These new sunglasses have built-in headphones

Who needs earbuds?

Sunglasses.
(Image credit: Courtesy image)

Each week, we spotlight a cool innovation recommended by some of the industry's top tech writers. This week's pick is an audio-equipped AR platform.

Bose, known for its audio equipment, has created what it calls the world's first "audio-augmented reality platform," said Matthew Humphries at PCMag​. "In reality, Bose just combined headphones and sunglasses, but also unlocked a few smart features in the process." The glasses, which cost $199 and will be available in Jan­u­ary, let you stream music, take calls, and connect to virtual assistants, such as Siri and Google ­Assistant — all without any earbuds.

The Bose speakers, embedded in each temple, "fire audio into your ears," and the microphone and multi­func­tion button are on the right side. A head-motion sensor also allows you track your location and what direction you're going. The rechargeable battery lasts 3.5 hours when you listen to audio continually. Aside from the quality sound and virtual innovations, these are also just pretty good ­sunglasses — they're scratch- and shatterproof, and block 99 percent of UVA and UVB rays.

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