It seems that every major company is trying to get their foot in the game with one of two products: wireless earbuds or noise canceling headphones. When you’re as big as Microsoft however, you can do both. We used the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 for two weeks in order to learn all of the strengths and weaknesses of this active noise canceling (ANC) headset. So should you get a pair?

Editor’s note: this Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 review was updated on August 21, 2023, to update performance of comparison models.

What’s it like to use the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2?

I don’t normally talk about the carrying case that a pair of headphones come in, but I will here: I’m really impressed with the hardshell case that came with the Surface Headphones 2. What I like most about it is the slim profile—I can just slip the case in and out of my bag with no problems. The headset is also slim and the ear cups rotate 180 degrees so you can lay them flat inside the case, or wear them flat around your neck when not in use. Unfortunately, this doesn’t have any folding hinges, so if you’re really cramped for space, this is going to be hard to stuff in your bag.

Besides that one improvement, you’d have a hard time telling the Surface Headphones 2 apart from the first-gen model. You get the same minimal design that is just as appealing here as it was on the first model. As much as I enjoyed the new sleek style of something like the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700, the Microsoft Surface headphones look like my ideal gadget of the future.

But it’s not just the looks that make the design of the Surface Headphones 2 good, this headset is really comfortable. I can wear it all day and never feel like my ears needed a break. Just remember that the ear cups don’t breathe well at all, something to consider if you live in a humid area.

My one gripe with the Surface Headphones 2 is the material on the bottom of the headband. I don’t understand why Microsoft doesn’t just use the same memory foam that’s on the ear cups. Instead, the headband has a rubberized cushion that pulls my hair when the headphones move a little. It’s more of an annoyance than a pain point, but still annoying for an expensive headset.

How do you control the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2?

Both ear cups on the Surface Headphones 2 are touch-sensitive and have rotating rings around the edges that allow for complete control over everything from playback to noise canceling. You can pause or play music by tapping on either ear cup once, while a double or triple tap on the ear cup will skip between songs. Tapping and holding your finger to the ear cup will access the voice assistant on your device. To adjust the volume, you need to rotate the ring on the right ear cup while the left ear cup controls the strength of the noise canceling.

The touchpads are pretty sensitive so I often pause playback unintentionally. Just like the original Surface Headphones, the second-gen model has 13 different levels of noise canceling which ranges from maximum canceling to an ambient mode that uses the built-in microphones to amplify what’s going on around you, so you don’t have to remove the headset.

Should you download the Surface Audio app?

Besides walking you through the pairing process the Surface Audio app also has a few extra customization options you can make to the headphones. For example, you can rename the headphones, check for firmware updates to make sure you’re up to date, adjust the strength of the noise canceling, and even choose between a few different EQ presets if you want (or make a new one yourself). None of these are necessarily essential to using the headphones but being able to EQ the headphones to your liking is always worth playing around with anyway.

While the Surface Headphones 2 looks very similar to the original Surface Headphones, the inside is revamped to be more competitive with the rest of the headphones on the market. Whereas the originals had no support for high-quality Bluetooth codecs and only had Bluetooth 4.2, the Surface Headphones 2 has Bluetooth 5.0 as well as aptX support.

This means that more information can travel from your source device to the headphones which should result in slightly better quality, though it doesn’t really matter if you’re using these connected to an iOS device as iPhones are only compatible with the AAC codec. If your source device doesn’t have any codec support don’t worry, the headphones will default to SBC which is the Bluetooth codec that all Bluetooth devices share.

Connection strength overall is very solid, and this has some of the best multipoint tech I’ve used. While connected to my laptop and my phone, the Headphones 2 switches between them seamlessly. If I’m listening to music on my laptop, all I have to do is pause the music and press play on my phone and the headphones will switch to the phone without a problem. The coolest bit though is that they can even tell which device you’re using.

You’ll need Windows 10 on your computer to get all the newest functionality according to the Windows website. I haven’t tested these on a Mac or a computer running an older version of Windows, so I’m not entirely sure how these will work with your particular machine—but it’s something worth keeping in mind if you’re like my dad and won’t get rid of Windows 7.

What is battery life like on the Surface Headphones 2?

This is one of the key areas where the new Surface Headphones 2 improves upon the original, which was touted at just 15 hours. Microsoft claims that this new model will get you 20 hours of constant playback with active noise canceling turned on. In our testing, we managed to get 17 hours, 47 minutes hours which isn’t up to par with the claimed 20 hours but still not bad. At least you can charge it via USB-C.

You can slide between 13 different levels of ANC, though we conducted our testing with the maximum intensity. If you look at the graph you can see that there is a difference between the regular passive isolation which only affects sounds higher than 1kHz, and ANC on its highest setting. The constant hum of an air conditioner falls below 1kHz, and this set of ANC headphones does a fine job of rendering those sounds up to half as loud as they’d otherwise sound. While these aren’t going to take the crown away from the Sony WH-1000XM4 or the Shure AONIC 50, they’re still effective.

All right. This is a pair of headphones so let’s talk sound. While you can change up the EQ by using the Surface Audio app, I keep mine on the default “flat” setting which adds no emphasis to the response. Still, that doesn’t mean these are perfectly “flat” or neutral. As you can see from the graph the frequency response, the Surface Headphones 2 is consumer-friendly, meaning that there’s a nice bump in the lows to make the bass notes easier to hear in your favorite songs while keeping treble notes at a reasonable volume.

Lows, mids, and highs

There was a little more volume to the lows than I would normally like. In the song Home Again by Michael Kiwanuka at around 0:29, you can hear his voice loses some detail as he plucks the bass notes. Mids and highs, on the other hand, are my favorite part of the sound profile.

The vocals in Fall Creek Boys Choir by James Blake just float over the mid-tone heavy synths throughout the song and never became hard to hear even through the cooing of Bon Iver in the background.

Does the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 have a good microphone?

No one likes being interrupted when they’re listening to music but sometimes it can’t be helped. Thankfully, the Surface Headphones 2 has a microphone built-in, so you can answer phone calls and speak on conference calls. I used these on multiple phone calls and I never experienced any dropouts or hiccups with my voice at all which was nice. The reason you should get this headset for conference calls isn’t necessarily the raw microphone quality, but the integrated mic mute switch on the right headphone.

Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 microphone demo (Old):

As of July 9, 2021, a whopping 95% of our respondents rated the microphone quality as either “Okay,” “Good,” or “Perfect.” Chances are you won’t get any major complaints if you decide to use these headphones for your conference calls.

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is the price. The Microsoft Headphones 2 comes in at $230 USD, which is much cheaper than Sony and Bose’s flagships. It’s also more affordable than the previous Surface Headphones. So you get a slightly better battery life than the originals and better Bluetooth codec support for less money. There’s really no reason to get those if you want a pair of Surface headphones.

Even if you compare this to the Sony WH-1000XM4, I’d say this holds its own thanks to good enough sound quality, noise canceling, and superb multipoint connectivity that’s still slightly better than Sony’s. If you want the best codec support and the absolute best noise canceling then no, these aren’t for you.

Bose and Microsoft made sure that these headsets looked like premium noise canceling headphones, but took slightly different approaches: the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 forgoes all edges in favor of a smooth, modern design, while Microsoft attracts the eye with the Surface Headphones 2 clean, crisp lines.

Both headsets support Bluetooth multipoint, yet Microsoft’s headphones perform playback switching faster than Bose’s. Both headsets have limited Bluetooth codec support. The Bose Headphones 700 supports just AAC for high-quality streaming, while the Surface Headphones 2 supports aptX for high-quality playback. If you have an iOS device, you’ll benefit more from the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700, while we Android users are better off with Microsoft’s headset. Otherwise, Android users may not experience consistent streaming rates with the SBC and AAC-only Bose Headphones. iPhone users are booted down to SBC with the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2.

Now, Bose is the clear-cut winner when it comes to a few categories: noise canceling, sound quality, and battery life. ANC performance is more consistent and effective across the board, which is key for frequent flyers and commuters. Sound quality is more accurately reproduced with the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700, which makes it easier to EQ the sound to your liking.

If you have deep pockets, the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 is a better buy, but Microsoft’s headphones are no slouch.

What should you get instead of the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2?

The Sony WH-1000XM4 and Bose QuietComfort 45 are two obvious competitors to the Surface Headphones 2. Sony and Bose have some of the best noise canceling tech on the market, but Sony edges Bose out when it comes to features. You get 360 Reality Audio with the WH-1000M4 along with speak-to-chat functionality and Bluetooth multipoint. The QC 45 from Bose is arguably more comfortable, however. Similar to the Surface Headphones 2, you can’t plainly disable ANC on the Bose QC 45. It really only transitions you to transparency audio as you decrease the ANC intensity.

Go portable with the Microsoft Surface Earbuds

If you want to stay within the Microsoft family but don’t feel ready to commit to a set of full-fledged headphones, consider the Microsoft Surface Earbuds instead. These open-type earbuds let you hear your surroundings much like the AirPods, but these stay in place because of the silicone wing tips. The earbuds merit an IPX4 rating, so you can exercise with them.

There are a few quirks to this headset, which you can read about in our full Microsoft Surface Earbuds review, but if you’re a sucker for a unique design, these buds are a fine choice.