Having created something of a stir back in the summer when first announced, Urbanista’s potentially ground-breaking Phoenix solar-powered true wireless earbuds are now finally available to buy.
Originally unveiled back in August, the first-of-their-kind buds can be juiced up via a Powerfoyle solar cell panel on the charging case.
The panel was developed in partnership with fellow Swedish company and solar specialist Exeger, and can continuously recharge from sunlight as well as ambient light.
The earbuds themselves offer a similar design to the well-received Urbanista London headphones which were released back in 2020.
They also share a similar feature set to their predecessor, with the Phoenix also offering hybrid active noise cancelling, and noise-reduction microphones for filtering out ambient sounds allowing for a transparency mode similar to Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 earbuds.
The Phoenix boast a playtime of eight hours from the buds alone, and a total battery reserve of 32 hours when including the case's battery – both are good figures when compared to the best true wireless earbuds.
The release of the Phoenix buds marks the second time Ubanista has brought out a set of headphones using the solar technology, with its Urbanista Los Angeles over-ear cans from late last year featuring Powerfoyle light source panels on their headband.
Priced at $149 / £139 (about AU$250), the Phoenix can be snapped up direct from the Urbanista website as well as from select retailers.
Analysis: eco-features could add the ultimate in wireless convencience
Aiming to free listeners from both power and audio cables, the Phoenix’s convenient self-charging form factor (in theory) means we expect Urbanista’s latest headphones to not be the last buds to use a solar panel in this way – assuming they word as intended (we'll bring a review as soon as we're able).
What’s particularly encouraging about them, and something that’s likely to set them apart from future competitors, is that no corner appears to have been cut to accommodate the solar feature. There’s noise cancelling and Bluetooth 5.2 onboard and just about every key feature we’ve come to expect from mid-range wireless buds.
That solar goodness and impressive feature list won't matter of course unless they sound good, but if their fidelity matches their sustainability credentials, we’re sure they’ll make our best earbuds list. However, they're more expensive than a lot of Urbanista's other offerings, so they will have to bring their audio game to satisfy us.
For more Urbanista-related goodness, check out our reviews of the Urbanista Miami over-ears and Urbanista Stockholm true wireless earbuds.
