Suunto has launched its new Sonic bone conduction headphones, aimed at sports enthusiasts with an IP55 rating against sweat and water, created with lightweight materials, and designed to withstand almost any workout.
They have an open-ear design which allows the user to enjoy their music listening while staying aware of their surroundings.
The headphones sit on the jawbone, leave the ear canal open, and come with a built-in microphone for phone calls on the call.
Being lightweight at just 31g, they are made from titanium and silicone, and can be worn under helmets and caps.
Additionally, the headphones have a newly designed sound transducer. This allows higher sensitivity, enhanced bass effect, and noise leakage reduction.
They have a battery life of up to 10 hours with a single charge, and can fully charge within an hour. A 10-minute recharge will provide up to three hours of power, and they connect via Bluetooth 5.2.
The Suunto app provides the ability to change settings, including their preferred sound mode, or turning the dual connection option off.
These headphones also have a multi-function button that can answer or end calls, play or pause music, skip tracks forwards and backwards, and adjust the volume.
The Suunto Sonic bone conduction headphones are currently available from the official Suunto website for A$239 and are available in black and lime colours.
Suunto entered into the headphone market back in October last year after their watches were heavily discounted and dropped by major retailers in Australia.
As an attempt to compete with Shokz, Suunto released its Wing bone conduction headphones, which came with an IP67 rating and can withstand temperatures from a low of -20 degrees Celsius to a high of 60 degrees Celsius.
These also have an open-ear design, LED lights for visibility, a battery life of up to 10 hours, which can be extended to 20 hours with a powerbank, and anti-wind noise up to 30KM/H.
They are available for A$319 from the official Suunto website in black and lava red colours.
Competitor Shokz, a market leader in bone conduction technology, released its OpenSwim Pro bone conduction headphones in January, which can store up to 8,000 songs, features Bluetooth 5.3, have 32GB of on-device storage, offer a battery life of 9 hours, and has an IP68 rating against dust and water.
These are currently unavailable in Australia, however the original OpenSwim headphones are available from the official Shokz website for A$239 in black diamond and sapphire blue colours.
Finally, Shokz also offers its OpenFit open-ear headphones, which feature immersive sound technology, noise cancellation, and DirectPitch technology, which is exclusive to these headphones and allows for premium audio quality.
The AI Call Noise Cancellation technology can filter out up to 99.7% of ambient noise, and the headphones come with dual microphones, and integrated touchpads supporting double tap, and press and hold controls.
These are available from the official Shokz website for A$289 in black and beige colours.
