Do you churn via wi-fi earbuds shortly sufficient that you simply’re looking forward to an improve each couple of years? Nura might need an answer. The Nuratrue maker has launched Nurabuds that are not fairly as refined as the sooner mannequin (extra on that in a second), however are solely obtainable via a “Nuranow” subscription. Pay $5 per 30 days (plus a $19 one-time price) and you will get a recent set of earbuds each 24 months, very similar to your service’s cellphone installment plan.

You’ll additionally get “discounts, benefits and giveaways” as a part of your month-to-month outlay, based on Nura.

The Nurabuds themselves are related on the floor to the Nuratrue buds from earlier than, full with energetic noise cancellation and a world-amplifying social mode (ambient or transparency mode on rival gadgets). They’re IPX4 water resistant, too. Battery life is proscribed to 4 hours for the buds and 10 hours with the charging case, although. More importantly, you may’t carry out the Nuratrue’s signature listening to check — you will must both import an current profile or belief that Nura’s “in-house” sound meets your wants.

This is likely to be a viable choice should you use your earbuds usually sufficient to put on down the battery in two years, or should you simply need to keep present. However, the subscription mannequin won’t make sense should you aren’t a stickler for Nura’s (admittedly fairly good) audio high quality. Amazon’s second-gen Echo Buds, for instance, supply ANC, water resistance and different useful options for as little as $100 in a one-time cost that allows you to improve by yourself phrases. Nura is clearly betting that its fame and other people’s habits will work in its favor — presumably a smart wager, however a wager nonetheless.