- Among the most repairable headphones you can buy
- The headphones will be followed by the launch of a smartphone in the US.
- US pricing TBC, but the £219 UK price is about $285
Fairphone, one of the most interesting smartphone makers, is coming to the US, but its first American product won’t be a phone. They will be noise canceling headphones.
However, these are no ordinary headphones. The Fairbuds XL are made with longevity, repairability, and environmental responsibility in mind, and according to iFixit, they are among the most repairable earbuds you can buy.
That’s the deal with Fairphone: it makes products that let you enjoy your technology longer without feeling as guilty about what you’re doing to the planet. Therefore, these headphones are 100% e-waste neutral, made from 92% recycled aluminum, are modular for easy repair, and have easily replaceable batteries.
We’ve used the Fairbuds XL and really like them, we rate them as “very talented” and in Europe they’ve been around for a few years so they sometimes get discounts of up to 30% which makes them even more tempting.
Why Fairphone’s US launch is important
Fairphone fits right in with the growing “right to repair” movement that calls on manufacturers to do better: Many people want technology that isn’t impossible to repair or that needs to be thrown away because limited-life components, like headphone batteries, aren’t replaceable.
The company’s flagship phone, the Fairphone 6, promises to give you eight years of full support, including a five-year warranty and spare parts availability until 2033. And that’s coming to the US too, once the launch of the headphones has helped establish the brand.
Fairphone still uses Chinese manufacturing, but, as PakGazette reports, the company is focused on sustainability throughout the entire supply chain, from material extraction to device manufacturing. And their devices are made to be repaired, with key components easily replaced.
That strategy seems to be working: Fairphone’s revenue is up 61% year over year, and it has bold plans for the US: it wants to sell as many headphones in the US as it does in Europe.
We don’t yet know how much the headphones will cost in the US, but the UK price translates to around $285; However, the UK price includes an average 20% sales tax, so the US price before tax will likely be lower than that.
The best noise canceling headphones for all budgets
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
