Urbanears is a Swedish audio company known for making stylish, contemporary headphones and speakers that are also affordably priced. It announced its first pair of true wireless earbuds, the Alby, back in early May and the $69 headphones are finally available for pre-order with an expected ship date of July 1st. You’ll notice that the Alby earbuds look very similar to some other popular truly wireless earbuds. The biggest distinction between Urbanears Alby and Apple AirPods ($159), however, is price: the Urbanears Alby cost $69, which is less than half as expensive.
Of course, the Urbanears Alby aren’t going to work exactly like Apple’s AirPods. They don’t have the special H1 chip (previously the W1 chip) that enables them to fast pair to your iPhone. They don’t have optical sensors, either, so they can’t detect when they’re in your ears and automatically play/pause. And they don’t come in a charging case that’s as snappy or well-engineered (although it does charge via USB-C). On the plus side, the Alby earbuds have an IPX4 water-resistance rating, which AirPods do not (but AirPods Pro do), so you can trust to wear them while working out. They also come in several more colors than white.
Knockoff AirPods are nothing new. We’ve written a whole story on why you probably shouldn’t buy the cheap knockoff AirPods that you see on Amazon. The difference here is that the Alby wireless earbuds are made by a reputable audio company and not some sketchy company you’ve heard of. If you’re looking for some affordable wireless earbuds that look like Apple AirPods, these are a good bet.
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