Did you know Target has its own technology brand?
I didn’t until I was asked whether I’d like to try out a few of its new products.
The products are sold under the Heyday brand, and I was sent three items — a Bluetooth speaker, a pair of earphones and an iPhone charging cable — to review.
The Heyday collection includes phone and tablet cases, smartwatch bands, chargers, cables, earphones and more.
Portable Bluetooth speaker
We’ve all seen Bluetooth speakers. I’ve tried expensive speakers and cheap ones. I’ve heard good cheap speakers and lousy expensive ones. The Heyday Round Portable Bluetooth Speaker ($59.99, www.target.com) is somewhere in the middle.
The 8-inch round speaker is shaped like a big M&M, and it’s covered in a tweedy gray fabric.
The front houses the speaker, which sounds like a single driver, but I couldn’t find any specifications about the speaker(s) inside. I’ll just say it sounded fine. It was bright when I played classical and sufficiently boomy when I played other types of music.
It can stream music via Bluetooth from your phone, computer or tablet, and it has a 3.5mm aux-in jack to connect wired devices like an iPod.
The built-in battery is charged with an included microUSB cable, and the speaker can play for more than 16 hours on a charge.
The speaker has an FM tuner, but since there is no display, you have to scroll through the stations with the playback buttons. Finding a specific station was painful. I appreciate the FM inclusion, but the execution was not very slick.
The speaker is designed to prop up on a flat surface like a picture frame. There is a small plastic piece with two legs that form a stand when attached to the speaker.
I broke the plastic legs the first day I used the speaker. I’m sure I could reattach the legs to the speaker with the right glue, but for $60, I expect better quality.
Also, one of the playback buttons on the front was hanging off when I removed the speaker from the box. I was able to stick it back in place, but it made me think the build quality was poor from the start.
The speaker looks nice and sounds decent, but the current design needs work.
In-ear headphones
We all have headphones. Usually they come with another product, like your smartphone. Some people opt for much nicer headphones, and some people are happy with whatever pair they can find to use.
If there’s one thing I know about headphone use, it’s that you will destroy them eventually.
When it is time to shop for headphones, Target’s Heyday Wired In-Ear Headphones ($9.99) are a pair that are priced low but do deliver a bit more than I expected from a cheap pair of headphones.
They sound decent. They sound like a $10 pair of headphones, which I’d expect.
The earpieces are all plastic, and they’re shaped like Apple’s EarPods. Target calls it “comfort fit” but while they were not uncomfortable, there were no different-sized tips to help with the fit. They are not designed to seal in your ear.
They have an in-line volume control and a play/pause button along with a microphone so you can use them for hands-free calls on your phone.
The 4-foot cord is covered with a black, braided material, and they come with a lined tweedy carrying case.
Charging cable
Everyone needs to charge their phone, and the cable Apple includes is nice, but it’s hardly the best on the market.
Target’s Heyday 6-foot Lightning to USB-A Braided Cable ($19.99) is a definite step up from any cables included with your iPhone.
The braided cable is made from thermoplastic polyurethane, which means it is resistant to abrasion and has very good flexibility.
I’m very happy with the cable construction, which has metal plug housings and dense rubber sleeves to keep the cable from bending too much at the connectors.
This is a quality cable that anyone would be proud to own.
If you own an Android phone, Heyday makes USB-C and micro-USB cables.
The Heyday products come in different color families, which will appeal to some buyers: There’s rose/gold, graphic black and white, and an array of solid colors to choose from, even for the charging cables.
I think the Heyday products are mostly good.
Target has some work to do on its support for these products. I tried to find product manuals or support information on its website, but there weren’t any to find. Target needs to add documentation for each product and perhaps a knowledge base to help customers find answers.
I think Target is smart to get into the gadget business. People shopping in Target stores for earbuds or charging cables or phone cases are going go buy something, so they might as well buy a Target-branded product.
