Lightning

Pioneer’s Rayz Plus Lightning earphones now support “Hey Siri” function

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 18, 2017

First announced in February, Pioneer's Lightning-equipped Rayz Plus earphones have gained “Hey Siri” support, Munenori Otsuki, CEO of Pioneer & Onkyo U.S.A. Corporation, said today.

With support for this feature, the earphones automatically recognize “Hey Siri” commands and allow customers to accomplish various tasks just by using their voice.

“Today we are pleased to announce that customers can say 'Hey Siri' while using Rayz earphones to easily make a call, send a message, listen to music and much more, even when iPhone is in their pocket or purse,” Otsuki said.

The firmware update also enables other capabilities, like language support for Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, audible alerts when the Smart Mute feature is active, AutoPause improvements and more.

Here's our video hands-on with the Rays Plus earphones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axvB9azU0QI

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The noise-cancelling earphones use a wired Lightning connection which lets you listen or talk on your iPhone at the same time you're charging it.

A Smart Button on the earphones can be customized in the free Rayz app to bring up your favorite app, mute or unmute a call, or launch the Rayz app at a single touch.

For instance, you can create and save custom equalization profiles, enable HearThru mode to allow ambient sound, or activate AutoPause to pause music when you remove the earphones.

As of last month, the $149.94 earphones are available in two new colors—Black and Rose Gold—from Apple.com and Apple retail stores worldwide.

Apple taps an old plug to ease connectivity and adapter woes with Lightning headphones

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 6, 2017

Apple will soon allow vendors who design MFi-certified accessories to build support for an obscure but already-existent port in order to ease some of the connectivity and adapter woes associated with Lightning-based headphones. 9to5Mac reported that the company might market UAC, an intermediary in headphone cables, as “Ultra Accessory Connector” (UAC).

Citing sources at Apple, The Verge adds that UAC is an old plug you might have seen with your Nikon DSLR camera rather than a proprietary new connector type from Apple. Apple's ultimate goal with UAC, The Verge claims, is making Lightning and USB-C work better together rather than replacing them with a brand new I/O port.

Gravitas iPhone dock by Henge Docks is both hefty and low key

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 5, 2017

I do a lot of work at my office desk at home, and for that reason alone, I have a love for things that help keep my work space uncluttered. One of the things I like to have that helps with that is a good quality dock that I can use to put my iPhone or iPad somewhere without it taking up much real estate where I’ll be putting my papers or elbows.

The Gravitas dock by Henge Docks is a good choice, and in this review, we’ll give you an up-close look at it.

Teardown analysis suggests AirPods charging case quality issues might have caused delayed launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 20, 2016

Having torn apart Apple's AirPods wireless earphones and their charging case, repair masters over at iFixit have now posted their initial observations. AirPods have so many components crammed into tight space that the they're virtually not repairable or recyclable. As for the charging case, an X-ray analysis of its logic board reveals a few “quality issues” that may have contributed to the delayed AirPods launch.

Aukey’s 30,000 mAh battery pack stores lots of power and charges with Lightning

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 14, 2016

There are a ton of battery packs out there, and we just showed you a couple of very stout options from Anker last month, but for those who need even more juice, Aukey has a versatile 30,000 mAh battery pack with handy unique features.

Because I was personally impressed with the build quality and features this battery pack had to offer, I’m excited to show you everything it can do.

Twelve South’s HiRise Duet keeps your iPhone and Apple Watch charged simultaneously

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 6, 2016

When you’re a proud owner of both an iPhone and an Apple Watch, you might feel reluctant to have two separate charging docks, each with their own separate wires running across your desk to keep them charged.

Fortunately, Twelve South has you covered with their all new HiRise Duet charging platform, which not only gives you a place to charge your iPhone upright, but also provides an integrated charging disc for your Apple Watch.

Nomad’s new Lightning cables cross durability with function

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

When you decide to pick up another Lightning cable for your iPhone or iPad, you could choose to go chintzy with another OEM cable that’ll just wear out again in no time at all, or you can go with a beefier option that will have a much longer operating life.

Nomad offers an awesome lineup of MFi-certified heavy duty ballistic 1,000D nylon braided lightning cables that are reinforced with K-29 Kevlar. But what makes these different from the competition?

Twelve South’s Fermata charging stand keeps your wireless headphones organized

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated August 30, 2023

With the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone 7 & 7 Plus, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to predict that many people will be moving to wireless Bluetooth headphones instead of wired ones.

Twelve South’s new Fermata charging stand for wireless headphones is a great accessory to have if you’re one of those people. It’ll keep your headphones out of your way on your desk while they charge, and it looks great too!

Anker’s power banks and solar chargers keep your devices juiced up while on the go

Anthony Bouchard ∙ November 7, 2016

If you do a lot of traveling and like to stay connected with your friends and family via your smartphone or tablet, then you probably need as much battery life as you can get. Out and about, you won’t always have access to a plug in the wall, so it’s a good idea to have a backup plan for keeping your devices charged.

Anker makes some great solutions, including the PowerCore 20000 and PowerCore+ 26800 power banks, and a 21W PowerPort Solar charger so you can harness the power of the Sun. Any of these can help make mobile charging easier.

Hands On: iLDOCK Kickstarter looks to add a headphone jack to the iPhone 7

Andrew O'Hara ∙ October 10, 2016

The iPhone 7 has encountered much ire in response to the lack of a headphone jack. Since the launch, there have been a bevy of companies vying for the ultimate accessory to "fix" the iPhone 7 by bringing back the headphone jack. iLDOCK is yet another accessory trying to fill that void.

Apple creates their own accessory for converting the Lightning port into a 3.5mm audio jack. The issue comes up when you want to listen to audio, and charge your phone simultaneously. Newly launched Kickstarter project iLDOCK looks to fix this annoying problem. The small aluminum adapter plugs into your phone to bring you the old 3.5mm audio port, as well as a female lightning port.

Twelve South’s HiRise 2 Deluxe dock looks great with the new iPhone 7

Anthony Bouchard ∙ September 28, 2016

Twelve South is at it again, making great accessories for Apple products. The company’s release of the HiRise 2 and HiRise 2 Deluxe charging docks earlier this month brought forth a redesign with new color options and improved stability for larger devices.

In this review, we’ll take a closer look at the HiRise 2 Deluxe in black, a color made to match Apple’s new black iPhone 7 & 7 Plus finish.

iPhone 7 might ship with Lightning EarPods and 3.5mm headphone jack adapter

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2016

An image of another claimed spec sheet has surfaced on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo, indicating that the iPhone 7 could come with both a Lightning edition of Apple's wired EarPods and a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter in the box. As a result, the iPhone 7 should provide its owners with an appropriate solution for connecting their existing wired headphones to the handset right out of the box, without requiring them to purchase a standalone adapter.