By The Verge / Photos by Chris Welch
A lot happened in the headphone world this year. 2023 gave us the usual serving of big new products, but it also continued that story of earbuds and headphones growing smarter and more advanced — while audio quality keeps reaching new heights. And for better or worse, the trend helped to strengthen ecosystem lock-in for brands like Apple, Samsung, and Google.
Bose overhauled its hardware lineup and released the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and Headphones, which are the latest flexes of the company’s best-in-class active noise cancellation. Sony launched the hotly anticipated WF-1000XM5 earbuds. Jabra tried to keep pace with larger competitors with a pair of new premium earbuds, the Elite 10 and Elite 8 Active. Other companies produced buds…