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New story in Technology from Time: 5 Great Headphone Options to Get You Through a Sweaty, Song-Filled Summer

Summer is in full effect, which means barbecues, bashes, and begging for an end to the global pandemic. But as 2021’s hot girl summer rages and the temperatures soar, that doesn’t mean you have to deal with gross, musty cans when you want to enjoy some music solo outside (or inside).

Whether working out in the heat, sweating up a storm on a hike or just walking around by yourself on a warm day, you need a pair of headphones that won’t give up after a few sweltering sessions. Here are our picks for the best headphones to use during another super sweaty summer.
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Logitech UE fits

Price: $199

For earbuds that will stay in and keep you focused when working up a sweat outside, Logitech’s UE FITS wireless earbuds are certainly a unique option. For one, setup includes creating a custom-fit seal using the silicone tips filled with a special plastic that molds to the shape of your ears. To activate the process, you stick the earbuds in your ears, open the companion app, and wait about a minute to feel the warmth of the custom molding process happening right inside your ear canal (don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt).

After the molding process is complete, the sweat-proof UE Fits will, well, fit pretty nicely. While there’s no noise cancellation functionality, the custom-fit seal will block a lot of ambient noise, so you can hear your tunes more clearly. From there you can fiddle with EQ settings in the app, as well as adjust rudimentary control functions on the earbuds themselves.

Powerbeats Pro

Price: $179

For hardcore movers, shakers and everyone in between, you can’t go wrong with the tried and true Powerbeats Pro headphones. The dependable wraparound design means your Powerbeats will stay on your ears, no matter what. You can play hard without worrying they will slide off or get in the way of your activities.

There’s no noise cancellation, but the in-ear fit and stable design means it keeps a great deal of ambient noise out. You’ll get that deep bass that’s notable in Beats headphones, while keeping the world out. The carrying case might be a little too big for your running shorts, but they’ll fit in a jacket pocket or bike pouch easily. It will also keep you charged for your marathon runs or all-day tournaments. If you’re an iPhone user, you can even charge the Powerbeats Pro with your Lightning cable.

Bose Frames Tempo

Price: $249

If you’re doing something requiring your full attention — say, riding a bike — it helps to not have any obstructions in the way, especially ones that compromise your hearing. Enter Bose and its earbud-free Frames. The Bluetooth-enabled Tempo Frames are sunglasses that feature a sporty design, complete with polarized interchangeable lens and silicone nose guards so they stay affixed to your face during the most jittery conditions. The Frames use focused audio sent directly into your ears. That means your music won’t bother anyone when you’re outside, though it’s not an ideal way to listen to tunes indoors if you’re around people, who might catch hints of your jams.

They ditch the old Frames’ proprietary charging cable too, so you can use the same USB-C cable you use to charge your other gadgets. Bose Frames stay on your head and out of your ears during a long, hot day (the Tempo frames last about eight hours before needing a charge).

Apple AirPods Pro

Price: $250

Apple’s ever-popular AirPods Pro wireless earbuds are pretty good all-around headphones, and do a great job during the summer months. Active noise cancellation and passthrough audio (called Transparency mode) make it a great choice for runners who want more situational awareness, or gym rats who just want some peace and quiet when they lift. The in-ear design means they’ll remain in place more so than the less capable AirPods. Touch controls on each earbud make it easy to control your music, and the always-on Siri functionality makes accessing your voice assistant pretty easy.

Even the case is small enough to slip into a pair of shorts during a run, unlike some chunkier wireless earbuds. Additionally, the IPX4 rating means they can withstand a day spent sweating in the sun or a quick drizzle, but aren’t great for extreme conditions. You should probably take them out before diving into a pool.

Jabra Elite 85t

Price: $230

A longtime favorite, and sequel to the excellent Elite 75t, the Jabra Elite 85t are high-end wireless earbuds that rival Apple’s AirPods Pro in functionality. With both active noise cancellation and passthrough audio — letting you hear the world around you while you listen to tunes — you’ll be able to enjoy your music and stay safe on a run, or tune the world out when you’re laying in the park.

They feature physical buttons rather than touch controls, and are small enough to fit in a pocket. With a charge that lasts over five hours at a time, they’re perfect for a long hike. The IPX4 rating also makes it perfect for sweaty runs or quick rainstorms, and its array of six microphones makes you sound pretty darn clear on a phone call.

New story in Technology from Time: ‘The Infinite’ Virtual Reality Exhibit Offers a Taste of Life in Outer Space

Some astronauts say the experience of traveling to space causes a shift in their perception of their world, a deepened feeling of interconnection with humanity sparked when they look down upon the Earth from so far above it (it’s called the “overview effect”). Looking out through the cupola of the International Space Station (ISS) and down onto the planet’s surface 250 miles below for myself, I’m inclined to believe them. A profound mixture of discovery, awe and comfort bubbled up inside of me when faced with that view.

The thing is, I’m not an astronaut. Even if space tourism is making headlines this summer, only the luckiest or richest among us will actually get to experience such a magnificent view firsthand—but it’s been made accessible to all through The Infinite, a virtual reality (VR) exhibition that makes you feel like you’re an ISS crew member. The world’s largest VR experience to date using the largest production ever filmed in space as its core material, The Infinite takes visitors on an hour-long journey by using 360-degree, 3D footage from the VR film Space Explorers: The ISS Experience, a Primetime Emmy-nominated virtual reality series produced by Felix & Paul Studios in association with TIME.
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It took the team behind The ISS Experience—the third part of an ongoing four-part series—half a decade to plan, coordinate and create the film, with help from NASA and other space agencies. The team designed two types of cameras required for the production and sent them into space: One model is compact enough for the cramped quarters of the ISS (a pressurized zero-gravity environment), and the other is a tank-like model capable of operating in the vacuum of space, able to withstand extreme temperature highs and lows caused by direct sunlight—and the lack of it.

For all of its technical achievements, The ISS Experience is built on human moments. “When we started this project, we wanted to capture the human experience, to see it through a genuine and intimate connection with the astronauts,” says Felix & Paul Studios co-founder and Creative Director Félix Lajeunesse. The crew was instructed to relate to the camera, thereby becoming both the subject of the film and their own film crew. Scenes run the emotional gamut from shots of highly-trained scientists playing football in zero gravity and dressing up for Halloween to explaining the physical training they must undergo to reduce bone density loss or waxing philosophical about the nature of purpose and belonging.

If The ISS Experience is the film, consider The Infinite to be its grand augmentation: a 12,500 square-foot “theatre” that deepens viewers’ immersion into the simulated experience of low-orbit spaceflight. It’s a multisensory combination of architecture, a dizzying art installation commissioned from Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda, and VR presentation that turns The ISS Experience into something concrete to experience beyond a screen. Designed by the scenographers and storytellers of PHI Studio and currently on display at Arsenal Contemporary Art in Montreal, Quebec, participants are directed to explore instead of staying still and passively observing—something that’s most apparent when entering a free-roam area filled with a giant model of the space station to wander through simultaneously with other visitors. It’s one of the many ways The Infinite turns its source material into a shared experience.

“It’s the intimacy we have an opportunity to witness that I find comforting,” says Phoebe Greenberg, The Infinite chief creative officer and the founder of PHI. “There’s such a vastness to the amount of people that’s required to get these elite people to space, and from what [The Infinite] demonstrates, [they] are still human and bring the quotidien to space. It makes them all the more relatable, and we don’t get that lens from other media. It’s the intimacy, and we feel the presence of those astronauts.”

“The main challenge was finding the right way to position the ISS in the space, to make sure that people are able to keep a certain distance from each other and track them throughout,” adds Julie Tremblay, PHI Studio’s executive producer for installations and touring exhibitions. “Through monitoring, the staff can see who’s on the floor, if their headsets are on, the battery life of the equipment, to detect and fix technical problems, all to create something seamless.”

And it is: While experiencing The Infinite, people in the same section as you show up as cosmic avatars walking about. It’s an elegant solution to keep visitors from accidentally bumping into one another, but it also acts as a reminder of where you are—the experience of looking up at the stars overhead or down onto the Earth for a taste of the overview effect is your own, but by being aware that others are around you, it transforms into a communal environment that blurs the lines between the physical and the digital.

We tend to think of those worlds as separate, but in The Infinite, they are combined to achieve a sense of connectivity. It’s about connecting to one another through technology, through emotions, through artwork and design, and—perhaps most of all—through an unforgettable view from aboard the ISS that connects visitors with all humankind.

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Simone Biles to compete in balance beam finals

08/02/21 1:49 AM