The Review Smiths
Urbanista Los Angeles Urbanista Los Angeles
5
Urbanista Los Angeles 5

Every now and then something comes along that is such a clever yet somehow obvious idea that is makes you think, how has this not been done before?

The Los Angeles from Urbanista is exactly one of those products, these rather unassuming looking headphones are in fact the world’s first self-charging wireless headphones. These cans are powered by Powerfoyle solar cell material, this clever green technology can convert all light, be it sunlight or artificial, into energy to deliver a virtually infinite playtime. What a great idea! This is no gimmick either this actually works, you would basically have to spend 80hours in a dark cupboard before you completely ran out of juice and hey, maybe that’s your thing, no judgement here. If so, you can still reach for the USB C charger and power up old school. This smart tech blends in seamlessly to the design, you wouldn’t even suspect there was anything different going on here, they are comfortably padded and fitted me perfectly however I am aware I have a small head and the snug fit might become a little uncomfortable for those more generously endowed in the head area.

There are multifunction buttons on the earcups which provide control over the hybrid Active Noise Cancelling and the Ambient Sound Mode letting you choose between blocking out the world and keeping an ear on your surroundings. There is a companion app which provides some added extras like live tracking the drain and gain of power and different sound modes, but you probably won’t find yourself using it too much. The sound the Los Angeles provides won’t disappoint, the tones are clear and well defined with a lovely balanced bass that’s chunky enough to get your teeth into. Compared to some of the other Urbanista’s we have tested out these are definitely the most expensive, but the combination of that solar power tech and enjoyable sound make them hard to resist. RRP £169

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The worlds first Solar powered headphones…and yes, they work!
  • Virtually infinite playtime
  • Solar charging
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling
  • On-Ear Detection
  • 80h battery reserve
  • Voice Control
  • Siri and Google Voice Assistant
  • Slightly snug fit