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Design for Selfish People? Miniature Speakers That Clip Onto Your Eyeglasses

JLab Audio's JBuds, ostensibly for situational awareness

By Rain Noe - January 14

Pre-pandemic I was at an airport in New York, and a 20something sat down next to me with headphones on--but not on. Instead he had them around his neck and with the earcups turned up, blasting his music so that the entire terminal could "enjoy" it.

I found this stunningly rude, but I think it's where we're headed as a society. Case in point are these JBuds Frames by JLab Audio, just unveiled at CES. They're essentially portable Bluetooth speakers that clip to the side of your eyeglasses.

At just $50, they're bound to be attractive to those seeking inexpensive ways to express themselves while disturbing others. For their part, JLab claims that "Their open-ear design features appropriately sized 16mm drivers that produce sound perfect for personal use, without being heard by those close by," and, well, I'll believe it when I see and don't hear it.

To be fair to the company, their rationale for this product is that it "allows the wearer to be acutely aware of their surroundings while listening to audio content in any activity," which I fully support, particularly if you live in a city. I just have a bad feeling that that's not how these are going to be used.

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Design for Selfish People? Miniature Speakers That Clip Onto Your Eyeglasses

Bill Byrne

3 months ago

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They're designed to be an alternative to the Bose Frames and Amazon glasses. https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/frames.html

Should be great for running.

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Jacob Breinholt

3 months ago

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These actually seem to be taking a step backward in terms of tech. There are several currently available sunglass/speaker integrations that use bone conductivity to achieve the same objective without actually being audible to anyone but the wearer.

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- Aleex Du
  
  Jacob Breinholt
  
  3 months ago
  
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Rain Noe

I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.