CES 2020: Audio-Technica unveils true wireless earbuds with ANC

One of the best known audio brands in the world, Audio-Technica announced its first truly wireless earbuds at CES 2020. The ATH-ANC300TW costs $249 ( ₹17,800 approx) at launch and this price point is the same as Apple's AirPod Pro.

Much like Apple's AirPods, the Audio-Technica 300TW comes with active noise cancellation - Audio-Technica's own QuietPoint brand of ANC. The headphones feature 5.8 mm drivers with DLC (diamond-like carbon) coated diaphragms to deliver exceptional full-range audio reproduction from a Bluetooth wireless transmission.

The new set of buds will be up for sale in Spring later this year.

The ATH-ANC300TW gives you 4.5 hours of playback time, plus an additional 13.5 hours of charge from the included battery case. The headphones use Bluetooth 5 as well as Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo Plus. The latter is a low latency function that Audio-Technica says will make the connection to the earbuds more stable and without disruptions. For audio clarity, the buds will support aptX, AAC, and SBC codecs.

The ATH-ANC300TW headphones have a built-in mic and multifunction buttons for convenient control of music playback, calls, and a quick hear-through function that lets you hear outside noise, such as conversations and announcements, when desired.

The headphones are also compatible with the Audio-Technica Connect app (both in iOS and Android), giving you control of various settings, including three noise-cancelling modes: Airplane, which targets constant low-frequency noise; On-the-Go, which suppresses street noise; and Office/Study, which responds to noise in quiet environments. The truly wireless earbuds also come with a quick-hear function.

As far as waterproofing or resistance is concerned, the ATH-ANC300TW are only rated IPX2. So they might be good enough for the gym, but they might not survive heavy rainfall or a swim.

These compact, ergonomic earbuds fit naturally in ears of all sizes and come with four sizes of thin, flexible silicone eartips (XS/S/M/L), plus a pair of Comply foam eartips (M), to further customise the fit.