YEVO x Colette: are these the most stylish true wireless earphones yet?

Yes. Yes they are. Swedish 'hearables' get a Parisian makeover, via the gift of intense blueness

True wireless earphones are a hot area in tech right now, ever since Apple's AirPods blew up. That's 'blew up' in the good way; they aren't a 'hot area' because they keep exploding in wearers' ears. That would be bad.

True wireless buds haven't generally been the last word in chic, to date, but with the YEVO x Colette collaboration, that all changes. It's Swedish design DNA meets Parisian style. And it's very blue indeed.

In their existing ivory and onyx colourways, the YEVO buds – from the same stable as the Happy Plugs lifestyle earphones and cases – already look pretty chic. They're 'inspired by faceted precious metals and smooth shapes… to deliver advanced technology in a sleek and sophisticated way.' Obviously.

Now, Parisian boutique Colette has added a splash of colour with a limited edition pair in its 'trademark Colette blue'. The buds remain lightweight at 8g despite the fashionableness of the paint job, and a choice of six sizes of ear tip should ensure a comfortable and secure fit. Leaving you free to skateboard, do yoga, attend gallery openings and browse smorgasbords.

YEVO's in-ear, wire-free, chic-AF headphones claim to be in the 'hearables' area, rather than being mere music earbuds. Possibly that's pushing it a bit, but there are features such as 'Audio Transparency'. This lets sound from the surrounding area through at the touch of your finger. 

Noise cancelling is passive (ie: they block your ear canal) rather than active (ie: using science)

Further touch controls manage volume, taking phone calls, skipping tracks and calling up Apple Siri, Google Now and even Microsoft Cortana, for those ultra-'exclusive' users of Windows Phone.

An iOS and Android app also – hey! – gives you freedom to do your own thing, customising EQ, Audio Transparency and what the touch controls do.

Battery life is alright, by true wireless standards, at four hours per charge. The chic case can then top that up five times while you're on the go, skateboarding, enjoying something 'experiential' or checking into a boutique hotel – and that is actually much better than average.

Musically, we're promised that, "Balanced armatures from Knowles," deliver, "a safe, crystal clear audio quality, fine-tuned to hit those crisp highs and deep lows for a fully mesmeric experience." Okay.

YEVO uses NXP's Near Field Magnetic Induction (NFMI) tech to pair the buds with each other. 

Born out of the perhaps slightly-less-glamorous hearing aid industry, NFMI is power-efficient  over short distances, but the signal strength then tails off sharply, meaning nobody can listen in. 

Bluetooth 4.1 is used, as usual, to connect to your phone or other compatible gizmo in the first place.

You can only buy the blue ones from the Colette store on Rue St Honore, we're afraid, but the standard editions are yours to buy online, for €249 (about £210).

Duncan Bell

Duncan is the former lifestyle editor of T3 and has been writing about tech for almost 15 years. He has covered everything from smartphones to headphones, TV to AC and air fryers to the movies of James Bond and obscure anime. His current brief is everything to do with the home and kitchen, which is good because he is an excellent cook, if he says so himself. He also covers cycling and ebikes – like over-using italics, this is another passion of his. In his long and varied lifestyle-tech career he is one of the few people to have been a fitness editor despite being unfit and a cars editor for not one but two websites, despite being unable to drive. He also has about 400 vacuum cleaners, and is possibly the UK's leading expert on cordless vacuum cleaners, despite being decidedly messy. A cricket fan for over 30 years, he also recently become T3's cricket editor, writing about how to stream obscure T20 tournaments, and turning out some typically no-nonsense opinions on the world's top teams and players.

Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years. 

A broadcaster, raconteur and public speaker, Duncan used to be on telly loads, but an unfortunate incident put a stop to that, so he now largely contents himself with telling people, "I used to be on the TV, you know."