These New Sunglasses Will Actually Vibrate Music Into Your Skull

Meet the Zungle Panther, a pair of Oakley-esque sunglasses that also double as wireless headphones with another twist — they vibrate music through your skull and into your inner ear.

This technique, known as bone-conduction, is not new, but Zungle had the innovative idea of incorporating it into sunglasses. The sunglasses come equipped with Bluetooth audio playback that connects to your smartphone, with a built in mic for hands-free voice calls, and a battery life that supports up to 4 hours of music playback.

The big draw of the Zungle Panther is that it allows wearers to bump their favorite tunes without blocking out the ambient noise from their surroundings, which means for example that cyclists can hear the noise of oncoming traffic while listening to their workout playlist.

The frames are also available in five different colors, with a cool bonus: the lenses are interchangeable. The UV400 lenses come in seven colors allowing wearers to tailor their eyewear to their wardrobe.

The shades are priced at $150 ($99 if you order early) and are currently being funded on Kickstarter. Zungle has already raised $138,000 against its original goal of $50,000 so it looks like there is plenty of interest.

That being said, the Zungle Panther has its drawbacks. Its four-hour battery life is relatively weak compared to other alternatives. Another notable downside to these shades, besides the fact that some people listen to music precisely in order to block out their surroundings, is that others in your vicinity will also be able to hear the music that you are playing, which could be rather embarrassing.