I liked the Jaybird X2 a whole lot when I reviewed them a few months back, so I happily made a beeline to the company's booth to see what its got going on for this year's CES. Quite a bit, it turns out. The Salt Lake City-based startup is showing off two new pairs of Bluetooth earbuds.
The X3 set doesn't offer a ton in the way of upgrades over their predecessor. They're a bit smaller than their predecessor, but otherwise the hardware — and sound — is largely the same. There has been an interesting upgrade on the software front, making it possible to adjust the headphone's sound profiles via the new MySound app.
The new Freedom set offer that as well, plus a much smaller build. The buds were originally designed for users who found that their ears were too small to use the X2 for any extended period of time without experiencing some discomfort, though, honestly, I could see going with the new smaller buds, even you don't fall in that camp.
The new models are good looking, sound great, feature a premium metal build, and have a larger, easier-to-access control panel. There's some downside, of course. For starters, the Freedom are $50 more than the $149 X3s. Also, the battery only lasts four hours on a charge — half that of the X3. However, the smaller buds do ship with a clip-on battery extender that will boost them back up to eight hours.
