SMS Audio Biosport biometric earphones review: A different kind of beat

The SMS Audio Biosport earphones are probably the smallest device we've ever seen powered by an Intel processor. These in-ear headphones from 50 Cent's firm offer a new kind of audio device, one that is geared-up for our "wearable" world.

The idea is simple. These are normal earphones, but they are embedded with a sensor that keeps track of your heart rate in real-time, and a tiny Intel processor to manage the whole thing. It's an absolutely fantastic idea - but how do these earphones work in reality?

Design

The first thing you'll notice about the Biosports is that they have a slightly different-shaped earpiece. It's a bit larger than usual, and on one earphone, there is an obvious sensor. This is how the earphones take a reading from within your ear.

Three different sizes of rubber cover for the earphones are also provided. As you'd expect, these are small, medium and large. It's here that the problems begin, because there's not actually a really easy way to tell these apart. And while you might think it would be obvious, we didn't really think it was.

In our ears, none of the tips fitted that well. Perhaps we just have dainty little ears, but all felt too large and we had a lot of trouble trying to seat them properly. This created two more problems: comfort and sound quality. We'll address both points later in this review, but comfort was a real issue. No doubt many people won't have the same problem, but we would advise that you try and get a demo with these earphones before you buy, as how well you get on with them will depend on this deeply.

The rest of the headphones are standard, but the cable is flat - which we love, because it's much harder to get it tangled up than a round cable. There's also a small box on the lead, which contains the microphone and a switch to engage the heart rate monitor. You have to decide which you want to use. You can't make phone calls with the microphone when you're tracking your heart rate, but to be honest, it's unlikely that you'd want to.

There's no need for a battery to power these earphones either, which is pretty cool.

Sound quality

Here things get tricky. The sound quality is pretty good, and if your ears are the right shape for the buds, then you'll be good to go. There's a decent range of sound, and some nice bass. We, sadly, had to hold them in to hear how they would sound if they fitted properly. Because we couldn't get them to sit properly within our ears, we lost a lot of the sound range and a huge chunk of the isolation.

Once again, we think anyone whose ears these fit into properly will actually end up really enjoying the sound quality.

App support

As things currently stand, there is support for the Biosports through Runkeeper. The app is free, although there's an Elite version which offers more features. A one-month trial of Elite is provided, but the basic app will give you information and allow you to record and track your heart rate while you run.

The app is, it has to be said, really good. It's nicer - we feel - than Runtastic. It has some good features, and can even talk to you about your workout through the headphones. It feels like there's a lot of potential here for these headphones to offer as a really great workout companion, when used with the app.

Runkeeper can also talk to Google Fit, so you can keep a centralised store of all your activity.

Accuracy

Unlike wrist monitors, in-ear heart rate readings are very accurate indeed. The two best places on your body to take readings are in-ear, and from a finger. While we didn't have access to a medial reader, the heart rate seemed to tally well with those taken from our Note 4 with its finger-based readings.

Conclusion

We really wanted to like the SMS Biosports, and were it not for stupid genetics, we probably would have. They work really well, and while Runkeeper is a little confusing at first, the learning curve with it isn't huge and you'll be getting readings very quickly.

For a lot of people, these headphones won't be a good idea because they simply won't fit every ear. Please do try a pair out before you buy. And while we're talking about buying, for £130 these aren't badly priced considering how cool they actually are. They are nicely made, and ear issues aside, they work brilliantly.