Microsoft launches Surface Headphones with adjustable noise cancellation at $350

While a lot of critics might claim that Microsoft played it safe with most of it Surface refreshes this year, they did have one major surprise for everyone and that’s the new Surface Headphones that it also announced. The Surface Headphones are quite basic-looking over-the-ear headphones made of plastic. It’s available in a single light grey colour which goes well with the Surface line up of that colour. However, do not be deceived by its looks because it does punch hard when it comes to features that Microsoft has baked into it. [caption id=“attachment_5306771” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] Surface Headphones also feature touch controls on the earcups. Image: Microsoft[/caption] The headphones feature two dials that can be rotated, one on each earcup. While one dial lets you control the volume, the other dial lets you switch between different levels of ambient noise control. What we’re talking about here is not a dial which turns on or switches off noise cancellation, but a dial which lets you switch between 13 levels of noise cancellation. This is something innovative. Listening to music should be a pleasant experience as well, considering the headphones pack 40 mm drivers and what appears to be a large comfortable memory foam cups to cushion the ears. Microsoft also adds touch controls on the ear cups for pausing your music or skipping tracks, something we’ve seen a number of premium Bluetooth headphones do. That’s not all, because these headphones are made by Microsoft, they also support “Hey Cortana” for voice commands without having to touch a thing.

While Surface Headphones are optimised for Surface devices, they will pair with any Bluetooth enabled device. They also charge over USB-C (strange since we assumed Microsoft didn’t take a liking to USB-C, as it doesn’t have it on the Surface Laptop or Surface Pro) and can be plugged in via a detachable 3.5 mm cable. The headphones which have been priced at $350, will be ready to ship to folks in the UK and US by the end of this year, but it is likely that we will see it come to other markets as well by next year. There is no timeline on when and if the Surface Headphones will come to India.