In short: Alongside the announcement of the Nokia 7.1 today, HMD Global also unveiled the Nokia True Wireless Earbuds. These are very small earbuds, which will get you about three and a half hours of playback, or around four hours of talk time. Like most truly wireless earbuds, the case is also a charging case, which can get you around an additional 12 hours (HMD Global touts about three recharges from the carrying case here). The carrying case is actually pretty small, and is shaped like lipstick. This makes it easier to toss in your bag and take on the road with you.
The Nokia True Wireless Earbuds are sweat and splash resistant with an IPX4 rating, and they also pair using Bluetooth 5.0. You’ll get stereo playback for music, as well as for calls. There is a microphone included here, so that you can actually use these for making phone calls. In the box, Nokia includes three sets of ear tips (small, medium and large), as well as a USB-C to USB-C cable.
Background: Nokia has been resurrected by HMD Global, after announcing its first smartphone about 18 months ago. Since then, it has rapidly released more and more smartphones, with a focus on Europe and India. But with the new Nokia 7.1, it is aiming for the US a bit more. And now with these new earbuds, it wouldn’t be surprising to see HMD Global jump into the accessories game and get more accessories out there, seeing as HMD Global does sell its smartphones pretty close to what it costs to make them, accessories is where it can really make some profit.
Impact: As of right now, there’s no word on when these true wireless earbuds will be available for purchase, and there is also no word on pricing just yet. But these are going to be available in black. Which is a pretty safe color for Nokia’s first pair of headphones. HMD Global didn’t need to go all out and create all sorts of different colors for these. Hopefully pricing and availability will be announced fairly soon.
