Earlier this year in October, Microsoft launched two new products in China — Surface Headphone and Surface Studio 2. However, at that time, the company has not revealed the pricing and availability information.

Now, the company has updated the listing of both the devices on its online store indicating that both the devices will be available soon. The company has announced that the devices will be available for pre-sale from 3rd January. However, the pricing details still remain unknown.

Microsoft claims that the Surface Studio 2 is the “most powerful Surface ever.” It promises more “vibrancy, high graphics performance, and fast processing.” The company says that it is 38 percent brighter, with 22 percent more contrast.

It comes with a 28-inch PixelSense multi-touch 3:2 display and is powered by Intel Core i7-7820HQ 7th generation chipset, coupled with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 Graphics / GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 graphics.

It comes with either 16GB or 32GB RAM with 1TB or 2TB SSD. As for the camera, the device comes with a 5-megapixel front-facing snapper with support for Full HD video recording. There’s also a 3.5mm headset jack, Stereo 2.1 speakers with Dolby Audio Premium and dual microphones.

It comes with four USB 3.0 ports, Full-size SD card reader (SDXC) compatible, 1 x USB-C, and 1 Gigabit Ethernet port. For connectivity, the device supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 and Xbox Wireless. The device also comes with Surface Pen, Zero Gravity Hinge, and TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones is the company’s first premium and smart headphones that is claimed to offer rich audio with  40mm Free Edge driver and hands-free calling. There’s also support for adjustable noise cancellation that features automatic pause and play function. It can even pause the movie or video you are watching when you remove them from your ears.

Read More: Microsoft foldable Surface phone patent hints at a single flexible screen rather than different panels

The Surface Headphones also comes with built-in Cortana digital assistant to offer proactive guidance, read emails and more. For charging, it has a USB Type-C port and also features a 3.5mm audio connector. As for the battery life, the company promises up to 15 hours of battery life on a single charge.

The post Microsoft’s Surface Headphones and Surface Studio 2 to go on pre-sale in China in January appeared first on Gizmochina.

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.

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.

https://youtu.be/xFe_ZYtfsZg

READ MORE: Microsoft is said to be partnering with Huawei for a potential AI Chip deal in China

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.

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