NAOX's Earbuds for Brain Monitoring: A CES Preview

Unveiling at CES with a consumer rollout planned for late 2026

French innovator NAOX is showcasing its cutting-edge wearable technology at CES, initially crafted for clinical and research purposes. However, today's focus is on their consumer-oriented prototype, which integrates EEG (electroencephalogram) capabilities directly into wireless earbuds. By as soon as year's end, you may find your earbuds dual-tasking—playing music and assessing your brain's health simultaneously.

Released today is the NAOX Link NX01: an in-ear EEG setup that's poised to substitute the cumbersome, wired caps seen in sleep clinics. It's engineered to be far more practical for extended studies and facilitates health monitoring on the move. However, don't expect to manage one on your own; these devices are geared towards professional clinical environments.

More intriguing for consumers is the NAOX Wave, which capitalizes on the same embedded EEG technology as the Link, but within a pair of wireless earbuds. Similar to its clinical counterpart, Wave is built to discreetly track your brain's biomarkers throughout your daily activities. The device promises to gauge mental activity during work, relaxation, and sleep. Through an accompanying app, users will receive insights into their mental well-being, sleep analysis, cognitive performance, and even an estimation of their brain's age.

NAOX aims to release its version of these intelligent earbuds by late 2026. However, the company is also exploring opportunities to license their technology to established audio brands, suggesting that this EEG innovation might soon feature in other well-known earbuds.