The Human Headphones are the first true wireless over-ear headphones and, according to the company (Human Inc), they deliver “three products in one patented design: over-the-ear quality, ear-bud convenience and a portable Bluetooth speaker.” You can think about them as over-ear headphones without the headband, or AirPod alternative that cups your ears rather than inside them. The Human Headphones cost $399; if you order them right now, however, they’re available for a special introductory price of $259.
The neat thing with the Human Headphones, other than the design, is that you can actually turn them into a portable Bluetooth speaker; the two earcups can snap together and turn into “a 2.2, 4 speaker sound system.”” It actually seems like quite a convenient thing because it eliminates the need to buy or bring a portable speaker. (Although we haven’t tested to see how it actually sounds, yet.) And you can charge your headphones while using them as a portable speaker, that way the music never has to stop.
These Human Headphones also come with most of the features that you’d expect in new over-ear headphones. You can perform swipe gestures on the individual earcups to control volume and play/pause/skip tracks; the built-in microphones allow to talk on the phone or communicate with the voice assistant on your smartphone; and there’s an ambient mode so you can hear the sounds around you. They also have the ability, according to the company, to translate up to 11 different languages, which sounds a little like Google’s Pixel Buds are capable of delivering.
Obviously, these headphones look a bit strange but if they actually work well and sound great, they could be somewhat compelling. They don’t cost that much more than most popular over-ear headphones. And the over-ear design will naturally block out outside sounds better than the in-ear design of wireless earbuds, like AirPods. People thought AirPods looked weird a few years ago and now they’re everywhere. Who’s to say that that something couldn’t happen to true wireless over-ear headphones, too?
