Adidas Partners with Zound to Launch Two New Headphones Designed for Runners

Move over airpods, because Adidas has put their hat in the ring with new wireless headphones. And I must say, they’re pretty great.

The Swedish-based company, Zound, partnered with Adidas to develop the in-ear and over-the-head, sleek design. At the launch Wednesday afternoon in Lower East Side Chris Light, Senior Art Director at Zound, spoke with The Knockturnal about what separates the design from other wireless bluetooth headphones on the market. “I think as a product, everything is being considered” said Light, “It’s [a] product designed for running, for going to the gym. It’s ergonomic, it fits into your life and it looks great as well. So you can just chuck it in your gym bag, but you can wear it outside the gym as well.”  

After a short video detailing the in-ear FWD-01 and over-the-head RPT-01, it was time to test the FWD-01 out with a run over the Williamsburg Bridge. Adidas provided us with some new merch which included their popular Ultra Boost sneakers, and of course, a new pair of FWD-01’s. The runners and I did some stretches, and we were off running through the streets of LES. A couple of things I liked about the headphones initially: they’re extremely lightweight, with an easy-to-manage, tangle-free cord. I enjoyed being able to hear the runner next to me while blasting my playlist. Adidas calls this feature “passive transparency,” which means the user is able to hear ambient noise while listening to their favorite song or podcast. Product Designer, Axel Bluhme, talks about the new products, “We always had the consumer in mind when designing the products. They should be able to go for a frictionless run, just plug in the headphones and go and easily find the control to adjust volume, skip tracks or pick up calls.”

Both the FWD-01 ($149 ) and the RPT-01 ($169) are available for pre-order now, and will ship September 25th.