If you are a fan of both fitness and wearable technology, chances are good that you own both earbuds and a fitness tracker

Trackers, or smartwatches, record exercise data so you can monitor your progress and improve your technique, while earbuds provide audio entertainment in the form of podcasts and workout playlists

However, Soul Blade seeks to offer both devices in one package

With a retail price of $199, the Blade, which will be available around the end of March, is the first truly wireless earbuds with built-in heart rate monitoring and "personalized AI voice coaching" to help you run at your best

This is an evolution of Soul's Run Free Pro Bio earphones, which were released in 2019 They offered a similar feature set, but were not truly wireless like the Blade

Soul initially showed off the Blade last year and launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds, but a retail launch is scheduled for the first quarter of this year

The Soul Fit companion app provides access to all of the Blade's special features With this app, users can see the measurements taken by Blade and challenge other friends to be the first to reach certain milestones

Blade specifically monitors "gait parameters," a series of measurements related to how you walk and run This is done by tracking head movements and is calibrated in a two-step process prior to beginning running

Once the exercise session is complete, the data can be viewed in the app This includes information such as running consistency, stride length and distance, step takeoff and landing strength, and, of course, the Blade's signature feature: heart rate

If you need to adjust your form during a workout, the app will let you know with instructions that flow from your earphones

By following the app's advice, your running should become more efficient and hopefully prevent potential injuries; if the AI voice coaching sounds grating, you have the option to turn it off

The buds themselves have touch controls, with various numbers of taps to access music and call controls Also in the box are four different sized c-shaped earpieces, the unusual shape of which prevents them from swaying during exercise

Both earphones also have dual microphones and limited noise cancellation for calls

A "transparent audio" mode, similar to products like the AirPods Pro, is available This mode allows the user to block out ambient sound, but if they want to keep track of their surroundings, they can instead capture sound through the microphone

Even the Blade's mundane features are impressive: it is IPX7 waterproof, so there is no need to worry about a sudden downpour damaging the buds

Battery life is also very long, with the buds lasting 5 hours on a single charge (6 hours with fitness tracking turned off) and the case providing a total of 96 hours of playback on 15 charges

The case's USB-C port can also charge another device with the built-in 2,580mAh battery in case of power shortages

You may be skeptical why you would want fitness tracking with earphones when you have a perfectly functional smartwatch Soul's answer to this is that earphone-based tracking is more accurate for certain measurements because, unlike the independently moving arms, the head is always in alignment with the body's center of gravity

The company admits, however, that it is unlikely that the Blade will be worn for extended periods of time as a wrist-worn tracker would be

At $199, the Soul Blade costs more than any of the best sport earbuds currently available However, it also offers more than that, including detailed running analysis and impressive battery life

You'll have to try the Blade for yourself when it finally ships, but at least on the surface, Soul may have the ideal earbuds for runners