So have you ever been stuck travelling somewhere and your headphone battery dies?
If you have, you've probably also wondered what it would be like to have unlimited headphone
battery? Well you won't have to imagine anymore because
Urbanista have just released some new solar powered headphones with infinite battery life.
I've been playing around with these over the past few days and today I'm going to take
you through everything you need to know about them, and at the end Ill give you my verdict
on whether they are worth getting. If you're new around here then welcome to
the channel, I make videos for fun on Tech, Productivity and Lifestyle
I'm on the road to 2,000 subscribers so if you like the videos make sure to hit the subscribe
button and drop a like, as any help would be really awesome.
Let's start off with the unboxing... If you haven't heard of Urbanista they're
a Scandinavian company that started in 2010 with a focus on audio products inspired by
urban culture Their headphones are available in over 90
countries now, so they're quickly becoming a well known brand in the audio world
It's worth pointing out that some of Urbanista's previous headphones model's have suffered
from below average audio quality vs the likes of Bose and Sony etc so I'm really keen to
see what these headphones can do. Anyway as you can see this new solar powered
edition is called the Los Angeles model which cost $200 or £170 and come in 2 colour options,
Black and Sand Gold. So as we open up this box up you can see we
get the headphones themselves which come with this really handy carrying case, which feels
like a bit of an essential for travel headphones these days.
And then of course we also have the USB-C charging cable
But no power brick which is worth noting... And then finally we have the quick start guide
as well. So let's open these headphones up now so we
can go through some of the key design elements.
When it comes to the key features let's start with the headline topic which is battery life
The 750mAh battery in these headphones allows up 80 hours playback on a single charge (or
50 hours if you switch the active noise-cancelling on) and they can also be charged traditionally
via USB-C. What makes these headphones truly unique though
is that they feature a solar panel carefully integrated into the length of the headband.
All in all, this means the ‘80 hours’ battery life is really the least you can expect,
and that’s assuming you're in pitch dark. That's because these headphones can be charged
in any light conditions, not just outdoor sunlight.
If you’re anywhere there’s light - light from a bulb, whatever - then the headphones
will play indefinitely. So unlike the name suggests, you don't have to live in sunny
California to get the most out of these cans. Urbanista have created a photovoltaic system
using a broad strip of ‘Powerfoyle’ solar cell material running across the top of the
headband, which extracts the energy from light whether the headphones are switched on or
not. So the headphones are always charging, which
means they’re always ready to play. Currently, these are the only headphones in the world
that are configured this way - and consequently they’re the only headphones available right
now that can actually gain battery life even as they’re playing!
In fact in the 3 days I've tested these so far I've not been able to run down the battery
below 50% yet which is really impressive. Aside from the solar charging and battery
life, these headphones are of course fully wireless and feature active noise-canceling.
And while the noise cancelling ability of these headphones is not quite yet in the same
league as the likes of Bose, its still held up pretty well in my few days of testing for
all kinds of use whether on the train, on the road and also for conference calls at
home. They also have an ambient mode which you can
switch on easily if you want to suddenly hear more from your surroundings.
When it comes to comfort these headphones are pretty decent in my opinion. They are
fully OVER EAR - The headband has a really nice cushion to it and I've found I can wear
these for long stints without feeling uncomfortable. The adjustable sides make it really easy to
find the right fit for you and the quality of the overall finish means these are pretty
sturdy and not flimsy like some cheaper headphones you can buy, which is great if you wanted
to use these for running or working out. In terms of sound quality the LA headphones
are pretty good. In truth, there's probably better-sounding headphones available for the
price, but the Los Angeles are a lively, clear and fun listen. If you’re interested in
an energetic, up-and-at-’em sound, these will keep you thoroughly entertained, and
for a long time. Finally, the headphones also feature a built-in
microphone which works pretty well for short calls and they're also fully compatible with
SIri and Google Voice assistant They work well across both Android and iOS
and connect to most devices easily using Bluetooth 5.0.
To summarise my thoughts on these headphones I think they're awesome.
Yes the sound quality and active noise cancelling could be improved, but if you're focussing
on that, then you're missing the point. These headphones haven't been designed to
be the best sounding studio headphones. They haven't been designed to wear at your
desk or in your home. They've been designed to be the best mid-priced
travelling headphones you can buy, and to do this they've overcome by far the biggest
pain point most people have when travelling which is battery life or charge anxiety.
And considering the price at $200, they do this in a really affordable package as well.
With the release of Apple's new macbook pro that has 21hrs of battery, it's only fair
that you have a pair of wireless headphones that can go all night and all day too. By
the way get subscribed to the channel if you're keen to see my review of the new macbook pro
which will be dropping any day now. So guys if you want to grab some of these
headphones I'll put the link in the description as well as links to all my other gear if you
want to check that out. That’s it for this video, thanks again for
watching and I’ll see you guys in the next one!