Today, Microsoft announced a number of devices at its Surface event. While we were already expecting the Surface Pro 6, the Surface Studio 2, and the Surface Laptop 2; the Surface Headphones took us by surprise.
The Surface Headphones is not only Microsoft’s first headphones but also the first headphones with Cortana built-in. Google Assistant is already built-in a number of headphones such as the Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II. The Bose headphones has also gained support for Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.
Microsoft’s Surface Headphones comes in Light Gray which is the only issue we have with it. Seeing as the Surface Pro 6 and the Surface Laptop 2 both come in black, it only makes sense that the Surface Headphones also has a black variant.
The headphones appear to be well-made just like other Surface products. Each cup has a 40mm driver and a dial which allows you to adjust the volume (right cup) or adjust the level of noise cancellation (left cup, 14 different points (levels). The cups also have touch sensors for pausing/resuming playback, answering calls and skipping tracks. There is a power button and a mute button too.
The headphones has 2 beam-forming microphones on each cup and a total of 8 microphones to help you focus on the sounds that matter. The headphones will also automatically pause playback when you take them off and resumes when you put them back on.
[envira-gallery id=”214972″]The Surface Headphones connects via Bluetooth 4.2 to your Windows 10, iOS, Android, and MacOS devices. Unlike the Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2, the Surface Headphones has a USB Type-C port for charging. The headphones fully charges in under 2 hours and charging for just 5 minutes should provide up to 1 hour of music playback. It also has an audio jack in case you want to switch to wired mode.
Microsoft says it will last up to 15 hours on a single charge if you are playing music over Bluetooth, have ANC turned on, and Cortana activated and up to 50 hours in wired mode with ANC turned on.
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The Surface Headphones is priced at $350 and will come with a carrying case, a 1.5m USB-C cable, and a 1.2m audio cable. Microsoft has said the headphones will be available in the US and the UK in time for the holidays. Support for Cortana will only be available in certain regions.
