Fairphone Fairbuds 2 go on sale: repairable earbuds with LDAC and up to 40 hours of battery

Fairphone's second-generation wireless earbuds are out. The Fairbuds 2 went on sale in Europe and the UK on 14 October for €119 / £99, and a US launch at $119 follows on 2 November. As with the first Fairbuds, the pitch is simple: earbuds you can fix yourself instead of throwing away when a battery wears out.

A smaller, stemmed redesign

The new model switches to a stemmed design in black or green, and according to The Verge the charging case is 37% smaller than before. Despite the smaller hardware, battery life nearly doubles. Fairphone quotes up to 40 hours in total with the case and noise cancelling off, while The Verge reports about 8 hours from the buds alone (around 6 with ANC). Charging is via USB-C only; there's no wireless charging.

Sound and connectivity

• 11 mm bio-cellulose drivers tuned for a natural sound profile.
• Active noise cancelling that Fairphone rates at up to 45 dB.
• LDAC support for higher-bitrate Bluetooth audio from compatible Android phones (the original Fairbuds only had SBC and AAC).
• Multipoint, with up to six devices remembered, and an adjustable EQ in the app.
• IP54 protection against dust and splashes.

Repairability is still the point

There are seven user-replaceable parts. The battery in each earbud comes out in under a minute without tools, and the case battery sits behind a single T5 screw. Spare parts will be sold through Fairphone's shop, and the buds carry a three-year warranty.

Fairphone also lists what's inside: 46.8% fair and recycled materials by weight, 73% recycled plastics, recycled rare-earth elements in the speaker magnets, a PFAS-free exterior, and gold, cobalt and silver covered by fair-mining credits. The company says assembly runs on renewable energy.

At €119 the Fairbuds 2 are competing with plenty of mainstream mid-range earbuds, but few rivals let you swap a worn battery yourself. That's becoming more relevant as EU rules on replaceable batteries begin to push other brands in the same direction. If you are choosing between noise-cancelling models, our ANC headphones guide explains what to compare.