Bragi Officially Launches $150 AirPods Competitor 'The Headphone'

Announced last September two days before the Apple iPhone 7 event, and originally planned to launch in November, Bragi's $149.00 wireless Bluetooth hearable, called "The Headphone," is now available for all users to purchase online. The Headphone includes a number of changes from Bragi's The Dash ($299) in order to make it cheaper, ranging from having physical inputs instead of touch inputs and no activity tracking.

bragi-the-headphone-3
These feature removals have also boosted battery in The Headphone, however, with users able to get up to six hours of music playback on a single charge instead of the four hours that The Dash gets in one life. With the three physical buttons on The Headphone, users can skip through tracks, take calls, make voice commands, activate audio transparency, and more without needing to take out their connected smartphone.

bragi-the-headphone-2
At $150 The Headphone is $10 cheaper than Apple's AirPods, with a few alternative design changes that might make Bragi's device more enticing for some users, like the physical playback buttons and slightly longer battery life than the AirPods' five hours. Bragi itself took to comparing The Dash, The Headphone, and AirPods in a Facebook post last September centering around nine categories that omitted the AirPods' flagship features like Siri, seamless device pairing, and iCloud sync.


Those interested can order The Headphone today from Bragi's website for $149.00, with shipping currently estimated to arrive within the next two weeks. Although The Dash is available in Black and White, The Headphone is only made in Black. A range of other Bragi accessories can also be purchased from the company's online shop, including The Leash to connect The Dash buds together and extra FitSleeves.

Related Roundup: AirPods 4
Tag: Bragi
Buyer's Guide: AirPods (Neutral)
Related Forum: AirPods

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
google pixel 10

Switching Between iPhone and Android Will Get Easier With New Apple and Google Collaboration

Monday December 8, 2025 11:10 am PST by
Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta. Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...
Apple Fitness Plus expansion hero

Apple Fitness+ Coming to 28 New Regions With Digital Voice Dubbing

Monday December 8, 2025 6:19 am PST by
Apple today announced that Fitness+ is expanding to 28 new markets on December 15 in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre. Apple Fitness+ will become available in Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions on December 15, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year....

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
116 months ago
Meh... Call me strange, but I actually prefer the look of the AirPods over these. I mean neither look great but I'd rather look like I have cigarettes hanging out of my ears than pieces of charcoal stuck in them :D
I'm with you. I find it amusing that people think the AirPods, which stick out an inch, look goofy but never complained about having a few feet of wire dangling from their heads.



Attachment Image
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
116 months ago
This is the company that bragged about beating the AirPods to market and then had to delay their own product. They gave people a PDF of a picture of their product to print and put in a box for Christmas.

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nycSAN Avatar
116 months ago
I have these, the Dash, and AirPods. Or, I did have the AirPods before I returned them. The Bragi Headphone is by far the best of the 3.

-Sound great
-Much for functional than AirPods (Can control volume, transparency, Siri, pause and play from the unit)
-Much better connectivity than Dash (I use Dash with its 4gb internal drive for music when I run, don't need to being my phone which I hate)
-I don't love the look of half the AirPod hanging out of my ear.

The Headphones are well worth the $150.
I also bought the Dash, the Headphones, and the AirPods and I came to the opposite conclusion. I returned the Bragi products and kept the AirPods.

The Dash and Headphones sound quality is completely odd -- a lack of mids, and what sounds to me like a lot of added reverb. The AirPods sound way better to me, they fit better, and the battery life and case are great. The Headphones buttons are HORRIBLE and borderline unusable (too stiff & you have to press them into your ear). With the AirPods, you just pop one out to pause. A light double tap on the AirPods and Siri pops up. And the Headphones don't even have a charging case. Sure the AirPods look a little goofy, but people know what they are -- I get stopped on the street, at work, at the gym, and people ask about them -- and sometimes flirt a little. Hey, thanks AirPods! :D

I think the Dash has potential -- but even though it had a big head start to the market, it was a total technological failure. It'll be interesting to see if they can fix the problems and keep developing the product -- it will do a lot that AirPods can't. But in my opinion, the Headphones are a joke. It's subjective though. Do what we did, buy them both, and keep what you prefer. :)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Quu Avatar
116 months ago
I feel spoiled by the W1 chip from Apple. I'd be unlikely to buy another pair of in-ear headphones after owning the Airpods. They're pretty great.

But competition is of course a great thing so I wish Bragi all the luck with these. I'm sure other companies are also soon to launch their own versions of this idea, I know Samsung already beat Apple to market with their ones.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
andy.ringwood Avatar
116 months ago
I'm extremely happy with my AirPods thanks Bragi. Nice try though.

The W1 chip is simply outstanding.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vinsalducci Avatar
116 months ago
Absolutely inaccurate. Transparency is included on Headphone, activated by pressing and holding the + button, turned off by pressing and holding the - button.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)