If you are looking for alternatives to the Apple's
EarPods that come bundled with your iPhone 7 or 7 Plus, Pioneer just announced
what may be the best set of iPhone-compliant earphones this side of the
wireless ones.
The first set to sport Apple's second-generation MFi Lightning
Audio Module thanks to Avnera's new LightX platform, the Pioneer Rayz and Rayz
Plus are claimed to be the most frugal Lightning earphones on the market, and
the Plus version even lets you charge your phone while using the buds - a pet
peeve of many iPhone 7 owners.
Other niceties include six mics for various
noise-cancellation and ambient noise adjustment shenanigans, inline controls
with Siri support and favorite apps launch, as well as auto pause and resume
function when the buds are off or on. The remote's programmable button,
HearThru, voice prompts, Smart Mute and equalizer presets can all be controlled
and adjusted with the accompanying Rayz iOS app.
Well, the Rayz option is US$ 99.99 in Onyx and Ice hues, while the Rayz Plus with the in-line charging port
comes in Bronze and Graphite, and will run you US$ 149.99, or about as much as a
decent set of wireless ones. Pioneer will soon have them up for order at
Oncall.com, but for now the link is still not live.
