Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 will have better battery, Bluetooth 5

By Nick Woodard April 30, 2020

As if there wasn’t enough headphones news right now, Microsoft may be close to launching its second-generation Surface Headphones.

Thanks to a Bluetooth SIG listing that was first caught by 911 Mobiles, a new version of Microsoft’s over-ear headphones is in the works. The Surface Headphones 2 will have 20 hours of battery life, Bluetooth 5.0 technology built-in, and support for audio codecs like aptX.

There aren’t a ton of other details available in the listing. The design description of the product notes that dial buttons will be able to choose between three different noise cancellation settings and voice assistant integration with the tap of a dial. Beyond that, we don’t know a lot about these new headphones.

The information we currently have, however, is a sign that Microsoft is moving in the right direction. In our review of the original Microsoft Surface Headphones, we had issues with poor battery life from the cans, as well as a lack of aptX support. We found them to be easy to use, but their features left a lot to be desired.

It seems like Microsoft may have listened, at least to an extent. An estimated 20 hours of battery life is better, though it doesn’t compete with the Sony WH-1000XM3 in terms of playback time. We also found the accompanying app to be incredibly flawed, so here’s hoping Microsoft reworked that aspect of the ensemble, too.

We don’t know the price of the second edition Surface Headphones, or when they’ll be set to launch. As soon as we find out, we’ll be sure to update you.

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