Urbanista’s New Earbuds Love Sun as Much as You Do

After last year’s launch of its Los Angeles line of solar-powered over-ear headphones, manufacturer Urbanista is going bigger, or rather, much smaller.

The company has just announced the Phoenix line of solar-powered wireless earbuds, which is something of a first for the entire industry. These are technically the world’s first solar-powered earbuds, but with a slight caveat. The actual buds are not solar-powered; the charging case is. 

This case soaks up the sun's rays to pack away 32 hours of playback on reserve, with the earbuds using eight hours at a time before needing a recharge in the case. This is extremely cool tech, with advanced Powerfoyle solar panels, but it does require users to keep the charging case out in the sun, which may not be super-convenient. 

However, since they are earbuds and, you know, stuck inside your ears, this case-adjacent tech makes sense.

"Urbanista Phoenix really is a market-leading product, and we are excited to see how this shapes the future of our listening experiences in years to come," wrote Tuomas Lonka, Urbanista's Brand and Marketing Director.

Urbanista's Phoenix wireless earbuds also have some other features to offer consumers, such as active noise cancelation (ANC) with a transparency mode, touch controls, voice assistant integration, and a dedicated app.

This app features an equalizer and indicators illustrating the current state of the case’s solar panels, among other functions. 

The Phoenix earphones are available in two colors, Midnight Black (black) and Desert Rose (pink.) Urbanista won’t ship these sun-soaking wonders until later in the year, costing around $150.