It wasn’t that long ago that wireless earphones were a punchline. “Truly wireless” (TWS) only made it worse. A gold rush followed, quality collapsed, and the market flooded with flimsy, rebranded ODM junk sold at premium prices. Enough of it crossed my desk that I eventually stopped playing along and checked out of the mainstream audio scene altogether. It felt generic, cynical, and value poor. For a long stretch, that assessment was dead accurate.

Then something shifted. Quietly at first. The latest generation of truly wireless earbuds is no longer about gimmicks or excuses. They are genuinely good. In some cases, uncomfortably good. Sony enters that moment with the WF-1000XM6, a product they absolutely had to get right. Apple, Bose, and Sennheiser are all fighting for the same customers, the same mindshare, and the same billions.

There is no margin for a misstep. Strip away the overwhelming technical sophistication and the takeaway is simple and slightly unsettling for traditional audiophiles. TWS earbuds can actually sound quite good… even excellent. Good enough to force a serious rethink about value in personal audio. So did Sony stick the landing when it mattered most?

What is it?

Today (February 12, 2026) Sony released its new flagship wireless noise cancelling earbuds, the WF-1000XM6 for $329.99, which replace the WF-1000XM5 ($299.99) from mid-2023 — a previous Editors’ Choice winner. The street price of the older model now typically resides around $250, so it’s reasonable to ask: should you spend $80 more on the new model, or should you upgrade if you already own the WF-1000XM5? Let’s take a look.

Tip: It’s easy to be confused by Sony’s model numbers. The Sony WH-1000XM6 (notice the “H”) is their latest over-ear wireless headphone we’ve also reviewed.

Unboxing

What’s Changed?

From a core feature standpoint, the WF-1000XM6 doesn’t reinvent Sony’s strategy. Codec support remains unchanged, covering SBC, AAC, LDAC, and LC3, with multipoint connectivity supported out of the box. Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) and Auracast functionality are also included, which were added to the XM5 late last year via a software update. Wireless charging returns, IPX4 water resistance is unchanged, and the earbuds are offered in two finishes: black and platinum silver.

The noteworthy changes exist mostly under the hood. The WF-1000XM6 introduces a new audio processor, paired with new driver units and a revised acoustic tuning. Call quality has also been improved thanks to additional mics with AI-based beamforming and a new bone-conduction sensor that further stabilizes voice detection in challenging environments. This helps to identify the wearer’s own voice while speaking, and eliminates other voices.

Active noise cancellation (ANC) sees meaningful refinement as well. Sony’s updated Adaptive Noise Canceling Optimizer is better at handling changing acoustic conditions, allowing the WF-1000XM6 to maintain stronger and more consistent noise reduction across a wider range of environments.

Physically, the earbuds have been redesigned for improved comfort, with subtle shape changes that make long listening sessions more manageable. Battery life remains unchanged at up to 8 hours per charge, with a total of 24 hours including the charging case—still competitive, if not class-leading, given the level of onboard processing at work.

The WF-1000XM6 uses four microphones per side, up from three on the WF-1000XM5, all embedded cleanly into the semi-matte earbud shell. Those microphones feed Sony’s new QN3e audio processor; a meaningful step forward in both raw performance. Sony puts that hardware to work with genuinely impressive results. Call quality is great for a truly wireless earbud. Even basic voice memos sound clean and intelligible.

Improved beamforming and a substantial upgrade to Sony’s onboard AI voice isolation make the WF-1000XM6 practical in places where most earbuds and headphones fail. I took calls while walking through crowded malls and sitting in busy coffee shops, handling meetings and interviews without issue. Even in noise-sensitive environments like a doctor’s office waiting room, calls are perfectly manageable. The WF-1000XM6 also captures speech reliably at lower speaking volumes, avoiding the clipped or hollow sound that still plagues many competitors.

The WF-1000XM6’s charging case mirrors the earbuds’ restrained, monochromatic aesthetic. It uses a simple vertical housing with magnetic seating and traditional pin charging, keeping everything secure and reliable. Charging is handled via USB-C, with wireless charging support for those who prefer to ditch cables entirely.

Battery Life & Wireless Performance

I consistently logged 7.5 to 8 hours of listening time from the WF-1000XM6 on a single charge with no intermediate top ups. The charging case provided a little more than two full recharges, translating to an effective 24 hours of total listening time, depending on volume level, ANC usage, and ambient temperature. That’s an impressive result given how much real-time sensing and processing the WF-1000XM6 is doing in the background. Long flights, extended road trips, and even an entire night of sleep are all well within reach on a single charge. And when you do need more juice, a quick stint back in the case gets you up and running fast.

Connectivity is another strong point. The WF-1000XM6 delivers excellent range and stability. I was able to move more than 20 feet away, through multiple walls, and even step outside my home without a single hiccup when set to prioritize connection strength. Even while streaming high fidelity audio over LDAC, the WF-1000XM6 never once buffered or dropped out. That kind of reliability is no longer optional at this level, and Sony got the memo.

Real World Noise Cancellation

A major area of improvement Sony highlights with the WF-1000XM6 is its ability to process rapid changes in background noise and reduce transient intrusions. That has long been a weak spot for ANC, which traditionally works best in environments with predictable noise patterns like airplanes and trains. Sudden, sharp, sounds have a habit of weaseling through ANC’s isolation.

While it’s still not perfect, the WF-1000XM6 adapts noticeably faster than many current competitors, including earbuds like the Master & Dynamic MW09. It’s also a clear step up from earlier generations such as the MW08, MW07, and even Sony’s own WF-1000XM5. One of my go to real world tests is sitting near the ordering line at a favorite coffee shop, a place that reliably fills with loud groups of office workers on lunch break.

Sudden bursts of laughter in that environment usually cut right through most ANC implementations. The WF-1000XM6 handled this better than expected, significantly reducing their presence and, in several cases, nearly erasing those outbursts altogether.

Companion App That Actually Improves the WF-1000XM6 Experience

Sony’s companion app is called Sound Connect, and in typical Sony fashion it prioritizes stability and functionality over visual flair. The design is unapologetically utilitarian, but it gets the job done. On first launch, the app walks you through the WF-1000XM6’s touch and gesture controls with a clear and genuinely helpful visual guide.

From there, control is deep and refreshingly flexible. Nearly every aspect of the WF-1000XM6’s behavior can be configured, and anything you don’t like can be disabled outright. Think gesture controls are dumb? Turn them off. Hate touch controls altogether? No problem. For power users, the menus are logically organized and easy to navigate, avoiding the clutter and guesswork that plague many competing apps. Sony also allows control schemes to change based on device state. As an example, the WF-1000XM6 can automatically disable touch controls when you’re lying down in bed; a small but thoughtful detail that shows this app was designed for real world use.

Proper EQ Support?

If you’re not satisfied with the WF-1000XM6’s stock tuning, the Sound Connect app includes a built-in 10 band EQ. EQ settings are saved directly to the earbuds, so switching from your phone to a PC doesn’t reset your sonic tweaks. That’s a small but important detail that many competitors still get wrong.

For listeners who don’t want to dive into manual tuning, Sony also preloads a selection of sound profiles that can be toggled quickly. None of them improved on the stock tuning for my ears, but they’re there if you feel like experimenting or tailoring the sound to specific genres or use cases.

Do You Still Need Dedicated HiFi Gear?

As someone who’s been immersed in the audiophile scene for well over a decade, the question almost feels laughable. Of course I need high-end gear! I demand a lot from my earphones, headphones, and speakers. After all, fidelity matters. And, after spending a few weeks with the WF-1000XM6, it’s hard to imagine many listeners walking away needing more. Right out of the box, both the tuning and the technical performance are leagues better than I expected.

Sonic Performance

The WF-1000XM6 delivers a mild ‘W’ shaped sound signature, with a gentle emphasis on mid and sub bass, a lift through the upper midrange, and a smooth upward slope from the lower treble into the upper treble. Sony clearly aimed for an accessible stock tuning and wisely avoided aggressive upper treble peaks that can lead to fatigue. There’s no sharpness and no sibilance to speak of, which is especially welcome for treble sensitive listeners like myself.

Sony also addressed one of the most common complaints about the WF-1000XM5 by reworking the bass response on the WF-1000XM6. The bloated, mid bass heavy presentation is gone. In its place is a more disciplined and better balanced blend of mid and sub bass. Electronic tracks like “Miracle Man” (Zeds Dead Remix) hit with authority and energy, landing just on the fun side of neutral without losing control. The new driver is genuinely resolving, and dense mixes make it clear how far truly wireless IEMs have come. Subtle background details are rendered cleanly, and contrasting textures are separated in a natural, unforced way.

While dedicated audiophile IEMs can still offer better price to performance or extract a bit more detail and immersion, the WF-1000XM6 isn’t nearly as far behind a typical hi-fi enthusiast’s setup as many believe. The added value of features like ANC and Gemini integration make a real-world difference–and that’s the force for pause.

The Bottom Line

The Sony WF-1000XM6 isn’t pretending to replace a dedicated audiophile IEM and that honesty matters. What it delivers instead is one of the most complete and convincing daily driver packages in the truly wireless space. Sound quality is far more refined than most mainstream alternatives, active noise cancellation is among the best available right now, call quality is genuinely class leading, and battery life is strong enough for real world travel and long days without anxiety. Add reliable multipoint, LDAC support, wireless charging, and one of the most flexible companion apps in the category, and the feature stack is hard to fault.

The drawbacks are mostly about expectations. At $330, these aren’t cheap, and listeners chasing ultimate resolution per dollar will still find better value in wired audiophile IEMs. They also don’t radically extend battery life beyond the previous generation, and Sony’s app, while powerful, remains visually utilitarian. None of that undermines what the WF-1000XM6 does exceptionally well.

The WF-1000XM6 earns an eCoustics Editors’ Choice award for 2026 because Sony nailed the delicate balance between sonic performance and real-world usability. These buds are for listeners stepping up from AirPods, Galaxy Buds, or older Sony models who want real sonic credibility without giving up convenience. It’s also for audiophiles who need a no-compromise wireless option for travel, work, and daily use and don’t want to feel like they’re slumming it. In the current TWS landscape, few products blend sound quality, noise cancellation, call performance, and real-world usability this effectively. Highly recommended.

Pros:

• New, better-performing driver
• Effective ANC
• Excellent microphone performance
• Great battery life
• Strong stock tuning
• Comfortable eartips

Cons:

• Odd shell shape, visually
• Utilitarian app design
• No touch control support for disabling ANC
• Insufficient bass response for hardcore bassheads

Where to buy:

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If you’ve been even casually following NASA’s return to the Moon, you’re likely aware of the recent Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) for the Artemis II mission. You probably also heard that things didn’t go quite to plan: although the test was ultimately completed and the towering Space Launch System (SLS) rocket was fully loaded with propellant, a persistent liquid hydrogen leak and a few other incidental issues lead the space agency to delay further testing for at least a month while engineers make adjustments to the vehicle.

This constitutes a minor disappointment for fans of spaceflight, but when you’re strapping four astronauts onto more than five million pounds of propellants, there’s no such thing as being too cautious. In fact, there’s a school of thought that says if a WDR doesn’t shake loose some gremlins, you probably weren’t trying hard enough. Simulations and estimates only get you so far, the real thing is always more complex, and there’s bound to be something you didn’t account for ahead of time.

Do Not Pass Go

So what exactly is a Wet Dress Rehearsal? In the most basic of terms, its a practice launch where everyone involved does everything exactly the way they would on a real launch, except when the countdown hits zero, nothing actually happens.

It’s the final test of the vehicle and the ground support systems, the last check of fit and function before launch. But there’a also a logistical element. In other words, it’s not just a test of whether or not the vehicle can be fully fueled, it’s also a verification of how long that process takes. Many of the operations that are performed in the WDR would have already been tested in isolation, but this may be the first, and only, time to practice running them concurrently with all of the other elements of the countdown.

There’s also the human element. Hundreds of individuals have a part to play as the clock ticks down to zero, from the team in mission control to the driver of the astronaut transport vehicle. This is where the Wet Dress Rehearsal truly earns it name. In a sense, launching a rocket is a bit like a theater production. Every player needs to not only have their individual role memorized, but they need to work together effectively with the larger ensemble on the big night.

Although a WDR is meant to simulate an actual launch as closely as possible, the rules are slightly different. If the rocket was actually going to be released there are other variables to contend with, such as the launch window, which is the period of time in which the rocket can actually leave the pad to reach its intended orbit. On a real launch, a delay significant enough to keep the vehicle from lifting off during its pre-determined launch window would generally result in an automatic abort. There is no such constraint for a rehearsal however, which gives teams more flexibility to conduct tests and repair work.

It should be noted that the Artemis II astronauts were not aboard the vehicle for the recent WDR, although ground teams did simulate the process of loading the crew into the Orion capsule. This is partly for the safety of the astronauts should something go wrong during the rehearsal, but is also due to the fact that the Moon-bound crew is kept in quarantine until the actual launch day to reduce the likelihood they will get sick during the mission.

Light the Fires

As mentioned above, for the purposes of the Wet Dress Rehearsal, nothing actually happens when the launch clock hits zero. It’s a test of the pre-launch activities, so actually starting up the engines isn’t part of the exercise.

But of course, testing the engines is an important aspect of launch preparation as well. Such a test is generally referred to as a static fire, where the engines are briefly run while the vehicle is physically held down so as not to leave the pad. Operationally, a wet dress rehearsal could proceed directly into a static fire. On the other hand, a full WDR is not required to perform a static fire.

While static fire tests are common for modern rockets such as the Falcon 9, NASA has decided not to conduct them during the Artemis I and II missions. The SLS rocket uses lightly modified RS-25 Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs), which are not only flight proven, but were individually tested before integration with the vehicle. There is also an argument to be made that a full-up static fire on the SLS, like the Space Shuttle before it, isn’t truly possible as the vehicle’s Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) can only be ignited once.

The Artemis I rocket did however conduct what NASA calls a Green Run back in 2021. This saw the first stage of the SLS fire its four RS-25 engines for eight minutes to simulate an orbital launch. The first attempt at the Green Run saw the engines shut down prematurely, but they did run for the full duration in a subsequent test.

Although such a test wasn’t conducted for Artemis II, and are not expected for any of the future SLS rockets, NASA is preparing for a Green Run test on the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS). This is an upgraded second stage for the SLS which is intended to support more ambitious missions after the Artemis III landing, although the timeline and status of those missions is tenuous at best.

The Road to the Moon

According to NASA’s latest update, the issues during the Artemis II Wet Dress Rehearsal has pushed the testing campaign back until at least March, at which point they will run a second WDR. But that certainly doesn’t mean it will be the last.

While admittedly no two missions are the same, Artemis I went through four WDRs before it flew. Even then, the last one was aborted before the countdown was completed. Interestingly it was a hydrogen leak that caused that final rehearsal to be cut short, indicating that it may be a more dynamic problem than NASA realized at the time.

Even if the second WDR for Artemis II goes off without a hitch next month, that doesn’t mean the actual launch won’t be hit with its own delays due to technical glitches, poor weather, or any one of a myriad of other possible issues. Getting a rocket off the ground is never easy, and it only gets harder when there are humans onboard and the destination is farther than anyone has flown since the 1970s. An almost endless number of things need to go exactly right before we’ll see Artemis II lift off the pad, but when it goes, you definitely won’t want to miss it.

The OPPO K14x 5G was launched in India recently, marking the first launch in the OPPO K14 series. Before the launch, OPPO revealed information about the device on a microsite. This device focuses on battery life, a 120Hz display for smooth scrolling, and a dual-camera system that is perfect for everyday photography. Here are all the details about the OPPO K14x 5G.

Price & Availability in India

The new OPPO K14x starts at ₹14,999 in India. For the keen-eyed, this represents a ₹3k increase over the previous K13x, which we reviewed and loved. This price increase can be attributed to our loved AI companions, who’ve caused a RAM shortage. Nevertheless, the new K14x is available for purchase on Flipkart and Oppo’s online store in India. It comes in two colour options: Prism Violet and Ice Blue.

Display & Processor

The phone comes with a 6.75-inch HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, making scrolling and animations look smoother. The screen has a peak brightness of up to 1,125 nits, making it very easy to use in bright outdoor conditions.

In terms of processing power, it is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset. Moreover, it performs multitasking, social browsing, and gaming with ease. The operating system is Android 15 with ColorOS 15 on top.

Camera & Battery

The OPPO K14x 5G features a dual-camera setup on the back, including a 50MP AI primary camera. The cameras are located inside a pill-shaped island on the device’s back panel. The primary camera produces sharp, colourful images for everyday photography.

One of the key highlights of the OPPO K14x 5G is its large 6,500mAh battery. The device supports 45W wired fast charging. According to the company, the phone can offer up to 17.6 hours of YouTube playback, 16.1 hours of Google Maps usage, and 12.1 hours of WhatsApp video calling on a single charge. This makes it suitable for users who need long battery life throughout the day.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has raised concerns over allegations that Apple is censoring conservative content on the Apple News app.

In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, FTC chair Andrew Ferguson cited reports from Media Research Center, a right-leaning think tank, which accused Apple of excluding right-leaning outlets from the top 20 articles in the Apple News feed.

“These reports raise serious questions about whether Apple News is acting in accordance with its terms of service and its representations to consumers […] I abhor and condemn any attempt to censor content for ideological reasons,” Ferguson’s letter reads.

Ferguson, a Big Tech critic who Trump appointed to lead the competition regulator, noted the FTC doesn’t have any powers to require Apple to take ideological or political positions when curating news, but he said that if the company’s practices are “inconsistent” its terms of service or “reasonable expectations of consumers,” they may be in violation of the FTC Act.

Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (another Trump appointee critical of Big Tech), supported Ferguson’s stance, writing, “Apple has no right to suppress conservative viewpoints in violation of the FTC Act.”

Ferguson has urged Apple to conduct a “comprehensive review” of its terms of service and ensure that the content curated on Apple News is consistent with its policies, and “take corrective action swiftly” if the curation isn’t in line.

The letter comes a day after President Donald Trump shared the report by Media Research Center on his social media platform, Truth Social. Trump has repeatedly accused Big Tech companies of censoring right-leaning content, though many major platforms have rolled back several measures to curb fake news and disinformation they had imposed in the years prior to his second stint at the White House.

Apple’s relationship with the Trump administration has oscillated between warm and cold over the past year. Trump has criticized Big Tech, especially Apple, for manufacturing its devices in China, but after Cook promised to spend more than $600 billion over the next four years Stateside and moved to mend fences, relations between the Administration and the company have improved. Apple also dodged planned tariffs on smartphones made overseas and imported into the U.S.

The FTC last year also launched an investigation into “censorship by tech platforms,” seeking input from the public who felt they were silenced due to their political ideologies or affiliations. “Tech firms should not be bullying their users,” Ferguson said at the time. “This inquiry will help the FTC better understand how these firms may have violated the law by silencing and intimidating Americans for speaking their minds.”

Apple did not immediately return a request for comment.

As new consumer hardware and software capabilities have bumped up against medicine over the last few years, consumers and manufacturers alike have struggled with identifying the line between “wellness” products such as earbuds that can also amplify and clarify surrounding speakers’ voices and regulated medical devices such as conventional hearing aids. On January 6, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued new guidance documents clarifying how it interprets existing law for the review of wearable and AI-assisted devices.

The first document, for general wellness, specifies that the FDA will interpret noninvasive sensors such as sleep trackers or heart rate monitors as low-risk wellness devices while treating invasive devices under conventional regulations. The other document defines how the FDA will exempt clinical decision support tools from medical device regulations, limiting such software to analyzing existing data rather than extracting data from sensors, and requiring them to enable independent review of their recommendations. The documents do not rewrite any statutes, but they refine interpretation of existing law, compared to the 2019 and 2022 documents they replace. They offer a fresh lens on how regulators see technology that sits at the intersection of consumer electronics, software, and medicine—a category many other countries are choosing to regulate more strictly rather than less.

What the 2026 update changed

The 2026 FDA update clarifies how it distinguishes between “medical information” and systems that measure physiological “signals” or “patterns.” Earlier guidance discussed these concepts more generally, but the new version defines signal-measuring systems as those that collect continuous, near-continuous, or streaming data from the body for medical purposes, such as home devices transmitting blood pressure, oxygen saturation, or heart rate to clinicians. It gives more concrete examples, like a blood glucose lab result as medical information versus continuous glucose monitor readings as signals or patterns.

The updated guidance also sharpens examples of what counts as medical information that software may display, analyze, or print. These include radiology reports or summaries from legally marketed software, ECG reports annotated by clinicians, blood pressure results from cleared devices, and lab results stored in electronic health records.

In addition, the 2026 update softens FDA’s earlier stance on clinical decision tools that offer only one recommendation. While prior guidance suggested tools needed to present multiple options to avoid regulation, FDA now indicates that a single recommendation may be acceptable if only one option is clinically appropriate, though it does not define how that determination will be made.

Separately, updates to the general wellness guidance clarify that some non-invasive wearables—such as optical sensors estimating blood glucose for wellness or nutrition awareness—may qualify as general wellness products, while more invasive technologies would not.

Wellness still requires accuracy

For designers of wearable health devices, the practical implications go well beyond what label you choose. “Calling something ‘wellness’ doesn’t reduce the need for rigorous validation,” says Omer Inan, a medical device technology researcher at the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. A wearable that reports blood pressure inaccurately could lead a user to conclude that their values are normal when they are not—potentially influencing decisions about seeking clinical care.

“In my opinion, engineers designing devices to deliver health and wellness information to consumers should not change their approach based on this new guidance,” says Inan. Certain measurements—such as blood pressure or glucose—carry real medical consequences regardless of how they’re branded, Inan notes.

Unless engineers follow robust validation protocols for technology delivering health and wellness information, Inan says, consumers and clinicians alike face the risk of faulty information.

To address that, Inan advocates for transparency: companies should publish their validation results in peer-reviewed journals, and independent third parties without financial ties to the manufacturer should evaluate these systems. That approach, he says, helps the engineering community and the broader public assess the accuracy and reliability of wearable devices.

When wellness meets medicine

The societal and clinical impacts of wearables are already visible, regardless of regulatory labels, says Sharona Hoffman, JD, a law and bioethics professor at Case Western Reserve University.

Medical metrics from devices like the Apple Watch or Fitbit may be framed as “wellness,” but in practice many users treat them like medical data, influencing their behavior or decisions about care, Hoffman points out.

“It could cause anxiety for patients who constantly check their metrics,” she notes. Alternatively, “A person may enter a doctor’s office confident that their wearable has diagnosed their condition, complicating clinical conversations and decision-making.”

Moreover, privacy issues remain unresolved, unmentioned in previous or updated guidance documents. Many companies that design wellness devices fall outside protections like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), meaning data about health metrics could be collected, shared, or sold without the same constraints as traditional medical data. “We don’t know what they’re collecting information about or whether marketers will get hold of it,” Hoffman says.

International approaches

The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act designates systems that process health-related data or influence clinical decisions as “high risk,” subjecting them to stringent requirements around data governance, transparency, and human oversight. China and South Korea have also implemented rules that tighten controls on algorithmic systems that intersect with healthcare or public-facing use cases. South Korea provides very specific categories for regulation for technology makers, such as standards on labeling and description on medical devices and good manufacturing practices.

Across these regions, regulators are not only classifying technology by its intended use but also by its potential impact on individuals and society at large.

“Other countries that emphasize technology are still worrying about data privacy and patients,” Hoffman says. “We’re going in the opposite direction.”

Post-market oversight

“Regardless of whether something is FDA approved, these technologies will need to be monitored in the sites where they’re used,” says Todd R. Johnson, a professor of biomedical informatics at McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston, who has worked on FDA-regulated products and informatics in clinical settings. “There’s no way the makers can ensure ahead of time that all of the recommendations will be sound.”

Large health systems may have the capacity to audit and monitor tools, but smaller clinics often do not. Monitoring and auditing are not emphasized in the current guidance, raising questions about how reliability and safety will be maintained once devices and software are deployed widely.

Balancing innovation and safety

For engineers and developers, the FDA’s 2026 guidance presents both opportunities and responsibilities. By clarifying what counts as a regulated device, the agency may reduce upfront barriers for some categories of technology. But that shift also places greater weight on design rigor, validation transparency, and post-market scrutiny.

“Device makers do care about safety,” Johnson says. “But regulation can increase barriers to entry while also increasing safety and accuracy. There’s a trade-off.”

Physical media is about ownership. You buy the record, you keep the record, and it lives in your space as something tangible; not a license that can disappear overnight. But once a collection grows beyond a neat stack on a shelf, storage becomes a real issue. Milk crates are a temporary fix, not a long-term solution, and not everyone wants their listening room to look like it was assembled from IKEA leftovers or rescued from behind the local Publix. In 2024, we covered Toneoptic’s RPM Rotating Vinyl Record Storage Unit, a design-driven statement piece built for collectors with the space and commitment to match.

For 2026, Toneoptic is expanding the concept with the new CAN record storage system. It’s a modular, stackable, rollable crate solution for vinyl collectors who want their storage to look intentional, work without drama, and actually belong in a serious listening space.

The Toneoptic CAN is designed for real-world use. Stackable crates with cleverly embedded handles are designed to be easy to grab, and the optional eze dolly lets you roll your vinyl collection instead of deadlifting it. Plus there’s open access from both sides so flipping records doesn’t feel like work. You can even display what’s currently spinning, because if you’ve gone to the trouble of buying physical media, hiding it behind a slab of particle board would be missing the point.

Toneoptic CAN & eze Dolly

The Toneoptic CAN is available directly from Toneoptic, with pricing starting at $195 per unit. The optional eze dolly, which lets you roll your records instead of herniating a disc, is also sold direct for $85. Importantly and increasingly rare in this category—the CAN is made and assembled in Los Angeles, not pulled off a container ship and rebranded.

Dimensions & Weight

• 18.7 in / 475 mm (length)
• 13.25 in / 337 mm depth (aluminum version)
• 14 in / 376 mm depth (wood versions)
• 14.8 in / 376 mm (height)
• 12 lb / 5.4 kg per unit

Materials

The CAN isn’t pretending to be premium—it actually is. Construction includes post-consumer recycled aluminum, stainless steel fasteners, photopolymer components, and hardwoods where applicable, specifically American black walnut and North American white oak.

Record Capacity (Because This Actually Matters)

• Up to 80 records if your collection leans toward original pressings (12-inch or 10-inch)
• Around 60 records if you’re dealing with reissues and the occasional box set
• An additional 1-4 records can be placed in the record showcase sides, which is perfect for what’s currently playing or what you want people to notice first

The Bottom Line

The Toneoptic CAN is for vinyl collectors who want practical modular record storage that looks intentional not improvised. Made and assembled in Los Angeles, it delivers smart capacity, real materials, and thoughtful design without drifting into furniture theater. The $195 starting price is aimed at early adopters and likely won’t stay there once demand catches up.

The CAN is available for $195 at Toneoptic and the eze dolly is an extra $85 in white or $110 in black or silver.

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If you want to buy or sell a used EV right now, what’s the first step you’d take?

A startup called Ever wants to be the answer to that question. The company, which bills itself as the first “AI-native, full-stack auto retail business” for electric vehicles, already has thousands of customers buying and selling their EVs on the platform.

Now it’s looking to scale with help from a $31 million Series A funding round led by Eclipse, with Ibex Investors, Lifeline Ventures, and JIMCO — the investment arm of the Saudi Arabian Jameel family (an early investor in Rivian) — as co-investors.

Over the last decade, companies like Carvana and Carmax helped usher in the digital car-buying experience. More recently, myriad startups have tried to improve the car-buying experience with AI, pitching ideas like voice agents or smarter scheduling software. Eclipse’s Jiten Behl thinks this is the wrong approach if you want to really modernize the automotive retail experience, though.

“These bolt-on AI tools are band-aids,” he said in an interview with TechCrunch. He likened it to how many major automakers’ first EVs were essentially combustion vehicles that were repackaged to fit electric drivetrains. That approach came with major tradeoffs compared to designing a new EV from the ground up, which was the approach companies like Tesla and Rivian took.

“Auto retail is a perfect candidate for disrupting with AI, you know? It’s a lot of process, lot of labor, [very] rules-based,” he said.

Lasse-Mathias Nyberg, Ever co-founder and CEO, said in an interview that buying or selling a car typically triggers “hundreds or thousands of different actions” that a retailer needs to perform in order to complete the transaction. “There’s massive complexities or frictions on both sides.”

In 2022, he and his team set out to reduce or remove those complexities. What they settled on after a year of research was a digital-first auto retailer. The core tech is an orchestration layer or “operating system” that can handle all the different workflows behind a transaction, whether it’s processing information submitted by a prospective buyer or seller, or managing the vehicle inventory.

“When you do appraisals, or pricing, or titling, it’s very deterministic in terms of what steps need to be taken. And today, there are lots of single point solution tools that are used,” he said. Most companies “use these tools together in a very inefficient manner, and you think that you are on a digital journey — but if you actually could clean-sheet it, and if you actually could use the power of agentic AI, and you can create one unified customer experience and remove all these micro-frictions.”

Nyberg claimed that building the company this way has allowed Ever’s sales team to be two to three times more productive than they would be otherwise, and he expects that to scale as the company grows. He said this extra efficiency and productivity beefs up their margins, which can be booked as profit or passed along to the customer by offering lower prices.

Ever applies this fresh approach to both its online marketplace and physical locations. Nyberg said the hybrid model is important because seeing and trying a car in person remains crucial to the shopping experience for a lot of buyers — especially those who might be assessing EVs for the first time.

Early reviews of Ever’s product have been mixed. Users on one particular Reddit thread from last year were split, with some drawn to how Ever is making EVs easier to buy, while others detailed struggles getting in touch with the startup’s team. Ever was just getting off the ground and was more or less operating in stealth, and so Nyberg chalks that up to a learning experience. He said his team is working hard to make sure its system can be flexible enough to accomplish everything the company has set out to do.

The bigger challenge may be overall interest in EVs, which has cooled a bit in the United States. Nyberg said he hasn’t ruled out Ever buying or selling used combustion cars in the future, but wants to stick to EVs in the near-term since there isn’t a retailer that is laser-focused on these vehicles.

Behl, who spent eight years on Rivian’s leadership team, admitted he’s a “hopeless romantic when it comes to EVs,” and said he still believes the industry is moving towards electric propulsion because of the inherent benefits. And he said his “first thought” when started doing diligence on Ever was: “I wish Rivian was doing this.”

More broadly, Behl said, companies like Carvana are still in the single digits of market share when it comes to automotive retail. That’s why he sees so much upside in Ever.

“Customers are going to continue to gravitate towards better experience when it comes to buying cars, which means it is going to be a digitally-led customer experience which takes away all the friction of buying and selling a car,” he said.