Skullcandy makes quite a few wireless earbuds and they all cost less than $100. The company’s newest wireless earbuds, the EcoBuds, stay true to form, costing just $40. But they’re also different from most other options in one major way: They don’t come with a charging case that actually charges them.
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As the name suggests, Skullcandy is positioning EcoBuds as the brand’s most sustainable wireless earbuds to date. Yes, they’re made mostly of certified recycled plastics, but what really makes them “eco-friendly” is the fact that their case doesn’t have a lithium-ion battery. That’s because, as noted by TechRadar, a report from the Institute for Energy Research found that the mining and production of lithium-ion batteries can be “worse for the climate than the production of fossil fuel vehicle batteries.”
Of course, this also means that when it isn’t plugged into a power source, the case doesn’t charge the EcoBuds, but simply holds them when they’re not in your ears.
The tradeoff is obvious. Whereas most charging cases can triple or quadruple the battery life of your wireless earbuds, the EcoBuds have a 8-hour battery life. This means you’ll have to recharge them significantly more frequently than most other wireless earbuds.
To charge the EcoBuds, you simply put them in the case and then plug the case into your smartphone, laptop or a wall adapter. The case has a built-in USB-C cable that makes it relatively simple to recharge, and it supports fast charging; a quick 10-minute charge promises two hours of juice per earbud. The phone charging (aka reverse charging) element is worth calling out: Assuming your phone has a USB-C port and a decent amount of battery life, it’ll give your buds a pretty nice boost in a pinch, on the go.
