. With Genmoji, you don’t have to wait for new emoji to appear on your iPhone each year. You can just create them as you need them.

Read on to learn how to use Genmoji on iPhone to create your own custom emoji. Just note that only iPhones with Apple Intelligence, like the iPhone 17 lineup, can use Genmoji at this time.

Note: The new emoji may not display correctly for Apple users whose devices aren’t on a 26.4 software version.

How to make custom emoji

1. Open Messages and go into a chat.
2. Tap the plus (+) button next to your text box.
3. Tap Genmoji.

You can then type a description of an emoji into the text box near the bottom of your screen and tap the check mark on your keyboard to enter that description into Genmoji. You can also tap different suggestions and themes that are right above the text box. And with iOS 26 or later, you can also combine and use emoji to create others rather than describing a new emoji or using suggestions.

Your iPhone will generate a series of new emoji for you to pick from according to your description, and you can swipe through these new emoji. When you find the one you want, tap Add in the top right corner of your screen and the new emoji will be available to use as an emoji, tapback or a sticker. Now you don’t have to wait for the Unicode Standard to propose, create and bring new emoji to devices.

For more iOS news, here’s what to know about iOS 26.4 and iOS 26.3. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for other tips and tricks.

Technologies

Save Over 20% on This Handy 10,000-mAh Anker Nano Power Bank

Keep your devices charged on the go with this Anker Nano power bank, now down to just $46.

We’ve just spotted the Anker Nano 45-watt portable power bank for just $46 at Amazon right now. This saves you $14 — a 23% discount on its list price. Though it’s $6 more than the lowest-ever price we saw during Black Friday, it’s still a solid discount when you take the rising cost of tech accessories into account. It also matches the lowest price we’ve seen in 2026. It comes in four colors: black, green, pink and white. They’re all on sale for the same price.

This Anker Nano portable charger weighs approximately 8.2 ounces and measures a compact 3.21×1.99×1.42 inches. Despite its small size, it has a retractable cable and supports fast charging in compatible Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel and other smartphones. It also has a large 10,000-mAh capacity and a smart display so you always know how much juice is left in your power bank.

The Nano can charge an iPhone 17 to up to 50% battery in an estimated 20 minutes, and is powerful enough to charge tablets and laptops. Need to charge your devices while charging your power bank? You can do so safely thanks to pass-through charging so you’ll never have to go without battery life.

We’ve also compiled a list of the best power banks for iPhones and for Android, in case this deal isn’t quite a fit for you.

Why this deal matters

If you travel, have a long commute time or are otherwise always on the go, a portable charger can help you keep your devices fully powered. This 45-watt Anker Nano power bank is compact, includes a loop that lets you keep track of it easily and has a built-in cable so you don’t have to keep up with extra cords. Amazon’s $14 discount makes this a solid deal for anyone looking for a compact power bank.