adidas Sport FWD-001 in Ear Bluetooth Earphones - Night Grey

Product Information

From our time using the FWD-01, the controls are satisfactory in terms of responsiveness. Using them isn’t a hassle either, which is good especially when you’re running and don’t want to fuss over the controls too much. adidas lists 16 hours of battery life, and while difficult to actually quantify, I believe battery life to be very close to this estimate. I wear them for hours per day (running, walking, using them for phone calls, house/yard chores) and seem to go for days before I remember to recharge them. You can also see a battery percentage within the app, but I rarely remember to look there for status updates (I just never need to really given the battery life, but it is a nice feature regardless). Charging is easy, simply plug in the USB-C cable provided (though very short).

The lid is detachable to avoid breakages. This hasn’t been an issue for me with other earbuds, but perhaps it’s a concern for those who are a bit rougher with their earbuds and fling them into their gym bag.

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Adidas claims that these earbuds should last over 16-hours. My usage saw around 16-hours and 20-minutes.

Four pairs of silicone eartips and earfins are included in the box, which is nice for users of different ear sizes. The fit, however, wasn’t as good as we’d hoped, as it felt rather loose while running. We wager that Adidas’ design intent on enabling some passive transparency (basically reducing the ear tip size to let in a little bit of sound for runners to be aware of their surroundings) was what led to the ear tips being loose. This compromise in comfort could be looked into should the German sporting brand decide to produce a sequel to the FWD-01. If you’re in the market for a solid pair of running or gym headphones with a marathon battery life then the Adidas FWD-01 are a solid choice. They offer decent audio quality by gym-headphone standards and come with a lengthy 16-hour battery life and fast-charge support.S0, without further ado, let’s dig in and see how they did. Adidas FWD-01 hardware showcases a new take on an old design Adidas FWD-01 comes with a simple carry case, charging cable, and extra tips and wings for a more comfortable fit That’s not necessarily a deal-breaker. But, since I really don’t want to rely on a battery bank — which itself will need to continuously be recharged — or a laptop port, it very nearly felt like one. Although I could just as easily buy or use one of my other USB-C charging cables, the inclusion of such a short cable is a real letdown. Now, right off the bat, I’d be the first to admit that even as a self-described audio junkie, I didn’t realize that Adidas even made audio devices. At least not prior to this review of the company’s Adidas FWD-01 earbuds. But that doesn’t necessarily mean a whole lot since there are hundreds of brands to keep tabs on. While they aren’t the prettiest gym headphones around, when it comes to functionality they easily match competing sets from the likes of Jaybird.

In terms of hardware aesthetics and design, Adidas FWD-01 comes in three colors — the company sent its “Night Grey” variation for review. The other colors are “Light Grey” and the multi-toned blue, coral pink, and grey “Signal Coral.” Since there’s no ANC, battery life matches the Z.N.E. 01 ANC with 6 and 25 hours. This is an area where the Adidas give up a little time to the likes of the Jabra Elite 7 Pro and JBL Reflect Flow Pro. Like the Z.N.E, the figures bandied about are fine for gym use, but they’re just about okay if we’re talking about using them more often. The included USB-C charging cable is incredibly short. It connects to an uncovered port on the right earpiece. The earphones also ship with a cool mesh/neoprene carrying pouch. The Adidas Headphones app (for Android and iOS) immediately recognizes the paired earphones and leads you through a tour of their features and customizable options. The aforementioned Action button can be set up through the app, and different actions can be assigned to single, double, and triple presses, but customization is limited to voice assistants and Spotify controls. Perhaps the app's most useful feature is the built-in five-band EQ, with several adjustable presets, as well as a user preset labeled Custom.sold out on in the UK at the time of writing. That’s the bad news – the good news is that they’re available to buy on The FWD-02 Sport are the third in a trio of true wireless buds from the Adidas and Zound Industries collaboration, with this model specifically aimed at runners. Where do the new Adidas FWD-01 sport in-ear headphones come in, then? One of the sporting giant’s first forays into the audio market, the FWD-01 is clearly intended for athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and runners as its target audience.

adidas sport headphones blend intelligent, ergonomic design with incredible sound to support you every step of the way from warm-up, to workout, right through recovery. In terms of the earbuds, those bear a hooked rubber design. With the silicone tip and wing being completely replaceable for differing ear sizes. Of course, that means they aren’t necessarily going to be the most audiophile-friendly headphones on the market. But they certainly aren’t the worst either. Especially if you keep the volume below 70-percent of the maximum. Above around 80-percent, the bass does tend to overpower. But under that, the frequency separation and distinction are actually very good. If not the best. Water- and sweat-resistance come in at IPX5, matching the Z.N.E. 01 ANC, which makes them resistant to low pressure and sustained jets of water, while the case is splash-proof at IPX4. The case is an interesting piece of design, with a “breathable” mesh top; if the earphones become wet, it allows the water to evaporate through it (and it works). The fit feels plush and comfortable, more so than the Z.N.E. 01 ANC, and the FWD-02 Sport maintain those cushy comfort levels over extended periods of time.

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We are a collective bunch of geeks who love to share our passion with the rest of the world. Just like the Beholder we have adopted as our mascot, we have both depth and width of geeky topics we cover. For extra features, Adidas also has a dedicated app which I used during my review of FWD-01. That app helps optimize audio, for the most part, but also delivers more accurate readouts for the battery level. And, best of all, the app includes customizations for the multi-function button attached to these earbuds. We test every headphones we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.