Xbox has always lagged behind PlayStation when it comes to official peripherals. Beyond its fantastic Elite Controller series, Microsoft has seemed content with players picking up third-party headsets and calling it a day, but this pattern changes, hopefully forever, with the recent release of the Xbox Wireless Headset. It's an affordable headset that looks, feels, and sounds incredible no matter what you're doing - and that's no easy feat for this price.
What you’ve got here is a fantastic headset for the price (£89.99/$99.99), offering a selection of high-end audio capabilities that make it more than a match for Sony’s Pulse 3D Headset. Some users might be turned off by its excessively plastic design and protruding microphone, but I found its overall aesthetic to be more intuitively assembled than many of its competitors.
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Built to be used with all existing and future Xbox consoles thanks to the inclusion of wireless bluetooth 4.2 connectivity, everyday usage of the Xbox Wireless Headset is an absolute breeze - it’s already my main driver, even above more expensive offerings. Those who don’t want to break the bank but still want a headset which competes with the big boys should look no further than this.
Upon unboxing the Xbox Wireless Headset, I’m impressed by its lightweight design, and how all of its inputs have been cleverly placed so users can access them without ripping the thing from your head in the midst of a heated session. The microphone’s mute button is placed well above where it detects audio, while the power/sync input are both situated on a singular green button.
The visual identity is inspired by the iconic Xbox mixture of blacks and greens, with bright accents blazoned across the ear cup’s outer rim. It will sit beautifully alongside the Xbox Series X and Xbox One X, but will admittedly clash with the harsh white of Microsoft’s smaller next-gen machine. If you’re a sucker for matching tech, the Xbox Wireless Headset is an excellent shout.
As for the volume and microphone controls, they are implemented into each respective earcup. It’s awesomely done, to control volume you need to spin the earcup, while its neighbour controls the audio balance between game volume and party chat. It’s far nicer than jamming at a volume button, and once again ensures that removing the headset in the midst of play will rarely be necessary.
The earcups themselves are deliriously soft, similar in material to premium studio headphones than something you’d find on a line of gaming products. It hugs at your head comfortably, making it ideal for prolonged sessions and for those who wear glasses when gaming or at their desk. You can’t fold it away though, so a space for it to rest when you aren’t gaming will be necessary.
I’m one of those people, so not having to worry about irritable headaches after a few hours was a nice relief. It supports low-latency, spatial audio alongside Dolby Atmos and Windows Sonic, delivering a sound profile that is both punchy and all encompassing. The explosions and gunfire of Call of Duty: Warzone are conveyed with appropriate bombasse, while the bustling streets of Yakuza: Like A Dragon’s Yokohama are absolutely bursting with life. From a competitive context, this headset should be more than ideal for players after audio that is sharp and reliable when such things matter the most.
40mm drivers aren’t the best I’ve seen in this price range, but Microsoft has ensured they can be used to their full advantage through your console or the Xbox accessories app. Here, you can enable bespoke features such as bass boost, equaliser settings and auto muting your microphone under specific circumstances. It’s not a groundbreaking amount of customisation, but aligns with the simplistic approach Microsoft is taking with this product. It slots right into the existing Xbox ecosystem and feels at home within moments.
The bass can be on the heavier side when switched up to maximum, but equaliser settings allow you to intuitively piece together a more level soundscape to fit exactly what game you’re playing. For example, Apex Legends benefits from being able to hear even the smallest sounds to know when an enemy is hiding around the corner. For something like Tetris Effect, being able to hear each transcendent note of the music tracks is essential. Despite a few small fumbles, the Xbox Wireless Headset caters to these different environments incredibly well.
Microphone quality isn’t the best in class given the price, but voice isolation ensures that outside interference in close proximity to you won't be picked up when chatting with your friends. So those with noisy siblings or flatmates needn’t worry about having their gaming interrupted by a wayward conversation or traffic passing by outside. You’ll need a USB-C cable or separate dongle to use this headset on PC, so keep that in mind, too.
Battery life is estimated to be roughly 15 hours, and during my testing I found this metric to be rather accurate when pulling the headset off a full charge. A small USB-C cable is included in the box, so there’s no need to dig around for one or worry about picking one up alongside it. You’ll probably want a longer cable if you wish to use the headset as it charges, since the included one comes in at a paltry 14 inches.
For £89.99/$99.99, the Xbox Wireless Headset is tremendous value when you consider its comfortable design, excellent audio quality, and generous selection of customisation features. It’s built to exist comfortably in the existing Microsoft ecosystem, whether you’re playing on a next-gen console or PC.
I can easily see this becoming a big hitter in the Xbox portfolio of products, receiving iterative updates in the years to come as Microsoft slowly but surely works its way into the land of peripherals. If you’re a hardcore Xbox player, this is one of the best gaming headsets you can buy right now.