News
- A user on Reddit shared a solution to stop AirPods from slipping out of your ears
- They switched to liquid silicone tips instead of Apple's standard silicone ones
- The user claims these have solved the slipping issue, and they fit just as well as foam tips
We’ve tested pretty much all the best earbuds out there, and the AirPods Pro lineup always lands in our list of top models — but keeping them tucked securely in your ears can be a bit of a challenge during activities that involve a lot of movement.
If you find that your AirPods Pro slip out while running, or even walking and chewing, you’re not in the minority. Turns out, there’s a whole community of AirPod users out there who are running into the same issues.
I switched from earbuds to using some of the best headphones a while back, but when I had my old AirPods I endured the same frustrations of having to push them back into my ear every now and then. It’s quite annoying, especially if you use AirPods Pro for exercising — but one user has found a fix.
Liquid silicone is the solution (apparently)In a post on Reddit (see below), u/LatissimusDorsi26 shared that they decided to ditch their Apple-made ear tips for cheap liquid silicone replacements they bought from Amazon (they said it cost them $5 for 4 pairs in XS, S, M, and L). They said the tips ‘permanently’ solved the problem for them and their AirPods Pro 2.
Finaly fixed Airpods slipping out of my ears from r/airpodsYes, AirPods Pro come with silicone ear tips out of the box, but they’re not 'liquid silicone', which is what the author of the Reddit post believes makes the difference, detailing the replacement tips’ "sticky/ tacky finish on their surface which makes them stick to your ear canal".
I know what you might be thinking: won't your AirPods then be too big to fit in the charging case?. I thought that too, but according to the poster, they fit just as perfectly as they would with standard Apple earbud tips, and you won’t need to remove the tips for charging.
Since sharing this, fellow AirPods owners flocked to the replies, and it's sparked a deeper conversation about silicone vs foam tips for earbuds.
Though silicone tips are pretty much the go-to for a lot of earbud brands, and not just Apple — the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 4 also have silicone tips — a lot of users choose to upgrade to foam replacements from brands such as Comply. There are many reasons for this.
(Image credit: Future)In short, foam tips can provide a grip that’s a lot more snug, and are arguably better for locking in audio and preserving noise cancellation. That said, foam replacements are expensive alternatives and don’t have the same durability as silicone — one user in the replies highlighted that Comply foam tips are the best part of $25 for three pairs, while another said that they still keep slipping out.
That’s not to say silicone tips don’t have their setbacks. By standards, some versions don’t fit quite as tight as foam ones, and transparent ones as shown earlier don’t quite fit the clean-cut aesthetic of the AirPods themselves. But silicone wins on the durability front, and won’t need frequent replacing like foam tips.
Based on this Reddit poster’s hack, it appears that there is a way to solve the pain points on both sides after all. On the one hand the liquid silicone tips stick to the user’s ear canal, providing a secure fit, and are durable and affordable on the other — all from a mere $5 Amazon purchase.
Asus is one of the biggest players in the gaming hardware space, and its Republic of Gamers (or ROG for short) division is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The gaming behemoth is offering fans the chance to snag some limited-edition merchandise when making purchases at the Asus store.
ROG has been at the forefront of gaming hardware design and performance over the years, from maximising sheer gaming power to innovative design solutions and products including gaming laptops with dual displays.
With 20 years of experience in gaming under its belt, there’s never been a better time to dive into all that Asus ROG has to offer, while simultaneously snapping up these anniversary-tastic offers and exploring the ROG range to claim an exclusive anniversary gift.
And, much like ROG’s range of products always pushing the envelope when it comes to design or aesthetic, the current range you can explore to take advantage of these 20th Anniversary offers includes some of its biggest and most interesting beasts, all of which offer something slightly different.
The gaming beasts within the ROG rangeROG machine
What’s it got?
Who’s it for?
Zephyrus Duo
Two beautiful 16-inch OLED screens to boost your productivity
Gamers, creators, and streamers who demand total control
Strix SCAR 18
The beefiest specs, and an 18-inch 4K 240Hz screen for maximum immersion
Gamers looking for a desktop replacer
Flow Z13-KJP
Kojima-inspired collectible aesthetic and a 2-in-1 design
Content creators and portability prioritizers
Xbox Ally X
The power to play your games in your palms
Gamers who want to play wherever they want
Go big, and go dual-screen with the Zephyrus Duo(Image credit: Asus)The best way to go all out with your embracing of Asus’ gear right now is with its flagship ROG Zephyrus Duo machine, which will have you covered for almost any gaming or work task you can possibly think of, with its dual 16-inch 3K OLED touchscreens and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card under the hood.
If you’re a gaming power user, and someone who likes to dabble in streaming too then this will have you cvovered, it’s second screen perfectly placed to keep all your tools and shortcuts for both games and programs; alternatively, if you like your gaming station to be your workstation and have a lot of things to hand at once then a second display is only going to boost productgivty by housing tools, chat programs, and more.
Ditch the desktop with the ROG Strix SCAR 18(Image credit: Asus)Alternatively, if you’re looking for a desktop replacement, then the Asus ROG Strix SCAR 18 is a big-screen beast that will immerse you in games and work with its 4K 240Hz ROG Nebula HDR Mini LED display and all the gaming chops you can ask for — and it’ll make everything look absolutely stunning.
Whichever way you cut the ROG Strix SCAR 18’s spec list, it has you covered no matter what you play. Sporting internal components of up to an RTX 5090 graphics card, a colossal 128GB of RAM, and up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX processor, this machine will ensure you are fully immersed in atmospheric single-player games and super competitive online shooters alike. Gamers of all stripes will not be let down here.
Embrace portability with the ROG Flow Z13-KJP(Image credit: ASUS ROG)Offering perhaps one of the coolest product options in the range, though, is the Asus ROG Flow Z13-KJP, which will give you the ability to go mobile and balance a limited-edition design with performance and portability.
The limited edition artwork on this model, in collaboration with Kojima Productions, makes this 2-in-1 machine an absolute beauty. That functionality and multi-use mean that the Flow Z13-KJP can be the perfect companion for on-the-go work tasks, gaming on the move, and even used for reading, sketching, and entertainment. It’s one of the coolest machines available, and you can be sure that the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, AMD Radeon 8060S graphics, and up to a whopping 128GB of memory mean it won’t let you down performance-wise.
Take your ROG machine anywhere with the Xbox Ally X(Image credit: Xbox/Microsoft/ASUS)Join the portable PC revolution by embracing the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, a superb way to play your PC and Xbox games on a wonderful seven-inch 120Hz display powered by an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor and boasting 24GB of RAM, and a wonderful combo of Windows 11 and the Xbox UI to ensure ease of use.
This device epitomises the innovation at the core of Asus ROG products, and demonstrates what PC gaming can be in the year 2026. The Full HD 120Hz screen with FreeSync Premium combines beautifully with the specs above and ensures you can have a brilliant PC gaming experience in your hands wherever you are — while also allowing the flexibility to plug into a larger display for bigger screen gaming.
An anniversary to remember — with free gifts!(Image credit: Asus)Running until August 31, 2026, these offers cover a host of products and get increasingly excellent depending on how big you go with your order. In terms of the actual 20th Anniversary bonuses you can get by embracing one of these ROG products, there are a few excellent options available to you.
If you’ve been eyeing up a move into the world of handheld gaming by going for an Asus ROG Xbox Ally, then you’ll get a Premium Case or ROG Omni Hang Pal or Omni Figure and t-shirt.
For those who have saved up and are looking to make a big investment, then you’re in for a treat too, as there are a few levels of bonuses depending on what you spend at the Asus store:
- Shoppers who spend up to £1,000 to £3,999 will get a ROG 20th Anniversary football and T-Shirt*
- Spend between £3,999 and £5,000, and you’ll pick up a limited edition ROG 20th Anniversary VIP Collector's Kit, Football, and T-Shirt*
- Go big and spend over £5,000 and you’ll bag a ROG 20th Anniversary Hard Case Luggage set, a limited edition ROG 20th Anniversary VIP Collector's Kit and an ROG 20th Anniversary Football*
But it’s worth noting that ROG 20th Anniversary Gifts are only included when ordering an ROG XBOX Ally or an ROG laptop, as indicated by the asterisk above, and qualifying spend thresholds need to be met by an individual product, not the cumulative order total. Naturally, free gifts are subject to availability, and there are only 10 of the ROG luggage sets and 10 of the VIP Collector's Kits available, and they will be sent until all 10 have been claimed. All eligible gifts will be shipped together with your order, except for the football, which will be sent during August 2026.
If you’re an Asus member, you can receive an additional £50 off eligible ROG laptops using code ROGMEMBER50 at checkout.
Make sure to check out the full promotional terms on the Asus store website, of course, just to make sure you can maximise your goodies, and browse all the awesome gear to make sure you pick the best machine for you.
- Hisense TVs with Google TV or VIDAA OS are getting Dolby Vision 2 first — the first models are 2026 TVs including the UX, UR9, UR8 and U7
- The update will roll out soon to customers in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific
- Peacock is the big initial streamer to support it in the US, with and Chinese giant iQIYI is now also on board
Dolby Vision 2, the next generation of the advanced HDR format, is arriving on multiple TVs today — and it's rolling out to more models in the coming weeks.
Hisense is rolling out a firmware update from today for customers in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific countries — and Chinese streaming giant iQIYI is confirmed to be on board as supporting the format, in addition to US streamer Peacock.
In addition to adding compatibility for features unique to Dolby Vision 2, the upgrade to DV2 means that existing Dolby Vision titles will also look better on these TVs, thanks to upgrades in the core image processing engine.
Dolby says that everything produced for first-generation format "will look more captivating and authentic, offering a significant and immediate improvement".
Which Hisense TVs are getting the Dolby Vision 2 upgrade?The initial rollout is to 2026 Hisense TVs running either Google TV or VIDAA OS, and the first models will be these, which will all get Dolby Vision 2 Max:
- Hisense UX
- Hisense UR9
- Hisense UR8
- Hisense U7 (US)
- Hisense U7 Pro (Europe and other regions)
Exactly which other TVs will get it remains to be announced. It's a little complicated, because support requires a particular chip (the MediaTek Pentonic 800) in the TV, but Dolby told TechRadar that there are more chips coming that can support it, and that the Pentonic 800 is being rolled out more widely than it was previously.
It's also been confirmed that some TCL and European Philips TVs will get Dolby Vision 2 later this year, but there's no exact schedule for that yet.
(Image credit: Future)Media that fully uses Dolby Vision 2's enhanced tools will be able to take advantage of features including Content Intelligence, which enables creators to embed precise instructions in each scene to dynamically adjust the picture, and an intensity slider to customize the Dolby Vision 2 experience to suit your room and personal preferences.
In addition to the standard improvements, Dolby Vision 2 Max can also leverage the processing power of more premium TVs with two key features: Authentic Motion, which delivers cinematic visuals while reducing unwanted judder and "soap opera" effects, which can result from excessive motion smoothing; and Light Sense 2, which can more intelligently optimize picture quality based on the lighting environment so you can see the dark bits when you're in a brightly lit room.
Dolby Vision 2 will be arriving as a firmware upgrade from Hisense today, with the full rollout taking several weeks.
The announcement and rollout have clearly been planned for some time, which suggests that Samsung's announcement of Prime Video supporting its rival format, HDR10+ Advanced earlier this week was designed to steal Dolby's thunder.
Thinking of buying a new TV?Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.
- Bose has just unveiled second-generation QuietComfort Headphones
- Introduces two-way USB-C audio, better ANC, Bose Immersive Audio and more
- Costs less than 2023 model, brings not one but two Shrek-y color options
It's been three long years since the Bose QuietComfort Headphones arrived (which were themselves an update on the iconic Bose QuietComfort 35 II, initially released way back in 2017).
And now, the brand has finally updated the series as its more affordable option to the flagship QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen).
These are, as naming experts can probably guess, called the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen). They bring a range of upgrades over the original pair and, most importantly, a lower price. That's right: 2026, aka the year of price hikes, has just thrown us a bone — although only in the UK.
We know the Bose QC Headphones (2nd Gen) will cost $359 / £299 / AU$549.95. For context, the first-gen model cost $349 / £349.95 / AU$549.95, so the discount in the UK is pretty significant. There is, however, a $10 increase in the US, while in Australian they launch at the same price.
The new headphones will go on sale on August 13, and we'll start testing them soon to see how they stack up in a congested market. The thing is, this aesthetic is highly desirable: when I take public transport I see countless pairs of the older model, despite their relative age.
Anyway, let's look at some key upgrades!
What's new in Gen 2 (Image credit: Bose)By the sounds of things, the new Bose cans match their predecessors in terms of audio chops. The older siblings had a 40mm driver, though the company hasn't confirmed what size (and type) of driver the 2nd Gen set are packing.
However, there's now Bose Immersive Audio, a feature previously exclusive to the Ultra lineup, which offers some useful presets. One, which Bose highlights, is a Cinema Mode that aims to create a wide soundstage and boost dialogue.
There's now also support for USB-C wired audio, so you can listen to lossless audio from your phone, and boosts to the ANC. Given that the 'Quiet' part of 'QuietComfort' is a pledge of noise cancellation prowess and the fact that Bose essentially wrote the book on ANC, it's good to hear (or, more appropriately, not hear).
Bose has made a few design tweaks on the QCH(2G) too, with comfier cushions and more ovular earcups. The brand also says the sliders are smoother to use, and presumably that refers to the headband sliders or small Bluetooth slider on the top plate of the right ear cup, because the first-gen model didn't have any kind of on-ear volume slider.
And, because you read it in the headline, there's one more change we should discuss. Beyond black and white color options, three limited-edition models are being unveiled. Rosewood Mauve is a bold purplish option — see our glowing Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) review for reference — while Eucalyptus Green, pictured in the main image, will make you look like you're wearing Shrek ears. The third is Dewdrop Mint, with a two-tone pale and dark green. To my eyes this particular finish looks like the hue a pair of kids' headphones would come in.
I imagine that most people might prefer to pick up the black or white models, but Shrek fans out there might differ.