Fairphone wants to stop you from throwing dead wireless earbuds into a landfill. On Thursday, the Dutch hardware firm rolled out the Fairbuds 2, pricing them at $119 in the US and £99 in the UK.
That puts them roughly 20 percent below the cost of the first-generation model. The drop in price comes alongside a total chassis overhaul. Fairphone reduced the earbud housings by 37 percent compared to the original Fairbuds, while shrinking the charging case footprint by 32 percent.
Most modern earbuds are glued solid, which turns degraded lithium cells into electronic waste. Fairphone continues to reject that build style. The Fairbuds 2 retain user-replaceable batteries inside both the earpieces and the pocket case, letting owners swap cells out when they lose charge over time rather than discarding the entire unit. Fairphone claims around 40,000 tons of headphones land in scrap heaps annually, with under 15 percent of miniature electronics recycled or repurposed.
Hardware and sound changes
Beyond repairability, Fairphone targeted audio quality improvements. The buds introduce an 11mm dynamic driver built with an organic bio-cellulose diaphragm, tuned alongside Dutch audio outfit Form Follows Frequency. Sony's LDAC codec is supported right out of the gate for higher bitrate listening over Bluetooth 6.0.
Total playback runs up to 40 hours when factoring in recharges from the case. Multipoint pairing is standard, allowing cleanly switching between two devices simultaneously. For messy weather or gym sessions, the hardware carries an IP54 splash-resistance rating.
Active noise cancellation gets upgraded through a six-microphone setup. Fairphone claims the array cuts outside sounds by as much as 45dB, aided by a reshaped shell meant to seal tighter across varying ear canal shapes.
On the environmental side, the company states the buds use about 49 percent fair and recycled materials, tied to its Living Wage Bonus and Workers' Voice initiatives. The plastics and silicone contacting ear skin are SGS-tested and certified PFAS-free.
Software duties fall to an updated Fairbuds mobile application, which introduces adjusted audio presets, manual equaliser tuning, and usage advice.
The Fairbuds 2 are on sale now in the UK for £99, with US shipments scheduled to begin on November 2 for $119. Buyers can choose between Horizon Black and Forest Green finishes.
GDFiled by The Gadgets Desk
Audio, wearables, cameras, tablets, chargers and every other device worth carrying or plugging in.
More from this desk →
Be the first to comment
Join the argument. No password, just your email or a passkey.