Microsoft Surface Headphones are almost awesome

When

Microsoft

introduced its new $350 (£330) Surface Headphones alongside its fall 2018

Surface pc

, people were a little surprised. Microsoft makes headphones? That didn't seem as strange as it sounds, because, well, everyone seems to be wearing headphones these days. they be good? Or rather: could they compete with the best noise canceling headphones in

Bose

and

sony

, which also costs around $350?

Prior to the official launch of the Surface Headphones, I got a glimpse of them at Microsoft's product development labs in Redmond, Washington, and was very impressed. The first thing that became clear, and that Microsoft wanted me to make it clear, was that this wasn't some hastily organized project where Microsoft slapped its brand on headphones it unearthed from a partner in China.

Surface Headphones were designed in-house over three years by a

large team of designers and engineers

.And in case I didn't already know, Microsoft has a world-class industrial design facility and plenty of labs to test products as it builds and refines them. of these installations in the video we shot (above), others that I was able to visit but we were not allowed to film.

Microsoft Surface Headphones from every angle

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There is some debate over the attractiveness of Microsoft Surface Headphones, with some people liking their looks and others not so much (I fall somewhere in the middle). of range.

For starters, they are very comfortable to wear. The ear cushions are plush and the headband sits nicely on your head without putting too much pressure on it. They weigh 290 grams (10.2 ounces), which does not make them makes it not as light as

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

(234 grams) or the

Sony WH-1000XM3

(254 grams), but they didn't weigh me down and seemed solidly built.

Called

One of the main features of the headphones is a dial built into each ear cup. You turn the ring on the right ear cup to adjust the volume and the left one to adjust the amount of noise reduction you want. The dial turns smoothly - a lot design work has gone into it - and there are technically 13 levels or "points" of noise cancellation. (Microsoft has some experience with dials, having created the

Surface dial

for the

Surface Studio PC

Few years ago.)

There are touch controls on the ear cups - the touch area is about the size of a quarter - that let you pause and play your music, answer and end calls with just a touch, and to skip tracks forward (two taps) and backward (three taps). I found the touch controls to work well and were responsive without being overly sensitive. automatically pauses and resumes playback when you put the headphones back on.

Enlarge image

The headphones charge via USB-C and have a quick charge function.

David Carnoy/CNET

You can max out noise cancellation to drown out the outside world or call it back to the point of letting ambient sound into the headphones, allowing you, for example, to talk to a flight attendant on a plane without removing your headphones. noise seemed quite effective - close to the same level as that of Bose and Sony.

Microsoft says the headset has eight microphones, including four beamforming mics (two on each ear cup) that not only help make your voice clear in calls, but also give voice commands using Microsoft .

Cortana digital voice assistant

.Cortana is always on, so all you have to do is say "Hey, Cortana" to issue a voice command. it's Alexa or Google Assistant. But this hands-free mode is similar to the experience you get with voice-activated Wi-Fi speakers, such as the

Amazon Echo

.