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Microsoft is holding a special devices event today, where it has announced a refresh to the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro. The firm also announced the brand new Surface Pro X running a custom chipset. In addition to these devices, the company also announced the Surface Earbuds. The Earbuds are Microsoft’s answer to Apple AirPods and products from other competitors such as Samsung and Google.
The Earbuds can be controlled using touch, gesture, or voice. The company claims a 24-hour battery life for the earbuds and as with other competitors, it comes in its own charging case. The device has 2 directional microphones on each bud to pick up voice commands and can be paired with a single click, says the company. On Android devices, users can perform a double tap on the surface of the device to open and play music on Spotify. The company also adds that it has designed the device to fit comfortably in the ears all day.
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In addition to the usual set of capabilities, what sets the device apart is that it can tie in with Microsoft’s Office apps for dictation, and in combination with Azure Cognitive Services, can transcribe user speech into captions in Office. Along with this, the device also supports over 60 languages for real-time translation.
The Surface Earbuds will be available later this year and will cost $249.