Last updated: March 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.
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The Fairbuds XL review you didn't expect to go like this: Fairphone's over-ear headphones are not the compromise you'd assume. The sound is genuinely fun, the build is impressively sustainable, and there is a single control feature that every major headphone maker should have nicked by now and somehow hasn't. They're not perfect — the ANC and feature set have real limitations — but as a statement of intent about what consumer electronics could look like, these headphones are hard to argue with.
Cool Factor
★★★★☆
4 out of 5 — Stone cold