Urbanista is following up on its solar-powered over-ear headphones from final 12 months with a pair of solar-powered true wi-fi headphones referred to as the Phoenix, the corporate formally introduced at the moment. Just like the headphones, the Phoenix makes use of Powerfoyle photo voltaic panels made by Exeger to increase its battery life with the ability of the solar’s rays. However In distinction to the Los Angeles headphones which have photo voltaic panels constructed into the band, the panels should not included on the Phoenix headphones themselves. As a substitute, they’re constructed into the Phoenix charging case.
The choice to maneuver the photo voltaic charging know-how to the charging case is sensible given the small dimension of the headphones. However it’s prone to imply that customers must make an effort to maintain the photo voltaic panels going through the solar. An overhead headphone band shall be ideally positioned to catch the solar’s rays everytime you’re utilizing them exterior, for instance, however most individuals are inclined to maintain the headphone charging case of their pocket or bag whereas listening. and about.
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Urbanista says the Phoenix can get eight hours of playback from the buds. Mixed with the charging case, nonetheless, you are taking a look at about 32 hours of whole playback, and that ought to enhance by about an hour for each hour spent in direct daylight. As with earlier Los Angeles headphones, the Phoenix’s cost standing could be tracked from the Urbanista’s companion app, which additionally affords the choice to regulate the headphones’ EQ or customise its contact controls.
Other than photo voltaic charging, different extra conventional options of the headphones embody IPX4 water resistance (which ought to imply they will do effectively with sweat however not a heavy downpour), Bluetooth 5.2 assist and a USB charging port -C to cost his energy. when it lastly dries up. The Phoenix headphones assist energetic noise cancellation, have a transparency mode to listen to the world round you, and there may be additionally the choice to connect with two gadgets without delay (helpful for taking calls from a cellphone with out forgetting the connection to a laptop computer ). Out there shade choices embody black and pink.
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Whereas Exeger CEO Giovanni Fili confirms that the Phoenix are “the world’s first true Powerfoyle-powered wi-fi headphones,” it is much less clear in the event that they’re the primary solar-powered headphones ever. An organization referred to as Pearl Audio beforehand introduced an Indiegogo marketing campaign to fund the same pair of headphones, but it surely does not appear like these “AI-powered headphones” ever shipped. The marketing campaign was final up to date final November, and on the time of writing its crowdfunding web page has been suspended and is flooded with feedback from backers asking for refunds.
In distinction, Urbanista has a a lot better monitor document, already releasing a pair of solar-powered headphones final 12 months. However we’ll nonetheless have a little bit of a await the Phoenix launch, which is not attributable to ship till the fourth quarter of 2022. After they do, they need to be accessible globally for $149 (£129, €149 ).