Corporations hold making an attempt to make neck audio system a factor. Individuals have to be shopping for them, although, as a result of Panasonic is releasing a brand new one: the GNW10 SoundSlayer, a wi-fi neck speaker with AI voice isolation (which it confusingly calls “AI voice management”) for telephone calls and in-game voice chat. The SoundSlayer is $299 and might be accessible in late October of this yr.
That is basically an up to date model of the wired SoundSlayer neck speaker that Panasonic launched two years in the past. The most important change is that the brand new SoundSlayer employs a small transmitter that plugs into your console or PC and sends audio with a proprietary 2.4GHz wi-fi protocol that Panasonic says is nice for underneath 20ms of latency. That’s lower than you’d usually see with Bluetooth audio, which might be delayed by a whole bunch of milliseconds, so the sound ought to be extra rapid. That may be essential in, say, a first-person shooter.
The opposite headline characteristic is what Panasonic is looking “AI voice management” (a complicated identify for its beamforming noise-cancellation talents since you may’t truly management the speaker along with your voice). The wired SoundSlayer additionally has noise cancellation, however Panasonic claims that the brand new product will leverage AI to raised lower out background noise and echo throughout calls. Whether or not it truly does a greater job will stay to be seen till it makes its approach to the general public.
The brand new SoundSlayer additionally has a 60 p.c bigger housing than its predecessor did, which the corporate says will enhance bass.
Like its predecessor, this SoundSlayer mannequin has 4 audio system and 6 sound modes for various situations, together with three distinct sport modes for RPGs, first-person shooters, and dialogue-heavy titles.
Panasonic says it “recognized factors of fatigue and discomfort” generally shared by neck-worn gadgets and designed the SoundSlayer to not “burden” your trapezius muscle groups — the muscle groups that run out of your neck throughout your shoulders and down to some extent in the midst of your again — or dig into your clavicle bones.
Related wi-fi neck audio system embrace the discontinued Bose SoundWear Companion — which The Verge’s assessment referred to as enjoyable if typically impractical — and Sony’s Bravia XR-focused neck speaker.
