Overview
- Subtle unveiled Voicebuds at CES with U.S. preorders priced at $199 and plans to begin shipping in early 2026.
- The earbuds are designed to capture speech below a whisper and isolate the wearer’s voice in loud settings using a multi-microphone array, custom firmware and low‑volume machine‑learning models.
- Voicebuds integrate with Subtle’s iOS and macOS app for real‑time dictation, voice notes and contextual AI chat, include a one‑year membership, and then shift to a $17‑per‑month subscription.
- Subtle reports up to five times fewer transcription errors than AirPods Pro 3 with OpenAI transcription, a claim not independently verified, and reporters saw demos transcribing in noisy environments and at whisper levels.
- The company says a built‑in chip can wake a locked iPhone, there is no Android support yet, and Subtle cites $6 million raised and collaborations with Qualcomm and Nothing.