If the reason you haven’t jumped to new earphones is you’re worried about losing one of those totally wireless models, an approach by Skullcandy and Tile could win you over.
There’s a fairly consistent burden in technology, and it’s one many of us share: it can be expensive to buy into, and expensive to replace. If you break or lose something, the costs can feel prohibitive, and no one wants to spend for no reason, anyway.
We’ve certainly met people who have had to spend on technology when something goes missing, and in a world where earphones can be disconnected from each other, it’s even more possible to lose something of value just when you need it most.
Earphones that lack the cord like Apple’s AirPods can be replaced if one goes missing, but can also be expensive to do so. A lost AirPod will set you back around $109 while a lost AirPods Pro earphone will set you back $139, giving you extra incentive to not lose the things in the first place.
Practically every brand who makes truly wireless earphones and earbuds has some sort of policy like this, or they’ll just tell you to buy a new set regardless, and this can, rather understandably, pose a bit of a question for new buyers.
Skullcandy has been dabbling with a solution, though, teaming up with Tile, a company that has been built around tracking things on the whole. Typically, Tile’s products are simply trackers, and use the power of wireless communications and crowds using its products to bounce signals in the background and locate objects. Tile has seen numerous integrations over the years, including computers with Intel and umbrellas with Blunt.
Skullcandy has used Tile in at least one pair of headphones in the past, and this year is throwing it into more, but doing so on an individual level.
As such, the company is launching three wireless earphones, the Push Ultra, Sesh Evo, and Indy Evo, all with Tile integration built in, but on an individual earphone level. It means that provided you’ve registered the earphones with the Tile system, if you lose one, you should be able to use the power of Tile’s network to find it.
The three earphone varieties are a little different, with the Indy Evo following an almost AirPods-like design, but with standard earphone tips and earwing gels to hold in place. Skullcandy’s Push Ultra are more fitness focused and include an ear hook to loop over the ear, while the Sesh Evo are the stalk-less style of earphones that offer a more standard ear-covering and tips to hold in this in place.
None of Skullcandy’s products are technically earbuds, appearing more like earphones with tips to hold in place, but perhaps rather interestingly, they’re all designed to be used either as stereo or solo earphones, with Tile support enabled on them all individually. It means if you go running with one and lose one, the power of the Tile system may help you find it again.
Whether you use it once you’ve found it in dust and dirt is down to you, but with a level of water and dust resistance on them (IP67 for Push Ultra, and IP55 for Indy Evo and Sesh Evo), there’s every chance they could still work, even if the earphones might need a little TLC to get in a pretty place once again.
You’ll find the Skullcandy Push Ultra, Indy Evo, and Sesh Evo models in stores now, available for $249.95, $179.95, and $139.95 respectively.
