Audio & Home

Headphones, speakers, TVs, and living-room kit.

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October 202610 articles

Can AirPods pair with the seatback screen? What five US airlines’ own pages say, read 14 October 2026. United: yes, on more than 800 planes, on select flights. American: yes on the A321XLR, fleetwide later. Delta: announced for the A350-1000 and refreshed A330s. JetBlue: announced for BlueFirst seats. Alaska: not mentioned; seatback screens only on the 787. No Bluetooth on the screen? Plug into the jack: a wired set, or a transmitter.
Audio & Home · Explainer

Seatback Bluetooth: United on 800+ Planes, Others Starting

American’s A321XLR has it and JetBlue and Delta have announced it. Without it, the seatback jack needs a wired plug or a transmitter.

OLED lights each pixel; Mini-LED lights an LCD. How the light is made, from LG, Samsung, Sony and TCL pages, read 9 October 2026. OLED: each pixel makes its own light and can switch fully off, with no backlight behind it; makers warn that static images can leave burn-in. Mini-LED, an LCD: small LEDs light the LCD from behind, dimmed in zones; zones vary, and TCL lists 500 to 6,000; TCL markets halo control against glow around bright objects. Burn-in cover: read the warranty for your model. LG's US TV warranty we read: one year, burn-in not mentioned.
Audio & Home · Explainer

OLED Lights Each Pixel; Mini-LED Lights an LCD Behind It

Self-lit pixels give OLED its blacks and a burn-in risk; a zoned backlight gives Mini-LED brightness and a halo risk.

Fire TV is now three sticks and a Cube: Amazon’s streaming players, from its own pages, read 9 October 2026. Stick HD: HD, Wi-Fi 6, Vega OS, powered by the TV’s USB port. Stick 4K, new: 4K, Wi-Fi 6, Vega OS, no Dolby Vision. Stick 4K Max: 4K, Wi-Fi 6E, Fire OS 8, Dolby Vision. Cube: 4K, Wi-Fi 6E, Fire OS 7, hands-free Alexa. The new 4K stick is $59.99, Amazon says, and can run off the TV’s USB port.
Audio & Home · On Paper

New Fire TV Stick 4K Can Run Off the TV, Lacks Dolby Vision

Amazon’s lineup is now three sticks and the Cube. Pick the 4K Max instead if your TV does Dolby Vision or you want Wi-Fi 6E.

What noise cancelling handles, from Apple, Sony, Bose and Samsung’s own pages, read 8 October 2026. Reduced well: steady, low-frequency noise such as vehicles, air conditioning and cabins. Reduced less: voices, which change quickly, and sudden or unpredictable sounds. Weakened by: a poor fit or seal, and microphones covered by a hand. The same two modes have four names. To cancel: Apple Active Noise Cancellation, Sony Noise canceling, Bose Quiet, Samsung Active noise canceling. To let sound in: Apple Transparency, Sony Ambient Sound Mode, Bose Aware, Samsung Ambient sound.
Audio & Home · Explainer

Noise Cancelling Is Best at Hum, Worse at Voices

Microphones make anti-noise against engines and air conditioning. Speech and sudden sounds are harder to cancel, and fit matters too.

Atmos height: up-firing or virtual, from Dolby’s and makers’ pages, read 7 October 2026. Reading a label such as 3.1.2: 3 ear-level channels, 1 subwoofer, 2 height channels. Up-firing: drivers bounce sound off the ceiling; Dolby asks for a flat, reflective ceiling 7.5 to 14 feet high. Virtual: processing makes height with no dedicated height speakers. Sonos lists Arc Ultra as 9.1.4, with 14 drivers, two of which fire upward.
Audio & Home · Explainer

Dolby Atmos Soundbars Can Work Without Up-Firing Speakers

Dolby counts processed, virtual height as Atmos too. In 3.1.2 or 5.1.4, the last number is height channels; the middle one is bass.

What optical, ARC and eARC carry: Dolby Atmos to a soundbar, from Sonos’s and HDMI Licensing Administrator’s pages, read 6 October 2026. Optical: stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1, no Atmos. HDMI ARC: adds Atmos in Dolby Digital Plus, the form streaming Atmos takes, on TVs Sonos lists as version 2.01 or above. HDMI eARC: adds lossless Atmos in Dolby TrueHD, DTS:X, and uncompressed 5.1 and 7.1. Lossless Atmos needs eARC on the TV and the soundbar.
Audio & Home · Explainer

Most Atmos Plays Over ARC; Lossless Atmos Needs eARC

Dolby encodes streaming Atmos as Dolby Digital Plus, which ARC carries. eARC adds Dolby TrueHD, DTS:X and uncompressed 7.1.

tvOS 27 and HomePod 27, by model, from Apple’s support pages and user guides, read 5 October 2026. Gets tvOS 27, two Apple TVs: Apple TV 4K (2nd generation, 2021) and Apple TV 4K (3rd generation, 2022). Dropped, stays on tvOS 26, two Apple TVs: Apple TV HD (2015) and Apple TV 4K (1st generation, 2017). HomePod software 27: Apple gives no model list; its version 27 user guide names all three HomePod models.
Audio & Home · Explainer

tvOS 27 Drops the Apple TV HD and the First Apple TV 4K

Only the 2021 and 2022 boxes get it. HomePod software 27 shipped with no model list, and Apple’s guide still covers the 2018 HomePod.

Which HDMI cable your device needs, from HDMI Licensing Administrator’s and makers’ pages, read 5 October 2026. Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable, up to 48Gbps: 4K at up to 120Hz and 8K at 60Hz; covers HDMI 2.1 TVs, the PS5 and HDMI 2.1b graphics cards. Ultra96 HDMI Cable, up to 96Gbps: for devices marked Ultra96, running at 64, 80 or 96Gbps. Rule: match the cable to the device’s maximum bandwidth.
Audio & Home · Explainer

No TV or Console We Checked Needs an Ultra96 HDMI Cable

A 48Gbps Ultra High Speed cable carries 4K at 120Hz and 8K at 60Hz. Ultra96 is for HDMI 2.2 devices running at 64 to 96Gbps.

September 20267 articles

What each maker's own privacy pages say a TV collects about other devices, read 23 September 2026. Roku: other devices connected to the same network, plus nearby routers. LG: devices you link, their type, model and connection method. Samsung: devices and services you choose to connect. Vizio: its own identifiers; partners may match a device sharing your IP address. Fire TV: device settings including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options.
Audio & Home · Explained

Roku's Policy Names the Other Devices on Your Network

LG logs what you plug in and the smart bulbs you control through the TV. Samsung, Vizio and Amazon's pages do not claim to look further.

A six-row table headed The CD drives ran out, read from PS Audio's and Naim's own pages and forums on 20 September 2026: the PS Audio PMG transport is out of stock at $8,999; the Naim Uniti Star is listed as no longer available; Naim's replacement is the Star Lite at 11kg with no disc slot; the mechanism's last orders at D&M were July 2024; the price of that mechanism doubled at the last order; remaining drives are held back for repairs.
Audio & Home · Explainer

PS Audio and Naim Each Lost a Disc Product to Drive Supply

Both makers say so on their own sites. The mechanism they bought stopped being made, and the drives left over are being kept for repairs.

How long each TV platform says it keeps updating, from each maker's own pages, read 20 September 2026; Google re-read 5 October. Samsung Tizen: up to 7 years of OS updates. LG webOS: 5 years of updates and upgrades. Fire TV: at least 4 years, and dated per model. Roku: no period; OS 15.3 reaches 2014 TVs. Google TV: own streamers 5 years; TV sets none. Apple TV: no period; tvOS 27 drops Apple TV HD.
Audio & Home · Explainer

Three TV Platforms Publish an Update Promise. Three Do Not

Samsung says up to seven years of Tizen, LG five of webOS, Amazon at least four. Google dates just its own streamers; Roku and Apple, none.

The viewing-data switch, by brand, with setting names from each maker's own pages, read 19 September 2026. Samsung: Viewing Information Services. LG: Viewing Information agreement. Roku TV: Smart TV Experience. Vizio: Viewing Data. Fire TV: Preferences, then Privacy Settings. Apple TV 4K: Use Play History (TV app).
Audio & Home · Guide

The TV Viewing Tracker Has a Different Name at Each Brand

Samsung, LG, Roku and Vizio all let you switch it off. LG and Roku say it also covers boxes plugged into the TV, not just its tuner.

Bose's new open earbuds, on paper, from Bose's press release of 17 September 2026. Ultra Open, 2nd Gen: $299, 9 hours, IPX4, aptX Adaptive. Sport Open: $199, 7 hours, IP54, no Immersive. Both: Wireless charging case, multipoint. Pre-orders: 19 September. Ships: 1 October. The original Ultra Open Earbuds were $199 on bose.com on 17 September 2026.
Audio & Home · On Paper

Bose Ultra Open Earbuds 2nd Gen: Two More Hours, Same $299

The new $199 Sport model drops Immersive Audio and makes no aptX claim. The original was $199 on Bose's own store on 17 September.

The two AirPods 5 models side by side. AirPods 5 at $129: Active Noise Cancellation, up to 50 percent more noise removed than AirPods 4 with ANC, and Live Translation. AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case at $149: everything in the cheaper model, plus up to 5 hours with ANC, up to 22 hours with the case, and volume swipe on the stem.
Audio & Home · On Paper

AirPods 5: The $20 Case Is Where the Battery Upgrade Lives

Both models get the new noise cancelling. Only the $149 one gets Apple's longer battery and volume swipe, according to Apple's own release.

Two panels comparing Sony's two-device mode off and on. Off: LDAC available, one phone connected, reconnect to switch device. On: AAC or SBC only, two devices connected, no reconnection needed. Sony's help guide is quoted saying LDAC cannot be used and the codec is automatically switched to AAC or SBC, and that playback does not move to the second device on its own.
Audio & Home · Explainer

Two Devices at Once Costs You LDAC

Sony's help guide is explicit: two-device mode switches LDAC off. It also says playback will not move until you stop the first device.