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AKG N5: One minute review

When I’m testing new earbuds, and considering if they deserve a shoutout for our list of the best earbuds, the first thing I do is look at the price to set expectations – but for this AKG N5 review, I found two.

There’s the official list price, which sets you up for these buds to be powerful premium players, but I was also tripping over discounted prices, with the N5 seeing some hefty discounts since launch. So while I’ll test these as top-end earbuds, I’d be remiss not to point out that you can buy them for less – and you should, as they present fantastic value for money with a reduction.

The AKG N5 are the latest pair of wireless earbuds from originally-Austrian audio company AKG (which is owned by Harman, which itself is owned by Samsung). AKG puts out wireless headphones only sparingly, with its website populated almost entirely with professional wired headsets and microphones.

And it’s clear that some of that ‘professional’ DNA is present in the AKG N5 because there are loads of features which are helpful in such a setting: a USB-C dongle included in the case lets you easily (and temporarily) connect to any laptop, tablet or similar device, while call tone settings basically act like an EQ but for incoming voice calls. There are also loads of ANC settings for people who work in busy offices.

Suffice it to say I was impressed by the feature suite of the AKG N5, but not just as someone who himself tries to drown out the infuriatingly-loud team seated next to him – they’re all features that will be handy to regular buyers, not just office-locked ones.

Another strength of the AKG N5 is their audio chops, because the buds offer expressive and clear audio with plenty of detail and texture. A few more in-app modes (sorry to mention features again) let you carry out a sound test or tweak the sonic offering to your pleasure.

Some people may be put off by the AKG N5’s design. It’s true the case is pretty huge, the build quality feels iffy, and the earbud controls are hard to activate when you want to and easy to activate when you don’t. The battery life that won't last a full day of work might also put some people off.

But it’s easy to overlook these issues if, like I said, you’re able to find a good deal on these buds. And that shouldn’t be hard given I found it more of a chore to find their actual original price rather than the current one. The N5 are fine value at their official price – but discounted, they’re a steal.

AKG N5 review: Specifications

Component

Value

Water resistant

IP54

Battery life (quoted)

6 hours (earbuds), 24 hours (total)

Bluetooth type

Bluetooth 5.3

Weight

6g / Charging case: 48.4g

Driver

10mm

(Image credit: Future)AKG N5 review: Price and availability

• Announced in September 2024
• Priced at $299 / £249 / AU$309
• Readily available for under $250 / £199 / AU$250

The AKG N5 were announced in September 2024, at IFA 2024, as the latest entry into the brand’s line-up of earbuds. At the time of writing they're the company’s only competitor for the best wireless earbuds.

At launch, the AKG N5 cost $299.95 / £249 / AU$309, which makes them a premium audio offering. However it’s worth pointing out that I could easily find it sold online for a discount of $60 / £50 / AU$65, so you’ll easily save money if you shop around.

Lowered price or not, these are still premium earbuds and we’ll treat them as such. Included in the box you get the buds, case and dongle as well as a USB-C to USB connector and some bud tips of varying sizes.

(Image credit: Future)AKG N5 review: Features

• Poor real-world battery life
• Range of ANC options
• Useful dongle connector

The AKG N5 connects to your phone via Bluetooth 5.3; initial pairing for me was quick and easy, and during testing there were barely any drop-outs or stutters.

You can also easily connect to new devices via a dongle included in the charging case; plug this into any device, and the N5 will stream audio from that.

The dongle is a USB-C one, though an adapter included in the box lets you plug it into standard USB ports. This is a really handy extra for people who own multiple devices and can’t pair to all of them, or who use unfamiliar devices on occasion. As someone who owns (and tests) too many gadgets, I found it incredibly handy.

9 times out of ten, this dongle worked well, however now and then I’d find the headphones would re-pair with my phone even if the dongle was connected to another device. One thing to note is that it did sap the battery of the device it was connected to: fine for gadgets plugged into an outlet, frustrating for my iPad.

Battery life is a weak spot for the buds. AKG predicts a 10-hour battery life… if you listen to music with ANC turned off, and that drops down to six hours with ANC on, or even lower if you’re talking or using the dongle.

However, in my testing I was lucky to get anywhere near six hours of listening time, and I’d usually have to charge after four and a half or five hours. That's not just below what's promised, it's way below average.

(Image credit: Future)

The case itself contains four full charges for the buds, however long you make that.

So should you turn off ANC to preserve battery life? Well you can, but it’d be a shame, because the AKG N5 have fantastic noise cancellation – my usual ANC test is how well it drowns out the trains that commonly pass my house, and when testing the N5, I have no idea if it passed because I could never tell if trains had passed.

ANC is complicated here, though. There are three modes: standard, Ambient Aware and TalkThru (as well as off, obviously). TalkThru boosts nearby voices so you can hear people and Ambient Aware does a similar thing for background voices, with a slider letting you fiddle with the intensity of the effect.

In standard ANC mode you can toggle Adaptive ANC, which adjusts the level of noise cancellation based on your surroundings, and turning it off presents you with a slider to change the intensity yourself. There’s also Auto Compensation mode which tweaks with ANC depending on your ‘wearing and ear canal status’, whatever that means.

(Image credit: Future)

Suffice it to say that every time I was presented with the ANC part of the AKG Headphones app I was scratching my head at all the options presented to me – and that’s really the theme of this companion app which bombards you with options. This’ll be pleasing news to tech-heads, but horrifying for technophobes.

Let’s fire through some of the features and settings: SilentNow turns off music and ramps up ANC to help you focus or study; Smart Audio & Video adjusts sound stage based on whether you’re listening to music or watching a video; the equalizer has a load of presets or lets you customize your sound on a 10-band EQ; various call settings let you change how you or a caller sound on the phone; and Right/Left Sound Balance does what it says on the tin.

These are as well as all the standard app modes: gesture control customization, a find-my-buds feature, and a fit test.

The app also gives you the option to toggle Hi-Res Audio, but turning this on precludes you from several other features, including Spatial Sound and Personi-Fi. This latter is a lengthy audio test that presents you with a bespoke equalization fit for your music, and I don’t know any audiophiles who don’t appreciate this kind of feature.

If you’ve skimmed that list you may have noticed something I want to explicitly commend: there are loads of options with small or large accessibility use cases here, which is always great to see.

• Features score: 4/5

AKG N5 review: Sound performance

(Image credit: Future)

• 10mm drivers
• Balanced sound profile
• Textured audio in high-res mode

Whether you’re listening via Bluetooth or dongle, with Hi-Res Audio on or instead Personi-Fi enabled, there’s one thing that’s hard to deny: the AKG N5 sounds great.

The sound profile is lovely and balanced, with well-defined bass sitting comfortably alongside clear treble and distinct mids. I didn’t feel the need to touch the equalizer as I liked the default mix, and wasn’t losing any instruments to overbearing bass or treble.

It’s easy to hear the texture in each instrument with the N5: I could make out the ripples of reverb on vocal lines to the flick of a bass guitar string being strum, and the audio lines were all spread out enough to make them distinct and clear (although I have tested buds with a better soundstage).

If I have to say one bad thing about the buds, it’s that audio sounds precision-tuned but not very energetic – they helped me really appreciate great songs sonically, but didn’t always make me feel like rocking out to them.

• Sound performance score: 4/5

(Image credit: Future)AKG N5 review: Design

• Chunky and cheap charging case
• Lightweight and comfortable buds
• Annoying touch controls

Perhaps because it contains a dongle, the case of the AKG N5 is a little on the larger size, and I’ve seen some people online criticize its bulk. Honestly, it’s not that big, and doesn’t allay the space-saving advantages of earbuds like this over full-on headphones or open earbuds with a a wraparound design – plus they're light at 48.4g.

But I did notice the thing in my pocket when I was walking – it's on the larger end of the scale.

What’s arguably worse about the case is its build: the plastic feels cheap, groans under slight pressure and picks up fingerprints readily. However AKG has it certified at IP52, which protects it from limited fine particles and sprays of water at certain angles. I can’t remember the last time I saw a charging case with an IP rating, so it’s a welcome spec.

Now onto the earbuds: these are buds with stems, but with a bigger bud and shorter, flatter stem than on your generic AirPod doppelgänger. They have an IP54 rating so they’re a little better protected against water than the case.

Evidence of how easily-bendable the hook is (Image credit: Future)

Due to the tips material being quite smooth, when I first started testing the N5, it constantly felt like they were on the verge of falling out of my ear. Two weeks on and that hasn’t happened yet, but I’ve still been too apprehensive to take them on a run, cycle or any kind of activity which might actually cause them to fall to the floor.

At least the buds are lightweight, so when I was sitting still, they were comfortable to wear for long periods of time. They weigh 6g each which is comparable to rivals.

Each bud has a touch-sensitive area over the ‘A’ of the AKG logo, which lets you control music playback; by default the left side toggles ANC and Ambient Aware, while the right one is for play and pause.

It took some time getting used to tapping the right spot when I was wearing the buds, and there’s a noticeable delay in the gesture being picked up – more than once I got caught in a loop playing or pausing a tune, thinking that my touch hadn’t been picked up, and constantly flicking between the two.

An even more annoying issue was that it’s very easy to accidentally press the button when you’re trying to readjust loose buds.

You can pick the AKG N5 up in white or black, and your choice affects both the buds and the case. As you can see from images, I tested the black pair.

• Design score: 3.5/5

AKG N5 review: Value

(Image credit: Future)

While it's not easy to make reasonable argument for $299 / £249 / AU$309 earbuds being good value propositions, it does bear repeating that these things have been seeing increasing discounts over their first year of existence.

The AKG N5 aren’t bad value for money by any means, with their top-notch audio and range of useful features justifying the price, but they’re far from bargains either (except in Australia, where they’re much cheaper than elsewhere).

That certainly isn’t the case if you can find them for below about $200 / £180 / AU$300, which would make them a really tempting alternative to earbuds that are usually priced in that area.

• Value score: 3.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the AKG N5?

Category

Comment

Score

Features

There are so many features that it's hard to get your head around them all. Battery life isn't amazing though.

4/5

Sound

The N5 offered a lovely balanced sound that lets you hear the texture and sound stage of your music.

4/5

Value

By default they're not especially competitively-priced, but discounts help.

3.5/5

Design

A few small design problems affect the user experience, but they're still great to wear.

3.5/5

Buy them if...

You find them discounted

I've yammered on about this enough, but this will be the last time: the AKG N5 are a terrific value proposition if you find them notably below their list price.

The dongle sounds useful

Love the idea of being able to listen to audio from any USB-C or USB-port-toting device without pairing Bluetooth? The AKGs' dongle is a real game-changer.

You need solid noise cancellation

While they're not quite a Bose, the AKG's noise cancellation is fantastic, with a range of features and modes letting you customize it to a surprising extent.

Don't buy them if...

You need a long-lasting battery

I didn't love how quickly the N5's battery life plummeted, and real-world use is well below the promised level.

You need a svelte charging case

I took to carrying the AKG N5's case in my bag because it just didn't fit comfortably in my pockets. You can easily find buds with more convenient-to-carry cases than these.

Also consider

Component

AKG N5

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro

Apple AirPods Pro 2

Water resistant

IP54

IP57

IP54

Battery life

6 hours (earbuds), 32 hours (total)

7 hours (earbuds), 30 hours (total)

6 hours (buds); 30 hours (case)

Bluetooth type

Bluetooth 5.3

Bluetooth 5.4

Bluetooth 5.3

Weight

6g (buds)

5.4g (buds)

5.3g (buds)

Driver

10mm

10mm dynamic driver + planar tweeter

11mm

Apple AirPods Pro 2

The obvious competitor: these Apple buds only fully work on Apple products, but they're cheaper than the AKG (even discounted) and offer some top-tier features and noise cancellation. They also have a very svelte case.

Read our full Apple AirPods Pro 2 review

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro

Another cheaper alternative, Samsung's wireless buds are mostly built for owners of Samsung phones, but work for others too. They sound great and have a lightweight and comfortable design.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review

How I tested the AKG N5

(Image credit: Future)

My testing process before writing this AKG N5 review took two weeks. I tested them alongside their contemporary siblings, the AKG N9 Hybrid over-ear headphones, and I've tested a huge number of earbuds recently to compare them against.

I connected the AKG N5 to a range of devices including my smartphone (via Bluetooth), my desktop PC (via dongle) and my work laptop (again via dongle) with a roughly 50/50 split between Bluetooth and dongle listening.

I also split my Bluetooth listening time roughly equally between Hi-res Audio and Personi-Fi (and other feature) modes, bearing in mind that you can't have both enabled at the same time.

My listening was done in a range of environments including at home, on public transport, in my office and on walks around my borough – and following TechRadar's testing guidelines for earbuds.

• First reviewed: May 2025
• Read more about how we test

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The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recently published a document on 'Secure by Design' challenges that represents something we rarely see in government cybersecurity: a transparent acknowledgment of the complexities involved in implementing security from first principles.

Secure by design is a fundamental approach that embeds security into systems from the very beginning of the design process as opposed to treating it as a bolt-on feature later in development.

Having spent years advocating for the human element in security, it's refreshing to see an official recognition that technical controls are only as effective as the people implementing them.

Addressing the Security Skills Challenge

The MOD's first identified problem is "How do we up-skill UK defense in 'Secure by Design'?"

Their acknowledgment that effective implementation requires a "one team" approach across UK defense reflects the reality that security cannot be siloed within technical teams.

This aligns perfectly with what I've observed in organizations with mature security cultures—security becomes everyone's responsibility, not just the security department's concern.

The Knowledge Distribution Problem

Perhaps most intriguing is problem two: "How does 'Secure by Design' account for unevenly distributed information and knowledge?"

The MOD correctly identifies that information asymmetry exists for various legitimate reasons. What makes this assessment valuable is the recognition that not all information-sharing barriers stem from poor security culture; some exist by design and necessity.

Imagine a family planning a surprise birthday party for their grandmother. Different family members have different pieces of information that they intentionally don't share with everyone:

The daughter knows the guest list and has sent invitations directly to each person, asking them not to discuss it openly on family group chats,

The son has arranged the venue and catering, with specific dietary requirements for certain guests,

The grandchildren are handling decorations and have a theme they're working on,

And most importantly—nobody tells grandmother anything about any of this.

This isn't because the family has poor communication skills or doesn't trust each other. These information barriers exist by design and necessity to achieve the goal of surprising grandmother. If everyone shared everything with everyone else, the surprise would be ruined.

The MOD's approach

In the MOD's security context, this is similar to how:

Certain threat intelligence can't be shared with all suppliers because doing so might reveal intelligence-gathering capabilities,

Suppliers can't share all their proprietary technology details even with clients like the MOD, as they need to protect their competitive advantage,

Specific security controls might be kept confidential from general staff to prevent those controls from being circumvented.

These aren't failures of security culture—they're intentional compartmentalization that sometimes make security work possible in the first place. The challenge isn't eliminating these barriers but designing systems that can function effectively despite them.

This reflects the nuanced reality of human behavior in security contexts. People don't withhold security information solely due to territoriality or negligence; often, legitimate constraints prevent the ideal level of transparency. The challenge becomes developing systems and practices that can function effectively despite these inherent limitations.

The Early Design Challenge

The third problem addresses a familiar paradox: how to implement security at the earliest stages of capability acquisition when the capability itself is barely defined.

In other words, it's like trying to build a high-tech security system for a house when you only have a rough sketch of what the house might eventually look like - you know you need protection, but it's difficult to plan specific security measures when you're still deciding how many doors and windows there will be, what valuables will be stored inside, or even where the house will be located. As the MOD puts it, at this stage a capability might be "little more than a single statement of user need."

This connects directly to how humans approach risk management. When primary objectives (delivering military capability) compete with secondary concerns (security), practical compromises inevitably emerge. The MOD's candid acknowledgment that "cyber security will always be a secondary goal" reflects a pragmatic understanding of how priorities function in complex organizations.

Through-Life Security

Problem four addresses perhaps the most demanding human aspect of security: maintaining security rationale and practice across decades of a capability's lifespan. With defense platforms potentially remaining operational for 30+ years, today's security decisions must make sense to tomorrow's engineers.

The question of continuous risk management becomes particularly relevant as organizations encounter new threats over their extended lifespans. How human operators interpret and respond to evolving risk landscapes determines the long-term security posture of these systems.

Building a Collaborative Security Culture

The MOD recognizes that 'Secure by Design' implementation isn't merely a technical challenge but fundamentally about collaboration among people across organizational, disciplinary, and national boundaries.

The MOD's approach suggests a shift toward a more mature security culture — one that acknowledges limitations, seeks external expertise, and recognizes the complex interplay between human factors and technical controls. Their openness about needing help from academia and industry demonstrates a collaborative mindset essential for addressing complex security challenges.

This collaborative approach to security culture stands in stark contrast to the traditional government tendency toward self-sufficiency. By explicitly inviting external perspectives, the MOD demonstrates an understanding that diverse viewpoints strengthen security posture rather than compromising it.

Security isn't about having all the answers—it's about creating the conditions where people can collaboratively develop appropriate responses to ever-changing threats.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Agentic AI is one of the latest concepts in artificial intelligence, now gaining real traction beyond its early buzz. Ongoing advancements in Agentic AI are accelerating the development of autonomous business systems, building on the achievements of machine learning.

Operating as an independent ‘agent’, this technology is equipped to make informed decisions based on the multimodal data and algorithmic logic, and can then ‘learn’ and evolve through experience.

Even more exciting is its capacity to act independently. It’s this unique ability to adapt, plan, and carry out complex tasks without human oversight that distinguishes Agentic AI from earlier generations of AI tools.

In supply chains, for instance, AI agents can track market activity and historical demand trends to forecast inventory needs and implement measures to avoid shortages, such as by automating parts of the restocking processes. These agents shift their behavior in response to changing market conditions, boosting efficiency and performance. It's therefore no surprise that 26% of business leaders report their organizations are beginning to shape strategic approaches around Agentic AI.

However, as great as it sounds to outsource such tasks to Agentic AI, we also need to err on the side of caution. For all its autonomous power, how can the actions and outputs of AI agents be fully trusted? If we rely on Agentic AI to complete sophisticated tasks on its own, how do we ensure its decisions are truly grounded in what’s happening in the real world, or in the enterprise’s view of the world?

In the same way our brains use observation and extra inputs to draw conclusions, AI agents need to rely on a lot of external sources and signals to enhance their reasoning capabilities.

This need can be met by solutions and platforms that collect and present data in a way that’s accessible and retrievable. Here’s how:

The trust challenge in autonomous AI systems

As discussed, what sets Agentic AI apart from other AI systems is its ability to act autonomously, not just engage in a linear conversation. The complexity of the tasks agents complete typically requires them to refer to multiple, dynamic external sources. As a result, the risk of something going wrong automatically increases. For example, you might trust a chatbot to provide you with an update on the status of a claim or refund, but would you feel as trusting when giving an AI agent your credit card details to book a flight for you?

Away from conversational AI, task-based agents plan and change actions depending on the context they’re given. They delegate subtasks to the various tools available through a process often referred to as “chaining” (the output of one action becomes the input for the next). This means that queries (or tasks) can be broken down into smaller tasks, with each requiring access to data in real-time, processed iteratively to mimic human problem-solving.

The chain effect (in which decisions are made) is informed by the environment that’s being monitored, i.e., the sources of data. As a result, explainable and accurate data retrieval is required at each step of the chain for two reasons. Firstly, users need to know why the AI agent has landed on a particular decision and have visibility of the data source it’s based on.

They need to be able to trust that the action is, in fact, the most effective and efficient. Secondly, they need to be able to optimize the process to get the best possible result each time, analysing each stage of the output and learning from any dissatisfactory results.

To trust an agent to complete sophisticated tasks based on multiple retrieval steps, the value of the data needed to support the decision-making process multiplies significantly.

The need to make reliable enterprise data available to agents is key. This is why businesses are increasingly recognising the power of graph database technology for the broad range of retrieval strategies it offers, which in turn multiply the value of the data.

How graph technology strengthens AI reasoning

As Agentic AI drives decisions from data, the insights underpinning these decisions must be accurate, transparent, and explainable – benefits that graph databases are uniquely optimized to deliver. Gartner already identifies knowledge graphs as an essential capability for GenAI applications, as GraphRAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation), where the retrieval path includes a knowledge graph, can vastly improve the accuracy of outputs.

The unique structure of knowledge graphs, comprised of ‘nodes’ and ‘edges’, is where higher-quality responses can be derived. Nodes represent existing entities in a graph (like a person or place), and edges represent the relationship between those entities – i.e., how they connect to one another. In this type of structure, the bigger and more complex the data, the more previously hidden insights can be revealed. These characteristics are invaluable in presenting the data in a way that makes it easier for AI agents to complete tasks in a more reliable and useful way.

Users have been finding that GraphRAG answers are not only more accurate but also richer, speedier, more complete, and consequently more useful. For example, an AI agent addressing customer service queries could offer a particular discounted broadband package based on a complete understanding of the customer, as a result of using GraphRAG to connect disparate information about said customer. How long has the customer been with the company? What services are they currently using? Have they filed complaints before?

To answer these questions, nodes can be created to represent each aspect of the customer experience with the company (including previous interactions, service usage, and location), and edges to show the cheapest or best service for them. A fragmented and dispersed view of the data could lead to the agent offering up a discounted package when it was not due, leading to cost implications for the business.

As mentioned by the CEO of Klarna, “Feeding an LLM the fractioned, fragmented, and dispersed world of corporate data will result in a very confused LLM”. But the outcome is very different when data is connected in a graph: Positive results have been reported by the likes of LinkedIn’s customer service team, who have reduced median per-issue resolution time by 28.6% since implementing GraphRAG.

Why connected data is key to Agentic AI readiness

With every iteration, the LLMs behind AI agents are advancing quickly, and agentic frameworks are making it easier to build complex, multi-step applications. The next vital move is to make enterprise data as rich, connected, and contextually aware as possible, so it's fully accessible to these powerful agents.

Taking this step allows businesses to unlock the full value of their data, enabling agents that are not only more accurate and efficient but also easier to understand and explain. This is where the integration of Agentic AI and knowledge graphs proves transformational. Connected data gives agents the context they need to think more clearly, generate smarter outputs, and have a greater impact.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

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• KnowBe4 is warning of a new phishing campaign leveraging Google AppSheets' workflow automation
• The emails are spoofing Facebook and harvesting login credentials
• The attackers can grab session tokens, as well

Cybercriminals are abusing a legitimate Google service to bypass email protection mechanisms and deliver phishing emails straight to people’s inboxes.

Cybersecurity researchers KnowBe4, who first spotted the attacks, have warned the crooks are using Google AppSheet, a no-code application development platform for mobile and web apps, and through its workflow automation were able to send emails using the "noreply@appsheet.com" address.

The phishing emails are mimicking Facebook, and are designed to trick people into giving away their login credentials, and 2FA codes, for the social media platform.

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2FA codes and session tokens

The emails, which were sent in-bulk and on a fairly large scale, were coming from a legitimate source, successfully bypassing Microsoft and Secure Email Gateways (SEGs) that rely on domain reputation and authentication checks (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).

Furthermore, since AppSheets can generate unique IDs, each email was slightly different, which also helped bypass traditional detection systems.

The emails themselves spoofed Facebook. The crooks tried to trick victims into thinking they infringed on someone’s intellectual property, and that their accounts were due to be deleted within 24 hours.

Unless, of course, they submit an appeal through a conveniently placed “Submit an Appeal” button in the email.

Clicking on the button leads the victim to a landing page impersonating Facebook, where they can provide their login credentials and 2FA codes, which are then relayed to the attackers.

The page is hosted on Vercel which, KnowBe4 says, is a “reputable platform known for hosting modern web applications”. This further strengthens the entire campaign’s credibility.

The attack has a few additional contingencies. The first attempt at logging in returns a “wrong password” result - not because the victim typed in the wrong credential - but in order to confirm the submission.

Also, the 2FA codes that are provided are immediately submitted to Facebook and in return - the crooks grab a session token which grants them persistence even after a password change.

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