Philips takes on JBL with sporty wireless earbuds and two Bluetooth speakers

Philips takes on JBL with sporty wireless earbuds and two Bluetooth speakers
(Image credit: Philips)

Philips has a new range of audio products that are aimed at those looking for something that can hack the pace of sport, fitness and outdoor life. The Philips A7507 true wireless earbuds and S4807 and S7807 Bluetooth speakers are part of the Philips Sound Sport range, and look to take on the likes of AKG, JBL and Ultimate Ears for portable supremacy. 

First up, the headphones. True wireless earbuds have exploded in popularity of late, so making a pair that stands out is no mean feat. The Philips A7507 have plenty going for them – they promise large, low distortion, graphene-coated drivers, and they work with both the hi-res LDAC and Apple AAC codecs.

There's also a new ANC (active noise-cancellation) Pro system, which includes a dedicated algorithm for reducing noise generated by wind. And bone-conducting microphones make your speech clearer on calls, even in noisy environments.

You get eight hours of run time from the earbuds, plus another 21 hours from the carry case. That's good, but not class-leading. Juicing them up for 15 minutes will give you an hour of use.

Philips takes on JBL with sporty wireless earbuds and two Bluetooth speakers

(Image credit: Philips)

Next up, the Bluetooth speakers. There are two models: the Philips S4807 and bigger, more powerful S7807. Like any decent outdoor speaker, both models are rugged and water-resistant, while a carry strap makes them easy to lug about.

The S7807 has a 20mm tweeter and two 70mm mid/bass woofers plus a passive radiator to give deep bass and clear mids and highs. It provides 40W of power and a runtime of 24 hours. It can also double as a portable charger for your phone or tablet, thanks to its 5000mAh battery – though expect its own battery life to suffer when charging another device.

The smaller S4807 packs a 20mm tweeter, a 45mm mid/bass driver and two passive radiators. Power is 10W while it will run for 12 hours before needing a recharge. Unlike its bigger brother, it can't work as a portable charger for your other devices.

Both models have Bluetooth 5.2, handsfree calls via push to talk and voice assistant activation for speak to control. You can pair both with each other to create stereo sound.

Both come in black and red or white and yellow finishes with grey accents.

In truth, neither the headphones nor the speakers offer anything we haven't seen before from rival brands. But if Philips can nail the sound quality and the price, it could be onto a winner.

Look out for full reviews later in the year.

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Joe Svetlik

Joe has been writing about tech for 17 years, first on staff at T3 magazine, then in a freelance capacity for Stuff, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Men's Health, GQ, The Mirror, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.