These stylish true wireless earbuds get their energy from the sun
Take that, Apple AirPods
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True wireless earbuds – like theApple AirPods– may be fairly new on the personal audio scene, but they’re getting better by the day, with cool specs like noise cancellation, great design, and fantastic sound becoming as commonplace as they are withover-ear headphones.
As popular as they are, we’re betting that you can’t top up your AirPods' battery life with pure sunshine, can you?
That’s where Pearl Audio’s latesttrue wireless earbudscome in. Having met and exceeded their crowdfunding goal, these innovative solar-poweredearphonescould launch as soon as April 2020, providing an intriguing alternative to the likes of the AirPods and other class-leading models like theSony WF-1000XM3.
It’s the first time we’ve heard of solar-powered true wireless earbuds, although JBL is currently crowdfunding it’s own sun-chugging over-ear headphones, theJBL Reflect Eternal.
According to thecrowdfunding page, the new Pearl earbuds can also be charged via USB-C or wirelessly with a Qi-compatible charging pad, with six hours of battery contained within the buds themselves, and a further 24 hours provided by the charging case.
A sunny outlook
Like theApple AirPods Pro, the Pearl true wireless earbuds come with active noise cancellation, as well as an IPX5 water resistance rating, which means they could be suitable for working out, without the worry of a little sweat damaging them.
Looks-wise, they couldn’t be more different from the AirPods, however, with hammered metal housings that come in three reflective colors; black, silver, and gold.
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The crowdfunding page also claims that these true wireless earbuds come with “AI active loss prevention” – in other words, they come with a feature similar toApple’s ‘Find My’ technology, which can help you to locate your earbuds if you lose them.
A claimed frequency range of 5-40,000Hz puts the earbuds on a level with high-fidelity over-ear headphones, while the use of beryllium drivers, like the ones seen in theMaster & Dynamic MW07, should provide a rich sound with plenty of bass.
That all sounds good, but don’t get too excited just yet. Pricing and availability are still to be confirmed, and while early bird backers of the crowdfunding campaign can get the buds for £116 (about $150 / AU$220), this isn’t necessarily reflective of the final price when (and if) they come to market.
Olivia was previously TechRadar’s Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she’s a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She’s previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.
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