TDM Neo Shape-Shifting Headphones Double As A Portable Boombox
In a world where you usually have to choose between ignoring your friends with noise-canceling earmuffs or annoying them with a portable boombox, a new gadget has arrived at CES 2026 to ensure you can do both with a single flick of the wrist.
The TDM Neo has officially been unveiled and it's determined to solve a problem that exactly three people in a park once had: how to turn a private listening session into an impromptu block party without carrying a second device. This hybrid creation isn’t just a pair of headphones; it’s a transformer for your ears, because with a quick twist the headband rolls around the ear cups, effectively turning the Neo into a small wireless speaker.
TDM, which stands for "Tomorrow Doesn’t Matter" (a brand name that sounds like either a philosophical breakthrough or a very relaxed attitude toward product warranties) has packed some interesting tech into this 350-gram origami project. The Neo features four independent drivers driven by two amps per set: two facing inward to whisper sweet nothings into your ear, and two facing outward to shout those same nothings at strangers.
Perhaps the most otherwordly claim from the Las Vegas show floor is the battery life. In headphone mode, the Neo allegedly lasts 200 hours. However, in speaker mode the battery life drops to a more modest 10 hours.
TDM has included some customization options to the hybrid form factor. You can program the Neo to automatically blast music when opened, or, for the more socially anxious, you can set it to pause or power down entirely. This could prevent the scenario of trying to adjust your headband and accidentally subjecting a quiet library to a high-volume discourse on true crime.
If you're interested, the TDM Neo is headed to Kickstarter later this month with a $250 price tag. While it lacks active noise cancellation (relying instead on passive isolation afforded by the memory foam earpads) it makes up for it with sheer versatility. It’s the perfect gift for the person who wants the intimacy of over-ear headphones and the social magnetism of a street performer, all wrapped up in a sleek, foldable package that says, "I have great taste in music, and now, so do you."
