Sola wants to be the world's first pair of solar-powered wireless headphones

With so many smartphones losing the 3.5mm headphone jack, like Apple's iPhone 7 or the rumoured Samsung Galaxy S8, more people are turning to wireless headphones.

However, one of the common complaints is about battery life. While Apple claims that its Airpods have five hours of listening time on one charge, that's still not enough for a day of use, and the alternatives that are available don't fare much better.

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Sola, a pair of wireless headphones that have solar charging built-in, want to change that. According to its Indiegogo campaign, using solar power can extend the listening time of conventional headphones by 25-30%.

That could add up to two and half hours to its eight hours of use. And if you want to charge it faster, you can still use the USB connection to fill its battery in two hours.

The design of the Sola headphones also features noise dampening, an omni-directional microphone, and a 30ft wireless range.

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Helios headphones, an earlier solar effort

Helios headphones, an earlier solar effort

This isn't the first bit of solar-powered hi-fi tech that we've seen. At CES 2013, Eton unveiled the solar-powered Rugged Rukus and Rukus XL wireless speakers.

Similarly, CES 2015 saw Braven announce the BRV-PRO wireless speaker that could have a solar-panel fitted to it. Roberts' SolarDAB radio also harnessed the sun to increase it's 27-hour battery life.

This isn't even strictly the first pair of solar-powered headphones that have tried to be crowdfunded - Helios (pictured) attempted to achieve the same goal in 2014, but unfortunately did not meet its goals.

While Britain isn't the sunniest place in the world, any step to make wireless headphones last longer is one in the right direction.

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Adam was a staff writer for What Hi-Fi?, reviewing consumer gadgets for online and print publication, as well as researching and producing features and advice pieces on new technology in the hi-fi industry. He has since worked for PC Mag as a contributing editor and is now a science and technology reporter for The Independent.