Adidas Headphones is seemingly on a mission to revamp its entire lineup of workout earbuds. After announcing the Z.N.E. 01 ANC true wireless in October 2021, Adidas is back with another new release/update, the FWD-02 SPORT, that is said to "offer a superior experience for runners seeking freedom, uncompromising sound quality and innovative features designed to help them go further."
The actual specs are unknown but it's promising that the new headphones were designed with the help of Adidas Runners, an international community of recreational runners, so one can assume Adidas and Zound Industries, co-creators of the buds, did their homework and tested the buds with actual runners so they provide a good user experience for active people.
Adidas FWD-02 SPORT: Price and release date
The Adidas FWD-02 SPORT is available from today, 3 Feb 2022, and can be bought directly from Adidas Headphones (opens in new tab) for a recommended retail price of $169.
It joins the recently launched Adidas Headphones true wireless family of earbuds including Adidas Z.N.E. 01 ANC (opens in new tab) and Adidas Z.N.E. 01 (opens in new tab), as mentioned above.
UK and UA price and availability TBC.
Adidas FWD-02 SPORT: Dry it while you store it
New and notable features of FWD-02 SPORT includes customisable ear wings and tips to provide the perfect fit for any runner and a new force touch interface that allows runners to control media, regardless of weather conditions, running gear or sweaty fingertips.
In addition, the FWD-02 SPORT has a compact carry case with a breathable mesh fabric lid that displays battery level and helps dry earbuds from sweat or water when stored. If Adidas could introduce in-case blue light treatment, that would make the FWD-02 SPORT the ultimate earbuds for workouts.
Adidas even thought about people running in cold weather wearing the FWD-02 SPORT: the headphones have a force sensor so you can use control playback even when you're wearing running gloves. The FWD-02 SPORT is also water-rated to IPX5 so you don't have to worry about getting it sweaty or wet.
I wouldn't recommend showering in them, though. Surely you can live without listening to music while in the shower.
It's not just the physical design of the buds that's been improved since the first iteration (opens in new tab). The FWD-02 SPORT now has an awareness mode that lets external sounds in so runners can hear cars and bikes approaching even if they aren't looking. Ambient noise mode is not cutting technology in 2022 but it's nice to know it's included here.
As for battery life, the Adidas FWD-02 SPORT will last for up to 6 hours between charges and there is another 19 hours' worth of juice in the self-drying case.
