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Amazon’s new Fire Phone offers virtual surround sound, magnetic earbuds

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amazons new fire phone offers virtual surround sound magnetic earbuds amazon music library
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The long-awaited smartphone from Amazon, the Fire Phone has finally been unveiled today in Seattle, and news is slowly trickling down about all this highly-anticipated new piece of the mobile landscape has to offer. For those who are curious about what the Fire Phone will do to set itself apart in the ever-expanding world of portable audio, here is how it’s tackling sound.

  • Magnetic earbuds: No surprise the Fire Phone will come with its own pair of earbuds. However, the earbuds will be magnetic and “tangle-free,” allowing users to easily clasp them together for travel, potentially without winding the cables as tightly and creating a tangled mess
  • Virtual Surround Sound: While DTS has yet to release its Headphone:X virtual surround sound software for any mainstream devices, it appears the Fire Phone won’t need it as it incorporates Dolby Digital Plus virtual surround sound.
  • Audio ID scanning: The Fire Phone will offer Shazam-style scanning to identify audio tracks via its Firefly feature.
  • Three panel interface: The design of the music interface is broken into three panes, including navigation for songs, playlists, etc. on the left, album art, pause/play, and song search in the center, and song lyrics on the right.

We’re still waiting on more information on the audio front, particularly whether or not the Fire Phone will offer playback for high resolution audio files, and if so, what resolution. This story is in constant motion and we will update as soon as we know more, so stay with us.

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Read our Fire Phone Everything You Need to Know to find out more about other features. 

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Ryan Waniata
Ryan Waniata
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Waniata is a multi-year veteran of the digital media industry, a lover of all things tech, audio, and TV, and a…
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