\nFairphone gets its audio groove on with repairable over-ear BT headphones<\/br>
\n2023-05-11 22:22:31<\/br><\/p>\n
Dutch social enterprise Fairphone<\/a> is best known for its mission to build ethical smartphones<\/a> via a brand that promises fairer wages for supply chain workers and design choices that encourage consumers to cherish and repair the hardware rather than toss last year\u2019s model thanks to modularity and a web shop selling replacement (and upgradeable) spare parts.<\/p>\n Today it\u2019s taking the leap into a new device category \u2014 applying the same principled approach to shipping the most sustainable and fair consumer electronics it can, within limits imposed by wider industry practices which set the availability (and compatibility) of electronics components, to a pair of its own-design, over-ear Bluetooth headphones. The latest repairable Fairphone product is called Fairbuds XL.<\/p>\n Confusingly, Fairbuds XL are very much not<\/em> (in-ear) earbuds. So the choice of name is evidently a bit of a pun. Fairphone tells TechCrunch there was hot debate internally over what to call the headphones. We can only imagine what other options were toyed with and rejected. But, clearly, naming a pair of over-ear headphones \u201cbuds\u201d will cause some to howl in disbelief. Still, at least they sidestepped the obvious (yet alluring) pitfall of calling the cans Fairphones<\/em> (see what we did there!). The final name choice was favored for being \u201cunique\u201d, as they tell it.<\/p>\n The Fairbuds XL are available to buy through Fairphone\u2019s website (and select retailers) from today \u2014 retailing for \u20ac249 in the EU. (As with the company\u2019s smartphones they\u2019re mostly only shipping to Europe at present so US readers are out of luck, or else will have to find their own creative shipping solution.)<\/p>\n The repairable headphones come in a choice of two colors: Speckled black (pictured above); or speckled green with some snazzy orange detailing (shown in non-exploded view below):<\/p>\n Image credits: Fairphone<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fairphone is remaining tight lipped on projections of how many pairs of headphones it expects to ship. And clearly it\u2019s taking a bit of a leap here.<\/p>\n That said, fans of the company may have noticed it does already sell a pair of wireless earbuds (with the more vanilla name of \u201cTrue Wireless Stereo Earbuds<\/a>\u201c), so it has been dabbling in the audio accessory space for a while. However Fairbuds XL represent a new category for the device maker, according to Fairphone\u2019s head of product management, Miquel Ballester, and audio product manager, Bob van Iersel, a more recent addition to the team. This is because \u2014 unlike with the (actually) earbuds it sells \u2014 they\u2019re not working with off-the-shelf components for the over-ear \u2018phones. Rather they\u2019ve designed this new audio product from scratch themselves. And designed the headphones to be easily dissembled for repairability.<\/p>\n As with Fairphone\u2019s eponymous (screwdriver-friendly) smartphones, Fairbuds XL are comprised of modular parts that connect up to support ease of repair and promote function longevity \u2014 furthering the core mission of shipping more sustainable electronics (vs the built-in-obsolescence industry modus operandi<\/em> that quickly leads to heaps of environmentally unfriendly e-waste).<\/p>\n \u201cThe level of modularity is similar or even more than the phones,\u201d says Ballester, discussing Fairbuds XL in an interview with TechCrunch. \u201cAll the [replaceable] parts will be available on the website. And [there are] more specific components that we\u2019ve also designed to be easy to replace \u2014 those specific small parts we will not be offering at the beginning on our website. Later, based on need, and what we see on the market, we might want to make all these other parts available.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe headphones are built up out of nine modules slash spare parts,\u201d continues van Iersel. \u201cSome of these parts are really relatively simple mechanical parts. Think about the ear cushions, the headband, the hinges. And there are also more complex parts \u2014 like the right speaker module which also has the buttons, the Bluetooth chipset and whatnot. So that\u2019s the more comprehensive spare part.<\/p>\n \u201cBut in theory, all of them are replaceable. So there is not one single part that defines what the base of the headphones is, let\u2019s say. So even if your Bluetooth module breaks down for whatever reason it\u2019s not the case that you can\u2019t use all the other ones \u2014 it\u2019s easy to simply order replacement parts for that and the rest of the headphones will work as they are supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWith this product, we truly design it from the ground up,\u201d van Iersel also tells us. \u201cThat\u2019s reflected in the modularity, the repairability of the design\u2026 With the headphones we saw an opportunity to enter a market which could could benefit a lot from the Fairphone approach \u2014 with making products that are more repairable, more durable and really designed to last a long time. That\u2019s that\u2019s what we set out to do with these headphones and what we think that we achieved as well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, the headphones is a way to bring to the market what we do in the supply chain in the design of our products,\u201d rejoins Ballester. \u201cSo this is kind of a proof that it can be done. And \u2014 for me \u2014 we are closing a gap in the market\u2026 There are no other companies doing, in this case headphones, as an artefact for changing the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n Other elements that check Fairphone\u2019s core ethical electronics mission are a \u201cliving wage\u201d pledge applied to the headphone\u2019s suppliers to encourage them to provide fairer working conditions for workers in their factories. There\u2019s also fairtrade gold integrated into the Fairbuds supply chain. While recycled materials make up over 80% of the plastic weight of the headphones \u2014 with 100% recycled aluminium in structural parts, too.<\/p>\n Some non-recycled plastic has been used in areas where acoustic considerations are more sensitive, per van Iersel. So there\u2019s an element of Fairphone needing to balance core product performance against sustainability targets. But Ballester says they\u2019ll continue seeking to push the boundaries of what\u2019s possible on the recycled materials front.<\/p>\n Designing such a bespoke audiophile product necessitated Fairphone bringing audio expertise in-house (to supplement its existing mobile hardware smarts). They also worked with partners on tuning the audio \u2014 touting a \u201csignature sound\u201d for the Fairbuds XL, as van Iersel puts it. On the audio performance side, he expresses confidence that the sound quality is reflective of what consumers can expect for over-ear headphones retailing at this price-point. (Cheaper Beats cans<\/a> are in the same sort of price range, for example.)<\/p>\n \u201cFairphone did not originally have the audio expertise in house to build these kinds of projects so we made sure to partner up really well \u2014 with both hardware suppliers as well as on the software side. We have partnered to ensure the great sound quality that we managed to achieve in the end. Because, with this product, we didn\u2019t want to just offer a \u2018fair\u2019 version of what headphones could be; but they should also be able to carry their weight when it comes to sound quality,\u201d he tells TechCrunch.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the hardware side, there are different things that make up for the sound quality. It\u2019s not only the components that you put in but also how you put them in. So we\u2019ve chosen a chipset that supports\u2026 a high fidelity audio codec to make sure whenever you throw at it from your phone it gets processed in a Hi-Fi definition. And next to that we use 40 millimetre dynamic drivers, which is comparable to what anything in this category would have. But also, we made sure not just to select the right drivers but also to have our partner carefully design the acoustic chamber in which they are placed inside the headphones themselves \u2014 because that\u2019s massively affects the final sound as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Other sound quality considerations van Iersel says the Fairbuds\u2019 designers have paid attention to include the clamping force of the headphones and the material for the ear cushions to ensure a proper seal. As noted above, it also worked with a third party audio calibration partner, called Sonarworks, to tune the sound.<\/p>\n \u201cWe developed a custom Fairphone sound signature that is part of these headphones. And it\u2019s even something that we could carry on over to future audio products as well,\u201d says van Iersel, noting Sonarworks created a selection of audio pre-sets Fairbuds\u2019 users can choose from in a companion app which is launching with the headphones (both for iOS and Android).<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe also intend to reach different or new target audience with this,\u201d he adds. \u201cBecause with the phone there\u2019s obviously a huge threshold for consumers to switch brands, to go for something that they don\u2019t know yet. But we do have a lot of fans of Fairphone that like our mission and would be happy to support it but aren\u2019t willing to take that leap to buy a smartphone. But this could be a much more like the entry level Fairphone [product].<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s also why we chose to develop the application not just for Androids but also for iOS. So we\u2019re not just targeting current Fairphone customers\u2026 It\u2019s really a product that\u2019s meant to compete with all other headphones \u2014 and not just be seen as a Fairphone accessory because that\u2019s absolutely not what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n The need to build up the necessary expertise in new product category goes some way to explaining why it took Fairphone a (fair) bit longer than it had originally expected to get the Fairbuds XL to market (circa four months). But, well, hardware is hard and its repairable Bluetooth headphones are juggling both swappable mechanical (moving) parts and higher tech chipsets, as well as shipping with the aforementioned companion apps to let users custom-tune the sound. So there\u2019s perhaps more work involved in Fairphone delivering decent modular cans than you might consider at first glance.<\/p>\n A range of spare parts are available to buy for the Fairbuds XL on its web shop from launch \u2014 such as new ear cap covers for a few Euros or a new battery for around \u20ac20. Consumers of the product get a two year warranty on purchase, so any component breakages in that time are likely to be covered by Fairphone (well, unless you damage the product by sitting on it or something).<\/p>\n Given Fairphone offers a five year warranty on its new smartphones, a two year warranty for Fairbuds XL may seem a little low ball for a brand that centers sustainability. And Ballester admits they had wanted to be able to offer the same five year pledge. But he says uncertainties attached to shipping a device in a new category, and specifically needing to see how the headphones stand up to real world daily use\/abuse, led them to opt for the less risky choice of a shorter warranty at launch. He adds that they hope to be able to extend it in the future as they see how the Fairbuds perform in the wild.<\/p>\n One neat longevity feature he highlights is the product has been designed so it can always function as wired headphones \u2014 meaning that, even many years hence, when it might finally be impossible to get a replacement battery for this particular Fairbuds model (even from Fairphone\u2019s own web shop), the headphones will still function without a battery by plugging them in \u2014 at least assuming there\u2019s a USB-C socket to hand. (Regionally at least, that\u2019s a fairly safe bet since EU lawmakers are pushing for USB-Type C to be the charging standard<\/a> for consumer electronics.)<\/p>\n Talking of supportive policymaking, the EU is working on right to repair legislation<\/a> that looks set to give Fairphone\u2019s approach considerable regional uplift in the years to come. And Ballester welcomes the planned expansions to EU ecodesign legislation<\/a>. Discussing this, he also suggests lawmakers could go further, too \u2014 flagging the need for them to pay greater attention to consumer electronics business models and find more ways to support models that aim to sell consumers on sustainability, rather than sticking with the dirty old gadget-makers\u2019 game of driving resource-hungry hardware upgrade cycles.<\/p>\n In Fairphone\u2019s home market of the Netherlands, it\u2019s now offering a smartphone subscription service, called Fairphone Easy<\/a>, that lets users rent its handsets for a flat monthly fee which covers the cost of any necessary repairs and\/or replacement. When the lease expires or the device breaks the handsets are returned to the company for reuse (refurbishment<\/a>) or else for recycling components at end of their useful life to maximize resource utilization and minimize e-waste.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s two models that will have to coexist,\u201d suggests Ballester, tracking where sustainable consumer electronics may be headed in the years to come. \u201cYou will have the type of consumers that are more convenience driven. Like \u2018I am very sustainably minded but I don\u2019t need to repair a product myself.\u2019 [Who] will buy into a service proposition because [they] don\u2019t get the burden of ownership. And that\u2019s totally fair. And there will be a type of consumers that will be fine with that burden of ownership because they know they need to recycle at the end of life. They need to keep their device as long as possible. They know that they need to repair.<\/p>\n \u201cSo for me these two models will coexist in the future. And we\u2019ll have to divert more convenience-driven consumers to our service propositions\u2026 And I think companies should be smart enough to create the business models that really unlock sustainability for any type of consumer. And I think service propositions have a role there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/br><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n![\"Fairphone](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/green_perspective.png?resize=680%2C510&ssl=1\")
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