You can spend a pretty penny on a pair of headphones for your phone, but if you don’t want to, Belkin has a variety of inexpensive options on the way.
Even though the best headphones can cost in excess of $300, not everyone wants to spend that, or even has that to spend.
The price of good audio gear is coming down, a trend we’ve expected for some time, and that’s good news for folks looking at their budgets with a gleam in their eye.
If this is you, it might be worth glancing at what Belkin is bringing to Australia, as it updates its SoundForm range with a few more options beyond the in-ear offerings we’ve seen in the past.
The latest assortment of Belkin SoundForm models are specifically from Belkin, as opposed to the speaker we’ve seen from the brand tuned by the likes of Devialet, with the company focused on delivering truly wireless gear for a variety of purposes to suit a sub-$100 price point.
That includes the open-ear ClearFit, a pair of sport-focused earphones designed to wrap around the ear much like the Beats PowerBeats Pro, but made to be more affordable. Priced at $89.95, they come with up to 8 hours of battery life with an extra 18 in their charging case, and an IPX5 sweat resistant design.
They won’t see noise cancellation, that said, and neither will another newbie, the Belkin SoundForm Motion 2, a pair of earbuds with a stem much like the AirPods 3. These clearly aren’t AirPods, but do include an IPX5 sweat resistant design, up to 9 hours of battery life, and roughly 24 more in the charging case, coming in for a $70 price point in Australia.
Lose the stem and you’ll have the SoundForm Bolt 2, a pair sporting roughly the same battery life, but a slight reduction in water and sweat resistance at IPX4.
Priced at $49.95 in Australia, the Belkin SoundForm Bolt 2 are definitely geared at low price points, handy for folks keen to save money.
Belkin will also have a few slight refreshes to its over-ear models, with the boom-mic equipped $80 pair for work in the SoundForm Adapt, the $70 kid-focused volume limited SoundForm Inspire, and the volume limited mic-less $50 SoundForm Mini.
There are even aptly named SoundForm Wired earphones coming for $30, providing IPX5 sweat resistance in USB-C earphones, handy for folks keen on keeping a cord as part of their lives.
It’s definitely an assortment, with the focus clearly being on price, and specifically keeping it down.
As to how the new SoundForm range will compete with other offerings, our guess is they won’t quite compare to typical mid-range and flagship headphones and earphones. However, with Belkin clearly competing with budget choices from general department stores, the company could have some options against other inexpensive pairs without a known brand.
