You may, or may not have heard of SOUL before. We did recently review their flagship pair of earbuds, the Sync ANC, but fresh out of CES, that flagship will be going to a new pair of buds. They have just announced their latest product, the Blade. The Blade earbuds caught our attention straight away, as they’re not just typical type of bud. Why? They have AI built into them and may become a runner’s best friend.
The blade is a new type of earbud, one that not only plays music but it will also monitor your heartbeat, track your run and monitor your performance. Upon initial use, the earbuds AI will calibrate to your body, your height, the way you move and store that info securely within its companion app. This then enables to earbuds to become your running partner, your personal trainer or coach. By the way, you run, it will determine and monitor your typical stats, distance, average pace, cadence and heart rate. But the Blade goes on further, it will tell you your step width, your step length, your vertical oscillation and head angle. By doing this, the earbuds and app will inform you on your performance and efficiency as a runner, prompting you that your head is to low, or your strides aren’t long enough, helping to improve your technique, speed and overall performance. It can also monitor leg stiffness, shock, force and consistency.
The companion app will not only calibrate the earbuds to your body, but it’s its the hub for tracking runs, stats and competing against friends. The best part, your friends don’t need the earbuds to compete against you, just the free app and some other device to track stats like a smartwatch, fitness band or even your phone.
Enough of the AI, they are earbuds too and they come with a bunch of features. They include Bluetooth 5.0, they’re IPX7 waterproof, so you could actually submerge these in water for 30 minutes if you wanted. They have transparency mode, a must-have when running, AAC, Qualcomm aptX and touch controls. Battery life seems very impressive, at 96hours total, yes 96hours. That’s from the case and each charge of the buds last either 6 hours on there own or 5 hours with the AI and heartbeat turned on. Some quick math, 96 divided by 5, that’s 19 full charges. Seems too good to be true and maybe it is, but we’ll find out when we try them out.
What else is key when running, a secure and comfortable fit within your ear. This looks to be achievable with the Blade, as they not only have the traditional rubber tip but two, yes two rubber wings as well. These wings really help keep the bud snug within your ear. I’ve not yet tried earbuds with two wings, one is usually enough so I imagine I can run as fast as Usain Bolt and these won’t fall out.
It’s all features and spec sheets at the moment but from what we’ve heard, directly from Soul I should add, these look incredibly promising and we can’t wait to try them out. They are set to go on sale at the end of Q1 this year, with a retail price of $199.
