Microsoft has just announced the Surface Headphones 2 alongside the Surace Book 3 and Surface Go 2. The headphones feature active noise cancelation that was much loved even in the predecessor and arrives with improved battery life and Qualcomm’s aptX support as well.

The Surface Headphones 2 features the same 13 levels of noise cancelation technology that arrived with the original, alongside the dial on the earcups that allows you to adjust the volume. The rotating adjustment of both the volume and ANC levels was a highly innovative design at the time and still holds true. Similar to the predecessor, one can still the large touch enabled surface pad on the sides to control audio playback.

Microsoft has stuck to a tried and true design and functioning which is apparent with the very few changes or additions being made to the headphones’ formula. The 40mm “Free Edge” drivers and output have made an appearance again although the Surface Headphones 2 now feature Bluetooth 5.0 support alongside Qualcomm’s aptX Bluetooth codec; in contrast to the basic SBC codec that the first generation featured.

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In terms of quality of life improvements, the Surface Heaphones 2 dials can now be rotated to 180 degrees, allowing for better controls when the headphones are simply resting on users’ necks. Under the hood, the battery that powers the headphones have received a bump with the total playback time raising to 20 hours from 15 hours when noise cancelation is enabled. Furthermore, Microsoft claims one can get nearly an hour of playback time with just a quick 5 minute charge as well.

Other features include Office integration (voice dictation) in Word, Outlook, and even PowerPoint. Additionally, Outlook can now read aloud your emails for you on iOS. The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 start shipping on 12th May 2020 for a price of 249 US Dollars (down from the original’s 349 US Dollars price tag) and comes in a single color variant, Black.

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Microsoft is apparently working on a new Surface Headphones, as per the discovery on the Bluetooth SIG certification website. The company had previously launched its Microsoft Surface Headphones back in 2018, and the ones found on the website could be its upcoming successor.

The new hearables in question could likely be the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2. The certification carried the model number 1919 and have appeared with some rather interesting details as well. The headphones will feature Bluetooth 5.0, which is an upgrade over the last generation that used Bluetooth 4.2. Furthermore, the listing also reveals that the Surface Headphones 2 will also have support for Qualcomm’s AptX, another feature that was skipped in the predecessor.

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According to the SIG certification, the new pair of Bluetooth headphones will feature improved sound quality, partly thanks to AptX, and also have a longer battery life. The official website lists 20 hours of battery life on a single full charge, which is a slight improvement over 18 hours on the original Surface Headphones with Active Noice Cancelation being turned off. Notably, with the added ANC system, battery life lasted about 15 hours.

Another unique aspect regarding the original Microsoft Surface was its rotating dial that allowed users to turn the levels of the ANC up and down depending on the direction the dial was twisted. The newer generation might adopt a similar feature since it was a highly praised design at the time. However, there is no way of confirming it right now. While the launch may be a while away, the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 could be announced as soon as next month, during the Build 2020 event. So stay tuned.

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