Wireless headphones have a lot of things going for them. There are no cords to get tangled up. And they can work with phones that may lack an audio jack, for instance. But most wireless headphones do still need to be paired with a phone, laptop, or other gadget via Bluetooth.

The upcoming Debussy smart headphones from Funky Fresh Studio don’t need any of those things: they support WiFi and 4G and let you stream your music without pairing with a phone or any other device.

So far so good… but I find myself a bit perplexed by one feature: the touchscreen display on the outside of the earcups.

The company says you can use the touchscreen display to “navigate playlists and set a custom cover.” But I’m a little iffy on how you’re supposed to navigate playlists via a touchscreen display when you’re actually wearing the headphones.

Maybe Funky Fresh will display the text backward and provide you with a mirror that you can hold up to the earcup when you want to see?

I mean, I sort of get it… if you’re supposed to be able to use these without a smartphone then you’ll presumably need some way to navigate. But since these headphones also support voice controls, you already have another way to navigate.

Anyway, I guess the custom cover thing is kind of cool.

Funky Fresh Studio hasn’t announced the price or release date for the Debussy headphones yet, but it describes them as part of a “new line of high-tech luxury audio products,” so don’t expect them to be cheap. The headphones should be on display at CES in Las Vegas in January.

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8 replies on “Why would you put a touchscreen display on headphones?”

  1. I suspect that we might be a bit old to understand the appeal of these, kids will probably love them since they often seem to prize flash over function.

  2. I agree a touch screen is foolish. I’d be on board a simple rotary switch to select what I want to be paired to though. And I need way more than two devices I can automatically pair to. Two devices? Why are they still all like this? Does the headphone industry know what year it is?
    I have at least a half dozen things I’d like to regularly pair to. And I never want it to auto-select what it’s paired to.
    Just give me a rotary switch with like six or more selections. Pick a slot. Pair it. Have it automatically reconnect to that when I put the switch back to that slot again. Simple.

  3. Maybe the screen is to display instructions to passers by for how to interact with the wearer. 🙂

  5. They should have a camera on one side and display it on the other side, so that it appears there’s nothing inside your head.

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