The world of true wireless audio has come a long way, taking on multiple forms and styles to match your lifestyle. The Chinese smartphone company, Huawei has collaborated with South Korean eyewear company Gentle Monster for a smart pair of sunglasses – Huawei X Gentle Monster Eyewear. It doesn’t just shade your eyes from the sun, but provides you a truly unique wireless audio experience at the same time.
Design
The design of the Huawei X Gentle Monster Eyewear looks almost like any other pair of sunglasses in the market, but it’s what lies underneath that makes it special. The pair I have is the Smart Jackbye-01, which looks more like an aviator and more suited for men. The other design is the Smart Eastmoon-01, which looks more feminine and suited for women. But I’m not here to tell you which pair you’re meant for. As long as you like the design, go for it.
When I first held and unfolded it, I immediately loved the heft and build quality of the glasses. It feels sturdy, doesn’t seem likely to break easily, and there’s not a lot of flexing either. It has just the right amount of weight, because I don’t like my sunglasses too light. The weight also helps keep the sunglasses in place when it’s resting on your nose bridge.
Another thing I really like about the Huawei X Gentle Monster Eyewear is the casing. It doesn’t just keeps the glasses safe, but put it back into the charging case, it starts charging to give you even more audio listening time. The best part is, it charges via USB Type-C, which is a big bonus.
Also, the Huawei X Gentle Monster Eyewear is rated IP67, meaning it has water and dust resistance to keep it protected from moist or dirt from the surrounding environment.
As for comfort, the Huawei X Gentle Monster Eyewear feels snug and doesn’t come off easily if you’re jumping or running a short distance. After hours of use, I feel no soreness or eye fatigue at all.
Audio
For a pair of smart sunglasses, how good can the quality be? Audio stutter is the main issue when it comes to true wireless sound devices and the Huawei X Gentle Monster Eyewear doesn’t have any of that. The connection is smooth and I could walk 10 meters away till it starts losing connection.
One thing about the audio is that it cannot be too loud. Once you increase the volume to the max, the audio starts distorting and everyone beside you could clearly hear your music or calls. The glasses also tend to vibrate when the volume is too loud. You can only feel this when you’re touching the sides of the frame, and not on your face.
Because it uses a dual-speaker with a semi-open design, the audio cavity is supposed to output directional sound beams into your ear canal. However, if the shape of your head isn’t angled properly (I can’t help it, I was born this way), the audio might get lost into the open environment.
Audio quality wise, the highs and mids are fairly good, but with little to non-existent lows. But because of its slim profile, you can’t expect much bass either. It’s good enough for your “Pop Music” and “Chill Beats” playlist on Spotify.
Call Quality
I must say, call quality on the Huawei X Gentle Monster Eyewear is impressive. The audio is loud and crystal clear, with the receiving end also hearing clear audio from the glasses’ microphones. There is no active noise cancellation, but the intelligent noise reduction feature does help with blocking out some of the surrounding noise. It’s a super convenient feature to have in a pair of glasses, but as I’ve mentioned above, if the audio level is too high, others could listen in on your conversations.
Sensor
Being a pair of smart sunglasses, the Huawei X Gentle Monster Eyewear has a few smart features up its frame. When you take it off, it pauses the music you’re playing. When you put it back on, it automatically resumes.
You will find the sensor to play/pause music on the right side frame of the glasses. Double tap to play or pause your music, and that’s it. There isn’t any other tap combos to change the music or increase/decrease the volume. The microphone doesn’t pick up “Okay, Google” commands, but that’s okay.
Battery Life
During my time of testing, I was able to get 2 hours 15 minutes of non-stop music playback on a full charge. However, because of the short amount of time I have with the device, I was unable to test whether the casing could provide an additional 6 hours of battery life. But considering the battery life I could squeeze out of one full charge and the size of the charging case, I would think Huawei’s claim of a total of 8 hours of music playback would be credible.
Pricing and Availability
The Huawei X Gentle Monster Eyewear is part of Huawei’s AI Smart Life ecosystem and is priced at RM1,599. It comes complete with the Huawei X Gentle Monster charging case in white, and can be purchased from all Huawei Experience Stores nationwide.
To learn more about the Huawei X Gentle Monster Eyewear, check out the official website here.