Pioneer rayz plus/parrot pot

Pi oneer’s latest headphones enable iPhone 7 users to finally listen and charge in tandem

iPhone-specific in-ears and a smart pot for healthier plants.

Theadphones (so, for iPhone and iPad only) solve a problem that iPhone 7 users have been dealing with for a year now – how to listen to wired headphones and charge your phone at the same time. Here, it’s easy: the Rayz Plus have a Lightning-in port near the bottom of the cable, so you just plug them into your phone, then plug the power cable into them when you need a top-up, and Jobs’ your uncle. But that’s not all they do – they’re packed with extra smarts that make them cracking headphones even ignoring that particular trick.

There’s active noise cancellation that rivals the Bose QuietComfort range (our gold standard) for closing out noise around you, a very smart auto-muting mic feature that just cuts out all sound from your end on a call when you’re not talking (so others don’t have to talk over your background noise), and they even auto-pause your music when you take them out of your ears (though there’s a tiny bit of a delay on this). They also come with a great range of in-ear tips to make sure you get the best sound out of them too.

That’s good, because they don’t skimp in the audio department. The sound is pretty punchy, filling the mid and bass with richness, without forgetting the detail and spark in the high end. Those who pride only a very open and natural sound probably won’t find them to their taste, but we think just about everyone else will enjoy them a lot, especially for the price.

Given the amount of smarts and the music quality, these are a top buy for iPhone owners.

Verdict

T3 SAYS The Rayz are the smartest headphones around for the iPhone, with the ability to charge while you listen, but they also have great sound quality and top noise-cancelling chops.