Jada Jones

Jada Jones covers consumer audio hardware and listening technology for ZDNET, focusing on how headphones, earbuds, speakers, and audio features perform in real-world use rather than on spec sheets alone. As the outlet’s audio editor, she combines extended hands-on testing with clear, purchase-ready guidance, highlighting both flagship models from major brands and lesser-known options that surfaced in reader buying trends. Her work sits where audio engineering, software features, and everyday listening meet, tracing how formats like spatial audio and AI tools actually change the experience of music and media.

Flagship headphones in real-world tests

Jones’s core coverage centers on comparative testing of premium headphones and earbuds from Apple, Sony, Bose, Sennheiser, Sonos, and Beats, with articles built around extended travel and stress tests. She has worn multiple pairs of top-tier headphones across several flights and airports, using noise, comfort, and connectivity in transit as the primary benchmarks for ranking each model.

In one feature, she listened side by side to Apple’s AirPods Max 2, Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra 2, and Sony’s WH-1000XM6, then wrote a clear verdict on which pair pulls ahead once all-day listening, noise cancellation, and sound profile are considered together. Other pieces focus on single-product reviews that revisit devices over time, such as a follow-up review on Sonos Ace two years after launch that assesses what design and feature changes make the updated model worth buying.

Her Beats 360 coverage pairs a scored review with close attention to a standout feature that is not strictly about sound quality, signaling that design and usability are part of her evaluation framework.

Across these stories, she relies on a mix of lab-backed data and repeated daily use, reflected in work that identifies the best midrange AirPods for noise cancellation based on testing rather than marketing claims. The through-line is that a pair of headphones earns a recommendation only after it has been pushed through realistic scenarios - long flights, commutes, and everyday background noise - so readers see how a product behaves beyond controlled demos.

Spatial audio and the future of music

Jones also writes longer-form pieces on spatial audio and the formats shaping the future of streamed music, moving beyond device reviews into format and industry analysis. In her examination of Sony’s 360 Reality Audio, she traces how the company pitched the format as the future of music at CES 2019 and then compares that ambition with the way Apple and Dolby’s partnership ultimately carried spatial audio into the mainstream. The article breaks down why Sony’s approach struggled without strong streaming and hardware ecosystems, connecting format success to distribution and everyday listening contexts rather than purely technical merit.

She revisits spatial audio as a feature in broader trend reporting, outlining why demand for immersive sound remains high and how it is expected to show up in upcoming headphones and home speakers. In her coverage of three major audio trends, she points to open-ear earbuds and modular home theater systems as parallel shifts that will change how people wear and arrange audio gear in 2026 and beyond.

Taken together, these pieces show that Jones treats spatial audio not as a novelty but as one thread in a larger story about how hardware design, streaming strategies, and listener expectations evolve over time.

AI features, software, and listening experiences

Jones regularly examines how AI and software-level tools shape audio and media habits, testing features in the same practical way she approaches hardware. Her coverage of Apple Music’s Playlist Playground follows a full day of letting the new AI tool generate playlists from prompts, assessing whether the feature actually surfaces new music and improves listening variety.

In a separate column on “AI earbuds,” she argues that many products branded this way are essentially standard earbuds that relay AI features running on the phone, and then sets out three concrete upgrades - such as on-device processing and Wi‑Fi integration - that would make the category substantively different.

She gives similar scrutiny to Sony’s Adaptive Sound Control, explaining how location- and activity-based listening profiles can reduce friction between noise cancellation and awareness, and why this feature offers a compelling alternative to sticking with AirPods or Bose by default. Beyond audio-specific tools, Jones writes about hidden upgrades in iOS 27, covering features like Safari’s page-change notifications and faster voice note playback that subtly change how people interact with audio and apps. Across these pieces, software features are treated as part of the listening stack, and AI is evaluated on whether it makes playlists, controls, and everyday interactions meaningfully better.

Buying advice, reader trends, and audio deals

As audio editor, Jones also tracks what readers actually buy and ties that data back into her coverage of brands and price points. In one annual roundup, she notes that hundreds of readers bought headphones that were not from Bose, Sony, or Apple, using that finding to highlight lesser-known and budget-friendly brands that performed well in her testing.

The piece underscores that her buying advice covers both the most popular names and “surprisingly impressive picks,” showing an interest in helping readers discover alternatives instead of only validating existing market leaders.

She extends this service angle into commerce and deal coverage, including guides to early October Prime Day discounts on Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth speakers that prioritize practical value rather than list price reductions alone. Throughout, the tone remains measured and specific: she explains why a product is worth its price, how it fits into a home or travel setup, and when a deal genuinely changes the calculus on whether to upgrade.

Across reviews, trend pieces, and feature stories, Jones’s work is defined by a consistent method: test audio gear and features in varied, real-world contexts, connect them to broader shifts in formats and software, and translate those findings into clear, grounded recommendations. Her beat is narrow in subject - consumer audio and listening technology - but broad in approach, spanning hardware, formats, AI tools, operating-system upgrades, and buying behavior, all with the aim of explaining what will actually change the way people listen.