Beats by 3M? Latest noise-cancelling headset boasts solar charging, improved audio

3M isn’t out to compete with Apple or Beats, but the company’s new solar-powered, noise-reducing, Bluetooth-equipped headset might interest audiophiles as much as avid woodworkers.

For about $170, 3M’s new WorkTunes headset boasts many of the same specs as high-end headphones for half the price, plus a solar cell that charges the unit. But they look like the typical bulky earmuffs worn on lawnmowers or at work sites because these are meant for hearing protection first — everything else is a bonus.

“We focus on protecting hearing when snow blowing, leaf blowing, on the job site,” said Jason Lunn, a 3M engineer. “And if people like to wear them outside the job to listen to music, that’s great, too.”

The Maplewood-based manufacturer released its latest consumer version of the WorkTunes headset this fall aimed at landscapers, construction workers and anyone else who might need hearing protection on the job or around the home.

The first-of-its-kind release comes as CEO Bill Brown pushes hard for more new product launches to drive growth.

“It has to happen. ... You can’t drive sustained organic growth at 3M if you’re not sustainably driving new product introductions, new-to-the-world creations,” Brown said at an investor conference in September. Plus, he said, “we have much better margins on newer products.”

While 3M’s basic hearing-protection headset is far less expensive than its latest offering, Lunn said customers have asked for extras in the decade since WorkTunes were released — radio, Bluetooth and now a reliable power source. The headset has a 26-decibel noise reduction rating.

“We need to be ahead of competitors, and now is a good time to refresh the brand,” he said.

Globally, the hearing-protection device market sits at $2.2 billion and could grow to $6 billion over the next decade, according to market researcher Fact.MR.

The solar-charging band atop the headset can use indoor light as well as sunlight to power a lithium-ion battery that holds a 41-hour charge. That technology comes from Swedish company Exeger, which uses a 3M film in the solar cell.

“The launch of the world’s first self-powered consumer hearing protector marks a new chapter in Exeger’s collaboration with 3M, combining cutting-edge innovation with practical solutions,” Exeger CEO Giovanni Fili said in a statement.

Lunn said the companies will continue working together to find other ways to put the flexible solar chargers on 3M products. An industrial version of the solar-charging headset was released last spring.

Beyond the benefit of continuous power, 3M estimates the solar headsets could keep millions of batteries out of landfills every year. That kind of downstream impact could help the company reach its recently announced Scope 3 emissions target.