We’m used to seeing plenty of over-the-ear headphones targeting low listeners here on TechRadar, but true wireless earbuds for kids like the SoundForm Nano Wireless Earbuds just announced for kids from Belkin are a very rare breed.
Designed for children seven and over, new Bluetooth earbuds have an output limit of less than 85 decibels (currently the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s workplace exposure limit), making sure they do not accidentally damage their hearing.
Sound quality is often thought-provoking for headphones designed for young people, but this does not seem to be the case here as the Nano has 6mm dynamic drivers in each earbud.
Buds promise a maximum of 5 hours of nonstop playtime, plus an additional 19 hours of juice from their charging case as well as a total of 24 hours of battery life, but they need to make sure they can withstand their IPX5 water resistance. A water pistol fight.
Younger children have smaller ear canals, which often make in-ear headphones feel annoying and uncomfortable, while Belkin addresses it with a selection of special extra-extra small-sized included ear tips.
The Nano is set to retail at $ 49.99 / £ 29.99 and will go on sale by the end of June 2022 in a three-color option, so the asking price will be equally low.
Analysis: Can Belkin stay with children with these earbuds?
There is a clear reason why true wireless headphones have not been widely available to young listeners so far – adults will never lose those little earbuds, let alone distract children.
But kids also need to remember how the world looks – their parents and older siblings wearing airpods completely cool the irrelevant color boxes they received for their birthday, which means the SoundForm Nano could be a big hit.
They are inexpensive enough to replace if someone misses, they have volume limits to prevent accidental hearing loss, and parents need to protect their sanity during long summer car trips that could not withstand the canine laughter of Thunderman and Blueie. Theme tune.
We can understand that parents are apprehensive about giving children real wireless buds, but we think Belkin is offering a good formula here.
Belkin is probably best known for its wide range of Apple accessories and chargers, but over the past few years the California company has made a big move for the headphone and smart speaker market with its soundform branding.
The company has further expanded its audio portfolio with the launch of another set of True Wireless Earbuds for adults today, along with the Nano and their premium immersion noise canceling earbuds launched at CES earlier this year.
The new SoundForm Play headphones come with 3 touch-controllable EQ presets for personalized sound and dual beam forming technology with 2 microphones per earbud for better audio resolution on calls and will go on sale later this summer for $ 59.99 / £ 49.99.