Microsoft has been working on smart earbuds it unveiled the Surface Earbuds. They’re touch and voice-enabled with omnisonic sound, and boast a pair of mics in each bud. They come with a charging case and boast a battery life of up to 24 hours. The Surface Earbuds will start at $249, and available “later this year”.
Microsoft is pitching them as a must-have Office accessory with dictation and excellent call quality. Each earbud has two microphones built in, which aid in noise reduction when you’re speaking into them.
Microsoft claims the Surface Earbuds have “all-day comfort” — they make contact with your ear in two places — and, with the included carrying case, offer up to 24 hours of battery life. You get eight hours of continuous playback on a charge, and the case contains enough for two full refills. As with many other wireless earbuds, they use tap and swipe gestures to control your music or other audio.
There’s Spotify integration on Android. A triple tap will start playing music instantly, and you can swipe and tap to control playback. What’s more, the true wireless earbuds are designed with Office 365 in mind, including Outlook calendar and email access with your voice. If you wear them while giving a presentation, Microsoft will be able to display captions of what you’re saying in real-time on the screen, and even translate your speech into one of more than 60 languages. You can also tap to advance a PowerPoint slide.
You should be able to pair them with your devices pretty quickly through one-click pairing. Meanwhile, the earbuds are designed for “all-day comfort and stability.” They look pretty bulky though, so they’re perhaps not quite as stylish as some other options on the market.
The Surface Earbuds join the Surface Headphones as Microsoft’s flagship audio products. The company did not announce a sequel to the headphones today, however.
