Wearables

Hands-on with Motorola’s crazy futuristic wireless earbud [VIDEO]

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Moto Hint ear

You may have overlooked the smallest product that Motorola unveiled last night/this morning. It’s called Moto Hint, and while it looks like a typical Bluetooth headset, it’s actually not. Motorola doesn’t even like the term “Bluetooth headset.” They prefer to call the Hint a “wireless earbud.” It’s not just for getting phone calls, like Bluetooth headsets from the Cretaceous period. It does much more.

The first thing you’ll notice about the Hint is the size. It’s about the same size of a quarter, which makes it look like some piece of Star Trek technology. It fits comfortably in your ear, and is smart enough to know when it is. The Hint only powers on when it detects being in your ear. While very small, it’s still not undetectable. That’s why Motorola has made several different colors and materials available.

Moto Hint size

So what makes the Hint more than a typical Bluetooth headset? Lots of things. It can speak directions, do voice searches, dictate text messages, read your to-do list, unlock your phone, and more. The Hint works with any Android device, but it works especially well with the new Moto X and G. That’s thanks to the new and improved “Touchless Control.”

No longer are you required to say “OK Google” to do a command. You can call it whatever you’d like. With the Hint in your ear you can interact with your phone without even taking it out of your pocket. That’s what makes the Hint more of a wearable than a simple Bluetooth accessory. It’s an extension of your smartphone right inside your ear.

Moto Hint case

Battery life for the Hint is around 3 hours, but it has one more trick up its sleeve to improve that. It comes with a special carrying case-like device that works as a battery pack. You can get up to 10 hours of battery life if you use the case to keep the Hint topped off. If all of this sounds cool to you (of course it does) you’ll be able to pick one up later this Fall for $149.99. Will you be buying one?

Joe Fedewa
Ever since I flipped open my first phone I've been obsessed with the devices. I've dabbled in other platforms, but Android is where I feel most at home.

Moto 360 already backordered until September 19th

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47 Comments

  1. It’s basically Google Glass without the display. I like it.

    1. And without a 0 on the price tag… But 150 does seem really high for this.

    2. Never thought of it that way!

  2. That battery might be a dealbreaker. But I LOVE this idea.

  3. What the hell is anyone supposed to do with 3 hours of earbud time?

    1. Talk to your mother for 3 hours? She misses you. Give her a call.

      1. you want me to talk to her for 3 hours? i didn’t realize you hated me derek D=

    2. For people that are in that awkward phase of a new relationship where phone calls to your significant other last a minimum of 3 hours while you nod off towards the end every single night even though you probably spent the day together or texting incessantly and is probably tired of holding a phone….. That being a completely random and hypothetical example of course.

      1. Adorable

      2. I did this after talking to my girl for about 15 minutes (grabbed my earbuds, put one in and laid the phone on my chest), yea I’m lazy.

    3. I originally had the same reaction, but I started thinking of use cases. Driving to and from work is at most 1 hour (charge it at work if needed). I have a better headset for work conference calls, so this would be good for the away from desk type calls. At home, I would grab it while answering the phone and switch over.

      I think this is a great first iteration, but not for me.

  4. can you buy two and make it stereo

    1. $300 for 2 of these just for stereo? lol

    2. Doubt it, I think you can only have one bluetooth device connected at a time.

  5. Cool, but was hoping for wireless stereo option. Oh well.

    1. Bluebuds X.

      1. While those are awesome and love those, I’m talking about a complete wireless setup, ala qualcomm toq bluetooth that never got released.

  6. I want this sooo bad ….

  7. Pretty cool. Low profile. I can dig on this.

    He didn’t really demo it much. Maybe not ready for primetime.

  8. If Moto comes out with some sort of bundle deal….it would be very enticing…

    1. Let’s not hold our breaths. I was hoping for one with the X and 360. That sure didn’t pan out.

      1. I thought it would be the X and this. I always thought this thing was the “+1”

  9. Why not just buy a bluetooth stereo headphones for much cheaper?

    1. They wouldn’t be discreet and minimal.. I think that’s what Moto is doing here…

      1. LG tone headsets manage to be discreet in a different way.
        you hide the bulk of the headset under your collar, and only a tiny earbud is visible.

        1. I returned mine after a couple hours of use. They suck. Sound alright, but no one could hear me.

  10. I wouldn’t say this is futuristic. That is unless you consider this very moment to be the future. After all, Motorola came out with pretty much the exact same device roughly five or six years ago. If anything, it’s a re-release to see if the form factor sticks this time.

    1. What device are you talking about?

  11. Wow $149.99 drop the 1 and you might have it.
    Man greed is so passe.
    Making something in different colors does not make it “designer”.

    1. For $30 more you can get an entire f-ing phone, and a pretty good one at that in the Moto G. $150 for a fancy Bluetooth headset is ridiculous to me. Also, as with the original Moto X, expect the price on this to drop to a more reasonable level in a few months

      1. Price point is not that outrageous. My current high end bluetooth earpiece (which I rarely ever wear anymore) cost me $149.99 2 years ago, and now sells for $99.99. Having said that, it doesn’t have the features and sensors this has, is bulky, has a boom mic, has a standard wall charger, can not be charged on the go, and is all around just not as cool. If you think it’s too much for you that is fine, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be around for those of us who see the value in it.

        1. Well, I’d say your 2 year old standard Bluetooth headset was ridiculously priced also.

          And if you read my post, I stated that the price is ridiculous TO ME. I never said the product shouldn’t exist. It’s great that people have the option to spend $150 on a Bluetooth ear bud if they want to. It’s a niche product and is priced accordingly. They’re not going to sell many so they jack up the profit per unit to make up for the low sales volume. Just don’t pretend it’s a good value because you spent the same amount on a crappier product 2 years ago.

          1. I am well aware you said “TO ME” which is why if YOU read MY post, you would see I reiterated that point. I then went on to express MY feelings on the topic. My headset is actually not crappy, and is still considered one of the top in the category. It’s just a DIFFERENT product with a DIFFERENT form factor and DIFFERENT features. Having said that, there are many who think $300, $400, $500, or $600 off contract for a phone or $200 on contract for a phone is ridiculous too, and others who willingly pay that every 2 or 1 year, or even multiple times in a year. There are always going to be people who think something is “too much.” That doesn’t change the fact that this product is priced appropriately against other devices in its category.

    2. You could always drop your $149.99 on a bulky, standard over the ear bluetooth headset with boom mic, standard wall charger and 1 color.

  12. Three hour battery life, no thanks.

  13. Love how he sas “Its to loud in here to do a voice demo”

    You are telling me your $150 ear bud doesn’t have great voice cancellation or voice recognition. It should be able to work no matter what for that price.

    1. No, he did the demo. He was talking about too loud for them to hear the audio answer coming from the device.

  14. Seems to be a pretty great product. I’m not going to be one of the early adopters, but I bet within 5 years everyone will have something like this.

  15. Some of this articles sound more like an infomercial ,than a product review

    1. None of the articles about the Moto X, G, Hint, or Power Pack are reviews. They’re product announcements and initial impressions. Reviews of the devices will come later after we’ve had time to actually use said products. Stay tuned!

    2. Hands-on with Motorola’s crazy futuristic wireless earbud [VIDEO]

      It’s not a review.

  16. Can’t wait to lose these.

  17. I’d love to buy these but I’m afraid I’ll lose them easily…

  18. These are single buds right? So not suitable for listening to stereo music? The $150 price point would be ok with me if I could use them for listening in both ears.

  19. *sighs* We really need better battery tech. All these devices are cool and all, but battery life blows on all of them because of the size of the device.

  20. Kickstarter Ear In Project (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1629248706/earin-the-worlds-smallest-wireless-earbuds) are definitely an improvement over these.. Stereo, high quality drivers. No Mic though..

    The Dash Project is a lot more intense, with microphones, fitness trackers etc.. But the price..
    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hellobragi/the-dash-wireless-smart-in-ear-headphones?ref=discovery

    I like the idea of these as I need earbuds to wear inside a motorbike helmet to cut down wind noise and have some quiet music. If you ride a motorbike, you’ll understand the benefits of removing wind noise to allow you to hear traffic and other road noises that car drivers take for granted.

    1. Looks promising as well…..

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