Like wearing sunglasses, but don’t like wearing earbuds or headphones? Then Mutrics may be the device for you. It’s a combo of sunglasses and a wearable audio device that allows you to listen to your tunes, answer voice calls, and summon Siri.
They’re available for preorder now for a “limited early bird price” of $69 and are due to ship in August. I received an advance copy to test drive.
The Mutrics easily pair with an iPhone and other devices via Bluetooth 5.0. The pen-ear concept allows you to listen to music or take phone calls while walking or running. However, unlike earbuds or headphones, you can still hear the sounds of your environment, so you don’t, for instance, step out in front of a car. Another benefit is that the UV400 protection lenses block around 99% of UV rays, which is good for your eyes.
The sunglass/audio combo sports three buttons that allow you to power ‘em on and off, play and pause music, switch songs, and make the volume louder or softer. However, you’ll need some time to adjust to fiddling with small controls that you can’t see. It’s easy to press the wrong button and switch a song when you’re trying to simply raise the volume, for example.
While the Mutrics don’t block out ambient noise, that also means that such noise will mix in with the music you’re playing. Also, the mini-speakers provide better audio than I’d expected, but the sound quality pales in comparison to listening to songs with dedicated audio devices such as Apple AirPods.
If you go with the Mutrics, you’ll get about a seven-day battery life even if you’re playing tunes constantly for eight hours a day. The lithium battery can be fully charged in about 90 minutes. The sunglasses/speakers are also IP55 sweat resistance which makes ‘em handy for working out and running. They’re available in black, orange, and white.
I prefer using plain ol’ sunglasses and my AirPods when I’m not in a highly trafficked public space. But when I am, the Mutrics allows me to stay safe and still play my music.
Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★
