These new wireless earbuds use Wi-Fi instead of Bluetooth, and here’s why

Hadlee Simons / Android Authority TL;DR Xiaomi has announced the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi in Barcelona. These are the first commercially available earbuds with Qualcomm’s XPAN tech. The buds can connect to your device via Wi-Fi for improved range and speed. Qualcomm promised earlier this year that the first audio products with its XPAN Wi-Fi tech were coming “very very soon.” Well, the waiting is over as Xiaomi has announced the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi variant, the first pair of earbuds with XPAN technology. These earbuds use Wi-Fi to transmit audio from your smart device instead of Bluetooth. However, the tech can also seamlessly switch between the two standards as needed. Why would you want wireless audio over Wi-Fi? Qualcomm previously said that using Wi-Fi allows for higher-quality audio and lower latency without having to choose between the two. Xiaomi specifically says this tech enables 4.2Mbps lossless audio on its buds. Furthermore, Qualcomm says 24-bit 96kHz audio via XPA ... Read full article.