Microsoft Announces Surface Headphones- Wireless, Noise-Cancelling, and.. Cortana

[VSG]

Alongside refreshes galore to their Surface hardware lineup of laptops, all-in-one devices and convertible PCs, Microsoft did have a surprise announcement as part of their media event earlier today. This included a whole new product genre under the Surface brand in the form of headphones.

The new Surface headphones join the current trend of audiophile-rated wireless headphones, which sounds like a misnomer in itself, and comes with 13 levels of noise cancellation with 8 microphones for the process controlled via an adjustment dial as per Anandtech. This is an over-the-ear style headphones offering beam-forming for hands-free calling and Cortana support for when you want to use Microsoft's take on the virtual assistant. Pairing via Bluetooth and coming in the now-standard Surface gray color scheme, the Surface headphones are priced at $349 and will be available later this year.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I know it’s cynical, but I have a hard time showing any interest in anything wearable from MS. Band 2 was awesome technically, except for the horrible build quality, and then they killed it entirely. Are we supposed to trust that they can make headphones now and support them for years? Does it work with Xbox? Knowing MS, it probably doesn’t.

 

[Easo]

The problem with Cortana is that it seems to be in halfdead, halfdevelopment stage.
And, of course, totally useless in most of the world.

 

[Xaled]

design very similar to https://www.digitaltrends.com/headphone-reviews/plantronics-backbeat-go-600-review/ ?

 

[Totally]

I know it’s cynical, but I have a hard time showing any interest in anything wearable from MS. Band 2 was awesome technically, except for the horrible build quality, and then they killed it entirely. Are we supposed to trust that they can make headphones now and support them for years? Does it work with Xbox? Knowing MS, it probably doesn’t.

The first band one was the one that was shitty the second pretty much solved all the complaints. Judging by your comment the stigma unduly carried over to the Band 2, so it makes since for them to kill it. My one gripe that carried over was that the band aren't replaceable and overtime all the knicks and whatnot stack up and the whole thing needs to be replaced when the wrist straps go bad.

 

[holyprof]

Microsoft Announces Surface Headphones - ok with me, riding the "surface" brand train
Wireless - ok with me, Apple, Samsung and other brands say wireless is the future and the 3.5mm jack must die.
Noise-Cancelling - ok with me.
and.. Cortana - hell no!!! I have my desktop PC, laptop and smartphone spying on me, now my headphones???

Also, for US$ 350 there certainly are better alternatives from brands that actually develop and manufacture audio equipment instead of modifying some cheap chinese product and adding useless software to it.
I would rather buy the anti-audiophile, bragging rights Beats Studio3 Wireless for the same price. I've never tried them but I'm sure they look better and reproduce sound better than this useless MSFT product.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

The first band one was the one that was shitty the second pretty much solved all the complaints. Judging by your comment the stigma unduly carried over to the Band 2, so it makes since for them to kill it. My one gripe that carried over was that the band aren't replaceable and overtime all the knicks and whatnot stack up and the whole thing needs to be replaced when the wrist straps go bad.

I never owned the first Band, but I gave Band 2 a try. I loved the device, but the straps failed almost immediately. First band tore after 3 months, and it’s warranty replacement failed even sooner. The third replacement I received went immediately to eBay. Some will argue abuse, but I’ve been wearing the same Series 0 Apple Watch for 2 years with no quality issues whatsoever.

 

[Totally]

I never owned the first Band, but I gave Band 2 a try. I loved the device, but the straps failed almost immediately. First band tore after 3 months, and it’s warranty replacement failed even sooner. The third replacement I received went immediately to eBay. Some will argue abuse, but I’ve been wearing the same Series 0 Apple Watch for 2 years with no quality issues whatsoever.

That's a fair point and ouch, I bought mine second hand and got a year and a couple months out of it, I would've looked to replace but MS already had announced they were killing Band and had long stopped supporting the their band app.

 

[StrayKAT]

I know it’s cynical, but I have a hard time showing any interest in anything wearable from MS. Band 2 was awesome technically, except for the horrible build quality, and then they killed it entirely. Are we supposed to trust that they can make headphones now and support them for years? Does it work with Xbox? Knowing MS, it probably doesn’t.

That goes for Kinect. I know it gets a lot of hate, but support for it has all but dropped. Would be pretty useful on my PC with TV actually, but I don't want to invest in anything dead. Not sure what other webcam and mic would pick up as well from a distance though.