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Microsoft’s Surface Headphones are a good first try
Microsoft is a software giant first and foremost. It's where it earned billions of dollars and created an empire that permeated almost every aspect of the corporate office. But it's also been diving head first into hardware from mice to the Xbox to the Surface tablets and laptops -- the tech company is no slouch when it comes to tangible items. So it should come as no surprise that it launched its own noise-canceling headphones.
Microsoft's Surface event by the numbers
Microsoft had a slew of new Surfaces to show off during Tuesday's press event held in New York. The company debuted its quad-core Surface Pro 6 and a significantly speedier Surface Laptop 2, not to mention a pair of Cortana-connected Surface Headphones.
Surface Headphones hands-on: Cortana, bring the noise
The biggest surprise during Microsoft's Surface launch event wasn't a computer -- it was a pair of headphones. The Surface Headphones are Microsoft's first entry into premium cans, but they have just about everything you'd want: They're wireless, feature noise-canceling and have Cortana directly integrated. At $350, they're competing with Sony's (excellent) 1000XM3 and Bose's Quiet Comfort II. But based on my quick demo, the Surface Headphones can easily hold their own.
Microsoft's wireless Surface Headphones are all about Cortana
Lots of the news from Microsoft's Surface event leaked ahead of time, but we didn't necessarily expect to see these new Surface Headphones today. As you might expect, the main draw here is that Cortana is on board and easily accessible, but there are some other impressive specs here as well. Microsoft went with over-the-ears design which offers active noise cancellation; the company says it has 13 levels of noise cancellation all told. There are four beam-forming mics and four active noise cancelling mics as well as 40mm drivers.
