Key Takeaways
- SkullCandy EcoBuds offer true wireless sound at a budget-friendly price of $39.99 with 8 hours of playtime.
- Eco-friendly design with recycled materials and a minimalist case.
- Good sound quality, but poor microphone for calls and no companion app for EQ.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive part of earbuds with nice sound, you usually don’t think about a completely wireless version. But the SkullCandy EcoBuds provide a true wireless experience that won’t break the bank. While there are some compromises, the earbuds provide a nice budget option with some eco-friendly credentials.
Skullcandy EcoBuds
$38 $40 Save $2
The SkullCandy EcoBuds provide true wireless earbuds for less. The built-in battery on the headphones can provide up to 8 hours of music playback. The charging dock doesn’t have a battery, but instead a USB-C cable to recharge, even from your phone. A quick 10-minute charge gives two hours of listening time in a pinch. There are three EQ modes to select from.
- Battery Life
- 8 hours
- Charging Case Included?
- Yes
- Microphones
- Yes
- Brand
- Skullcandy
- Price
- $39.99
- Solo bud mode?
- Yes
- Weight
- 2.11 ounces
- Colors
- Blue
- Noise Cancellation
- No
- Bluetooth profiles
- Bluetooth 5.2
- Impedance
- 16Ω ± 15%
- Maximum play time (overall)
- 8 hours
- Budget-friendly price
- 8 hours of playtime on a single charge
- Sweat and water resistant
- Reverse charging from smartphones
- Eco-friendly build
- Carrying case doesn’t offer much protection for the earbuds
- No companion app
- Microphone for calls is poor
A Comfortable Design and Nice Fit
Getting setup with the earbuds takes just a few minutes. There are three different ear tip sizes to choose from—small, medium, or large.
I tried all three and ended up with the medium pair. To remove an eartip, just give it slight pull. Definitely do the same if you want the best fit. It’s also important since there is no noise cancellation technology with the earbuds, a good fit can help keep out outside noise.
There are no physical buttons on the earbuds or case, just take them both out and put them in your ears to start the pairing process. With just a few taps on my iPhone, the EcoBuds were ready to go. Placing the buds back in the dock will automatically turn them off.
If you ever need to turn them off while out of the case, you can tap the skill logo and each earbud twice and then hold for 10 seconds. Press each earbud one second to turn them back on.
You can only choose from a single color of the earbuds and case—a light tie-dyed blue option. I’d like to see a few more color options to select from, but the blue definitely stands out and makes them easy to find. And it’s always nice to see something else besides the gloss-white of the AirPods lineup.
Each earbud has a short stem that’s attached to the earbuds and the ear tip itself. I’ve been using the EcoBuds for a little more than two weeks, and the secure fit is one of the best features. Since they are slightly heavier than my usual AirPods Pro, that helps them stay more secure in my ear and much less prone to falling out.
I’ve done a wide variety of outdoor activities like running and lawn mowing, and I’ve never had the EcoBuds come even close to falling out of my ear.
The EcoBuds also offer IPX4 water and sweat resistance. That means you shouldn’t be worried about being stuck in a small rainstorm or heavy, sweaty workout session. But definitely don’t dunk them in water or get caught in a horrific downpour.
Not the Usual Charging Case
A big draw of the EcoBuds are the eco-friendly credentials. They’re made from 65 percent recycled plastics and use 57 percent less heavy metals. One reason for the reduced heavy metals usage is the dock.
With most wireless earbuds, the case also features a battery than can juice them up when not in use. Skullcandy instead does away with that. Instead, there is a short USB-C cable that tucks into the back of the case.
When you need to charge, you can pull the USB-C plug out and charge. It can be used in any USB-C port, but it’s so short (at less than 4 inches long) you’ll likely be limited on where you can charge. That’s not the end of the world since you can take advantage of reverse charging from your iPhone. Just place the plug into any USB-C phone port and charge them up.
I tried reverse charging using both an iPhone 15 and older iPad Pro, and had no issues. Obviously, reverse charging will take power from your device, albeit a small amount. But for me, that’s been the best way to charge the EcoBuds.
Overall, the earbuds offer nice battery life. Skullcandy says you can go for up to eight hours of music playback on a single charge. I was able to go a little better than that in normal usage, topping around 8.5 hours before the earbuds were completely drained.
In a pinch, you can also charge the earbuds for 20 minutes and receive two hours of music listening. Unlike some other earbuds, you can use a single earbud to listen to music and more.
When in the charging dock, there is a magnetic connection to keep the earbuds in place. But unfortunately, the design is a significant downside. There’s no actual cover over the EcoBuds, which makes it very difficult to just throw them in a bag and expect them to stay in place.
I tried a few times, and each time, one earbud always unplugged from the dock. It doesn’t take much effort. When traveling, you’ll need to find a specific, small area for the EcoBuds to make sure you won’t lose in on the bottom of your bag.
And while the eco-friendly credentials are very laudable, I question how well the integrated USB-C plug will stand up to the test of time. If the wire ever has any issues, you’ll need to throw away the entire package, not particularly great for the environment.
Sound Quality is Nice, Especially for the Price
At this price range, I was interested to experience the sound quality. I wasn’t blown away, but was definitely surprised about how good music sounded. I tried a wide variety of tunes, everything from classical to hard rock.
The output was well-rounded with no real issues with bass, mids, highs, or vocals. Especially with a good eartip fit, the music sounded great, even when outside or on a run. Even at mid-range volume, everything was clear and crisp. If I needed to turn the volume up, like when I was using a lawnmower or loud outdoor equipment, volume output was almost as good.
When you need to change the track, change tracks, and more, you can make use of the touch controls on either earbud. It did take me a bit of time to learn each action, and they weren’t really intuitive. For example, to turn the volume up you press the right earbud for one second. To turn it down, you’ll do the same action on the left bud for one second.
There’s no companion app to fine-tune the sound, but there is a built-in EQ option. Press the sensor on the right earbud three times to switch between the standard music mode, bass boost mode, and podcast mode. For music, I enjoyed the bass boost mode over the standard music EQ and the podcast mode was nice when listening to an audiobook.
There is a built-in microphone on the EcoBuds to take phone calls, but I wouldn’t recommend doing that. Even in quiet spots, the person on the other end of the line said I usually sounded like I was in a hole and hard time understanding what I was saying.
Should You Buy the SkullCandy EcoBuds?
Even though I’m not a fan of the carrying case that doesn’t provide much protection or security for the earbuds while traveling, I’m willing to overlook that issue somewhat thanks to the Skullcandy EcoBuds budget-friendly $39.99 price tag.
While they don’t offer other bells and whistles that you’ll find on higher-end models like the AirPods or AirPods Pro, the EcoBuds are a nice choice—as long as you’re good with the blue color. One of the three eartip sizes should help provide the best fit possible, and even though the microphone is almost useless for phone calls, the music quality is more than acceptable, especially for this price range. Even if you have another pair of more expensive earbuds, these can easily be used as a backup.
Skullcandy EcoBuds
$38 $40 Save $2
The SkullCandy EcoBuds provide true wireless earbuds for less. The built-in battery on the headphones can provide up to 8 hours of music playback. The charging dock doesn’t have a battery, but instead a USB-C cable to recharge, even from your phone. A quick 10-minute charge gives two hours of listening time in a pinch. There are three EQ modes to select from.
- Battery Life
- 8 hours
- Charging Case Included?
- Yes
- Microphones
- Yes
- Brand
- Skullcandy
- Price
- $39.99
- Solo bud mode?
- Yes
- Weight
- 2.11 ounces
- Colors
- Blue
- Noise Cancellation
- No
- Bluetooth profiles
- Bluetooth 5.2
- Impedance
- 16Ω ± 15%
- Maximum play time (overall)
- 8 hours