Okay Google: make Assistant be on JBL's Everest headphones! Premium JBL over-ear and in-ear cans get an AI makeover
"I'm sorry, I don't understand the question"
People like headphones and people like AI assistants. Put them together as JBL has with its Everest wireless in-ear and over-ear cans and the result could be purest tech gold. Or at the very least, some already-excellent headphones gain some extra functionality.
JBL is positioning it as a convenient way to control your music when on the move, but you also get all the rest of the GA functionality, from perusing calendar appointments to hearing the news and weather to turning on your smart bulbs. All you have to do is touch the ear cup and speak, "simple phrases like, 'volume up/down', 'tell me about my day' or 'play pop music'."
Audio quality and comfort should be well up to the usual JBL standard, and battery life is up to 25 hours for the over-ears and up to 8 hours for the in-ears, with connectivity via Bluetooth 4.1.
• Pricing? €249 and €99.99. UK pricing is TBC but we expect about £219 and £79.
In other JBL news, the Samsung/Harman Kardon subsidiary refreshed its Bluetooth speaker range with the GO 2 portable waterproof speaker, Clip 3 clip-on speaker Xtreme 2 rugged speaker.
Prices will be £30, £50 and £279 respectively, with the cheaper speakers coming in a huge variety of colours. Launch dates are spring for the ultra-portables and summer for the heftier Xtreme 2.
