It’s all well and good taking your Xbox gaming experiences to the mobile scene, making the most of Xbox Game Pass, Project xCloud and the chance to play Xbox titles on your mobile phone. But what do you do with the audio? Well, a decent pair of earbuds is one option, but Fauna have another – stylish audio eyewear.Â
Bear with me here, because the words ‘stylish audio earwear’ conjure up all manner of weird ideas, but basically what Fauna have created are a set (or sets) or glasses with in-built speakers and microphones, making them pretty much perfect for gamers – and others – who are looking to play on the go.Â
For the most part if you decide to utilises Xbox Game Pass and Project xCloud, making the most of the likes of the Razer Kishi or GAMESIR X2, then a set of decent earbuds are your friend. We love what EPOS have created with their GTW 270 Hybrid Wireless Gaming Earbuds, but are equally as excited by what Fauna are delivering to market, with their Spiro Transparent Brown sunglasses and Memor Havana glasses with blue light filter lenses. Even more so when you consider that prescription lenses can be used.Â
Our only real hands-on with gaming glasses comes with the superb Gunnar Lightning Bolt 360, but Fauna look to be ready to one-up them with their revolutionary audio glasses.Â
Available in both the UK and US from either Look Again or Fauna direct, both models of glasses – the Spiro Transparent Brown and the Memor Havana – are compatible with iPhone 5 or later, Android 6.0 or later, and Bluetooth 5.0, all up to a range of 10 metres.Â
So what exactly do we have? Well, Fauna is a designer audio eyewear brand that creates fashionable eyewear which delivers crystal clear sound. The first audio glasses without chunky temples that actually look like glasses, these products protects a wearer’s eyes from sun or blue light whilst allowing for a vivid sound when listening to music, audiobooks, watching a movie or playing Xbox Game Pass titles over mobile. Complete with integrated microphones for voice assistants and making phone calls, they cover all bases.Â
They work with the integration of tiny lightweight micro speakers and microphones which are built into the frames of Fauna glasses, giving hours of great audio without compromising on comfort. Each module includes a patented MEMS microspeaker, an electrodynamic speaker, a touch-pad, associated electronics and a battery. This sees two microphones also integrated into the right temple with beam-forming and echo cancelling, all whilst keeping the temples slim and lightweight. In fact, the glasses come weighing just 50g.
As you may expect to hear, these are pretty unique and Fauna are promising that as the audio travels directly to the wearer’s ears with major leakage, it should not disturb others in the vicinity. But at the same time, all users will be able to clearly hear what is going on around them.Â
The Spiro and Memor Havana both come with high-quality Italian acetate frames with adjustable temple lengths, and this allows for optimal fit and wearing comfort.
Fauna audio glasses come with a charging case that allows re-charging of the glasses on the go up to five times and connects via Bluetooth directly with any smartphone or PC; there is no specific app required. The glasses are controlled by touching and swiping on the temples. You should expect to get something in the region of 20 hours of use in standby, and more than 5 hours of music, voice assistant and games audio power. They have 100mAh batteries in the glasses and a 1300mAh battery in the case to cover nearly all situations. Throw in a 2 hour charging time, IP52 water and dust resistance and you’ve got all the bases covered. Oh, and as mentioned, the lenses can be switched out for prescription ones by any optician.Â
The Memor Havana model includes replaceable Zeiss DuraVision© BlueProtect lenses which reduce blue light exposure from computers and phones which is proven to affect the circadian rhythm and cause poor sleep before bed. The Spiro model includes replaceable Carl Zeiss Vision sun lenses, protecting eyes from UVA and UVB rays. Both models come with a 2-year warranty from purchase to ensure users are covered and have peace of mind when using.Â
So, got some cash burning a hole and need something to spend it on? You should be well sorted with what Fauna are providing – especially if you’re a mobile gamer playing through the power of the cloud and Xbox Game Pass.Â