The world's first wi-fi earbuds are here... but there's a catch

The Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro in a black carry case, next to white and silver carry cases, on a grey background.

Wi-fi earbuds are now a thing. Qualcomm might have announced its S7 Pro chip back in 2023, to enable audio streaming to headphones over wi-fi as well as Bluetooth, but the first pair packing it has only just arrived. Meet the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro, the first of a new breed of wireless earbuds.

They actually come in two versions: one that's Bluetooth-only, and one that uses Qualcomm's Expanded Personal Area Network (XPAN) to deliver 24-bit/96kHz lossless audio at a bandwidth of up to 4.2Mbps. That's more than double the bandwidth of Bluetooth 5.