Truly wireless earbuds are small, convenient, and maybe a little more likely to fall out of your ears than headphones or earbuds with a more traditional design. That could make them perfect for some situations, but less than ideal for others.
So the folks at AirLoop came up with something a little different: a set of convertible, 3-in-1 style wireless earbuds.
They’re truly wireless earbuds that work with an optional “sportband” and/or neckband.
AirLoop is running a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign and hopes to ship the earbuds to backers in September.
Kickstarter backers can score some deep discounts, but here are the suggested retail prices for different configurations:
- True wireless earbuds + charging case for $130
- True wireless earbuds + charging case + sportband for $150
- True wireless earbuds + charging case + sportband + neckband for $180
AirLoop says you should get up to 10 hours of battery life using the earbuds in “true wireless” mode, and the charging case offers up to 80 hours of total time by letting you recharge on the go.
You can get another 3 hours of battery life if you connect the sportband, which is basically a wire that runs from one earbud to the other, but it also has its own 55 mAh battery. The sportband attaches to the bottom of each earbud magnetically and it should provide a little protection against falls — if one earbud falls out of your ear, hopefully it won’t go too far if it’s hanging from a cable that’s still running to your other ear.
The AirLoop neckband gives you even more battery life (up to 12 hours more than you’d get from the true wireless earbuds alone) and a little more stability, since it rests against your neck while you’re wearing it.
AirLoop says the earbuds are IPX7 rated for water and sweat resistance, they support Siri or Google Assistant, which you can activate by holding a button on the side of the earbuds.
How do they sound? I have no idea. But I do find something intriguing about the convertible design.
Early backers of the Kickstarter campaign can save up to 55 percent off the suggested prices, depending on the configuration they opt for. Just keep in mind that this the first and only product so far from AirLoop, so you may want to proceed with caution.
