Soul Electronics, a Lake Mary, Florida-based global leader in consumer electronics and manufacturing, has developed Run Free Bio – a set of smart sports headphones that wants to help runners become better runners. The headphones include innovative tech that’s capable of delivering the same kind of gait analysis you’d normally have to go to a specialist running store for.
The wireless in-ears were unveiled back in January at CES and they’re now available to buy in the US for $149.99 with a launch outside of the US slated for later in 2018, reports Wareable.
The Run Free Bio looks just like an average pair of sporty in-ear headphones. Available in red or gray, the headphones have a built-in remote for music and call control with a small compartment hiding away the microUSB charging port.
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The sweat proof in-ears include replaceable ear tips and ear hooks to give you the most comfortable fit.
For the night time runners, the reflective cable aids visibility and there’s an LED safety light in the bottom of the battery that’s built into the cable. It can be switched on or off depending on the time of the day you choose to run.
As for the sound quality, although they don’t roar, but they’re definitely not on the quiet side either. Wareable’s Michael Sawh tried out a pair of these and he wrote: “It’s a nice balance and it was overall a solid listening experience with decent isolation and no signs of leaking. There’s no in-app equalizer to tinker with the sound profile, but most people are going to be satisfied with what these muster up out of the box.”
The BiomechEngine collects data on cadence, head angle, vertical oscillation, step width, symmetry and shock, which is then used to offer more advanced running metrics to review post run in the app.
If you want to get the coaching hit you’ll need to download the Soul Fit smartphone app, which is available for both iOS and Android. Along with cadence, step width etc., it also gives you data related to injury risk with information related to leg stiffness, shock, max force, symmetry and consistency.
The headphones do not have built-in GPS sensors, so you’ll need your phone with you to track routes and to experience the real-time coaching.
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“The Run Free Bio has something going for it that the Lumo Run doesn’t though, and that’s building its coaching powers into headphones, something I and no doubt a lot of people will always run with. It’ll take a fair few more runs to really know if those coaching insights are making a difference, but it looks like the folks at Soul Electronics could be on to something here,” wrote Sawh.
