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Six mics, charge and listen? These new Pioneer Rayz buds may be the best EarPods alternative

By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Oct 05, 2017, 7:59 AM

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Pioneer Rayz Lightning Powered Noise Cancelling Earphones Pioneer RAYZ

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Six mics, charge and listen? These new Pioneer Rayz buds may be the best EarPods alternative

If you are looking for alternatives to the Apple's EarPods that come bundled with your iPhone 7 or 7 Plus, Pioneer just announced what may be the best set of iPhone-compliant earphones this side of the wireless ones. The first set to sport Apple's second-generation MFi Lightning Audio Module thanks to Avnera's new LightX platform, the Pioneer Rayz and Rayz Plus are claimed to be the most frugal Lightning earphones on the market, and the Plus version even lets you charge your phone while using the buds - a pet peeve of many iPhone 7 owners.

Other niceties include six mics for various noise-cancellation and ambient noise adjustment shenanigans, inline controls with Siri support and favorite apps launch, as well as auto pause and resume function when the buds are off or on. The remote's programmable button, HearThru, voice prompts, Smart Mute and equalizer presets can all be controlled and adjusted with the accompanying Rayz iOS app.

How much for those puppies? Well, the Rayz option is $99.99 in Onyx and Ice hues, while the Rayz Plus with the in-line charging port comes in Bronze and Graphite, and will run you $149.99, or about as much as a decent set of wireless ones. Pioneer will soon have them up for order at Oncall.com, but for now the link is still not live.

source: Pioneer

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena from 2010 to 2025, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.