If one of your wishes this Christmas is to have a pair of wireless headphones that do not need charging every once in a while, then your wish has come true with the JBL Reflect Eternal. It is solar-powered and self-charging, so as long as both natural and artificial light is hitting your earphones, you will still have power to listen to your favorite music, podcasts, and audio book, and also to make and take phone calls as well.
The JBL Reflect Eternal has a solar panel built into the headband so it will passively charge as long as you’re exposed to sunlight and artificial light as well. It doesn’t mean you’ll never have to charge it but it will supposedly minimize the times you do manually recharge. It still has USB charging support just like most wireless headphones. Plugging it in for just 15 minutes will give you 2 hours of playback time.
But the main idea for the headphones is that you will take advantage of its self-charging features, although it may be a bit slower than the traditional one. JBL says that if you spend 1.5 hours outdoors, you will be able to get 68 hours of playback time. Unlike other solar-powered devices, this one was especially built to get power from indirect lighting. And if you spend just a couple of hours with the headphones, then you can keep it constantly charged if you keep it exposed to light.
Aside from the self-charging feature, you also get an integrated microphone so you can use it for calls, calling up Google Assistant, Talkthru, and Ambient Aware technology. For regular charging, you’ll be able to use it for 24 hours. It has IPX4 rating, has a 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response, Bluetooth 5.0, and 106dB SPL sensitivity. It also has multi-point connection if you want to switch between Bluetooth devices. You can connect it to speakers as well with its 40mm drivers.
The JBL Reflect Eternal is being funded on IndieGoGo although they have already reached more than 100% of their target. The early adopter version is still available at just $99 but the units will be shipped by October 2020 so it’s not something you’ll get for Christmas this year.
