No stranger to trying new things, audio brand is introducing its first-ever pair of gaming-focused Bluetooth earbuds. The highlight feature of the company’s new Seoul earbuds is a mode toggle that Urbanista claims reduces Bluetooth latency to about 70ms. A dedicated latency toggle isn’t something we’ve seen on a lot of true wireless headphones. Most gaming-oriented earbuds use Qualcomm’s aptX Bluetooth codec to get latency as low as possible.
With the codec’s low-latency variant, Qualcomm claims you get that number down to about 40ms. The downside of aptX is both your earbuds and phone need to support the codec. That’s not a problem with most Snapdragon devices since Qualcomm makes those too, but you won’t find the codec supported on Apple devices. That’s what makes the Seoul earbuds interesting. They give you a device agnostic way to get a low-latency mode.
Aside from that feature, the Seoul earbuds are about what you expect from a pair of mid-range true wireless earbuds in 2021. At $89.90, they feature a claimed eight hours of battery life on a single charge, with the included case allowing you to get another 32 hours of playtime before the entire unit needs to recharge. At that point, you can charge them using either a USB-C cable or Qi charging pad. They’re also IPX4-certified, come with Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity and feature both Google Assistant and Siri integration. Urbanista will sell the Seoul earbuds in four colors: black, blue, purple and white.
For those looking for something more affordable, Urbanista also announced its new Lisbon earbuds. At $49.90, they’re the company’s cheapest true wireless earbuds to date. Looking at the spec sheet Urbanista sent over, they look decent too. Battery life comes in at a claimed nine hours on a single charge. With the included charging case, you can get a total of 27 hours of playtime from them. They don’t feature waterproofing, but you do get Bluetooth 5.2 support and USB-C charging, as well as Google Assistant and Siri integration. They’ll come in five colors: pastel red, beige, pink, green and black.