Wireless Performance

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless comes with a wireless base station that can be connected to a PC/Mac, Playstation 4/5, and Nintendo Switch through one of its two USB-C ports. The headset then wirelessly communicates with the base station using a 2.4 GHz radio frequency band. The wireless base station offers two operating modes: speed and range. They differ in terms of maximum range and signal latency. The latency difference is around 10 ms, and that's approximately the range difference in meters as well. I ran into no issues using the wireless base station in Speed mode; sound and visuals were perfect synchronized, and I was able to move around the entire floor of my house, up to some 30 meters away from the base station, before experiencing signal drops.

What about Xbox support? If that's what you're looking for, you have to buy the appropriate edition of the headset, the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for Xbox. Other than adding Xbox support, that device is identical to the "regular" Nova Pro Wireless, which is the one I'm reviewing.

The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless also supports Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, which enables an easy connection to mobile devices. The only supported Bluetooth audio codec is SBC, which is hardly ideal either in terms of latency, but there are no noticeable audio synchronization issues when watching YouTube or Netflix videos. Some slight lag can be felt when playing mobile games—not high enough to be bothersome in single-player titles, it will throw you off your game in multiplayer and rhythm titles, where perfect timing is everything. With that in mind, I wouldn't necessarily recommend the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless to hardcore mobile multiplayer gamers.

The headset also supports simultaneous Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, which is immensely practical in everyday use. You can have it connected to your PC and smartphone at the same time, and answer phone calls without interrupting PC connectivity. There's a handy Bluetooth Call option in the SteelSeries GG software driver to lower or completely mute the game volume during voice calls.

Battery Life

One of the key features of the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is the so-called Infinity Power System. The name stems from the fact that with a bit of smart management, the battery of the headset will never run out. You see, the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is supplied with two rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and a charging dock integrated into the wireless base station. While you're using the battery inside the headset, the one in the base station will charge. A single battery offers around 20 hours of wireless playback (depending on the listening volume, ANC activity, and your usage of single or dual wireless connectivity). The battery in the base station needs less than two hours to fully charge, so it will be ready for action long before you actually need it. Fast charging is supported, so charging the battery for 15 minutes will enable you to use it for 3 hours.

SteelSeries claims that the batteries are hot-swappable, and in a way that is true. When it's time to swap them, which is indicated on the OLED display of the wireless base station, you have to take off the magnetic cover on the right ear cup, take out the depleted battery, and install the charged one in its place. If done in under 8 seconds, the headset will automatically turn back on and continue playing as if nothing happened. If you're slower, you'll have to reactivate it manually.


If you need to charge the battery with no access to the base station, simply take off the magnetic cover on the left ear cup and plug in a USB-C charging cable of any sort. Regardless of the situation you find yourself in, SteelSeries thought about it and has you covered.