CES 2018 is all wrapped up now and a lot of new things got announced.
Almost everything has RGB lighting now and there was a huge push on voice assistants
from almost everyone.
And keeping up with everything that got announced at CES this year can be a little over whelming.
So here are my top picks CES 2018.
First up, I’ve been calling it now for a few months now but JBL finally announced the
JBL Xtreme 2.
And impersonally very excited for the JBL Xtreme 2 cause the original JBL Xtreme is
just a great work horse of a portable speaker.
Design wise theres really no change.
The rubber end caps are a little more stylized, looks like the legs are little beefed up,
and apparently the carrying strap now has a built in bottle opener.
Concerning tech specs, the JBL Xtreme 2 now has JBL Connect plus so it can connect with
newer Speakers like the Pulse 3, Charge 3, Flip 4, and the JBL Boombox.
Battery life is still at 15 hours, but the JBL Xtreme 2 is now IPX 7 rated… which is
an improvement over the original Xtreme cause its only water resistant.
But we’ll have to see is the JBL Xtreme 2 floats.
And obviously the JBL Xtreme 2 is supposed to sound better thanks to upgraded drivers
and brand new 3D bass radiators.
And it should be going on sale in the spring for $299.95.
JBL also announced their Clip 3 with improved battery life, IPX 7 certification, and a slightly
reworked design.
The Clip 3 will also go on sale in the spring for $59.99.
Staying on the topic of speakers, Sony also announced their Sony Xb21, XB31, and XB41.
And it is obvious Sony is coming after JBL with these new speakers.
They all feature a brand new design which I’m a huge fan of and they all have led
light strips built in.
There hasn’t been a major battery life improvement over the current Xb20, xb30, and xb41, but
these new speakers are more durable.
They all feature an IP67 rating, so aside of just being water proof like most of JBL’s
current speakers, Sony’s speakers are both Water and Dust proof to some extent.
So on paper Sony’s speakers are supposed to be more durable than JBL’s.
And you can now connect up to 100 Sony Xb21 Xb31 and XB41 speakers together.
But there was no mention if this feature will be coming to older XB speakers as well.
The Sony Xb21 will be selling for $99.99, the Xb31 will be selling for $149.99, and
the XB41 will be selling for $249.99 this spring.
Sony also announced their wireless earbuds made specifically for working out.
They’re called the WF-SP700N and they’re in-ear ear buds that feature an IPX4 rating,
active noise cancelation, a total of 9 hours of battery life with help from the charging
case, and google assistant integration.
They’ll be selling for $179.99 and they should be available in the spring.
And speaking of voice assistants, Sony will also be releasing a firmware update for current
headphones which will add google assistant integration just like the Bose QC35 Series
2.
This just means the Sony 1000XM2 and Sony H.ear 2 will be that much better.
Now, its no secret I really like the Sony 1000XM2 and Sony H.ear On 2…
But Audio-Technica also announced their ATH-ANC700BT QuietPoint head points.
If you’re somebody thats on a tighter budget then you might be interested in the Quiet
Point cause they’ll be selling for $199.
They’re supposed to have a 25 hours battery life, come in black or grey, and I’m interested
to see how their ANC technology compares to the ANC on the 1000XM2 come this March.
Next up are DJI’s new gimbal systems.
And I’m personally very impressed by the DJI Osomo 2 cause it clearly shows DJI is
listening to their costumers.
First up they slashed the price down from $200 to $130 (which puts them in direct competition
with the Zhiyun - Smooth-Q ) They made it lighter, its not supposed to over heat any
more, and they improved the battery life from 4 and half hours to a whopping 15 hours.
And you can charge your phone as well.
I’m really interested to see how the DJI Osomo 2 compares compares to the Zhiyun.
Now I’m personally really looking forward for the Ronin-S cause its a larger stabilizer
that will hold my mirrorless camera.
The Ronin-S is supposed to go on sale in the spring but priceing hasn’t been announced.
Where as the DJI Osomo 2 should be going on sale on apple.com January 23 and everywhere
else in February.
And finally theres the Razer Nommo speaker line up.
Now admittedly I currently don’t have time to play computer games right now, but I can
appreciate their design and their color changing base.
There are three models to chose from, the base Razer Nommo speakers which are just stereo
speakers for $100, then theres the Razer Nommo Chroma which have the RGB base for $149.99
and then theres the top of the line Razer Nommo Pro for $499.99.
Although the first two are currently available the Razer Nommo Pro still inst up for sale.
And what makes the Nommo Pro special is improved drivers, the addition of tweeters and a downward
firing subwoofer.
So yeah, these are just some of the things I’m currently really looking forward to
from CES 2018.
And I’m also going to do my best to get a hold of all off these products and review
and compare them.
But comment down below, what are you most excited for from CES 2018?