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Home / Hot Stuff / Audio / Urbanista’s Los Angeles headphones are solar-powered

Urbanista’s Los Angeles headphones are solar-powered

Show me the light

When you think of the city of Los Angeles, you probably think of gated mansions, hilariously expensive shops and a massive sign on a mountain. But also: sunshine. It’s fitting, then, that Urbanista has named what it dubs the world’s first self-charging, solar-powered headphones after LA. The £169 wireless cans are powered by Powerfoyle solar cell material, which converts light into energy to deliver, in theory, never-ending battery life. An hour outside in the sun returns three hours of playtime, but if you’re worried about Britain not holding up its end of the bargain, you’ll be pleased to know that ambient light also does the job. As long as you’re sat in a well-lit room, the Los Angeles will keep charging away, and leaving them by a window for an hour when you’re not using them should add an additional hour of charge. A built-in 750mAh, 50-hour battery should quell any remaining juice-based fears, which you can charge the old-fashioned way via USB-C. Otherwise, the Los Angeles offer pretty much everything you’d expect from wireless headphones at this price, like Bluetooth 5.0, ANC, a transparency mode, on-ear detection and voice assistant support (Siri and Google Assistant). We’re still waiting for a release date. 

Profile image of Matt Tate Matt Tate Contributor

About

I'm fascinated by all things tech, but if you were going to leave me on a desert island, I'd probably ask for my Nintendo Switch, a drone, and a pair of noise-cancelling cans to block out the relentless seagull racket. When I'm not on Stuff duty you'll probably find me subscribing to too many podcasts, playing too many video games, or telling anyone who will listen that Spurs are going to win a trophy this season.

Areas of expertise

Video games, VR, smartwatches, headphones, smart speakers, bizarre Kickstarter campaigns