Bang & Olufsen, renowned for their high-end consumer headsets and speakers, have entered the gaming headset market. The Beoplay Portal is also the first gaming headset in the new “Designed for Xbox Limited Series” program. This program is a new category of licensed products for the Xbox “ensures premium product quality and design.”
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With a premium design, this latest Xbox gaming headset has aluminum earcups with gradient anodization, lambskin ear cushions, calfskin leather on the outer headband, and bamboo fiber textile on the inside headband. Designed for long-term wear, it is also lightweight, weighing only 282 grams (9.9 ounces).
The Beoplay Portal gaming headset for Xbox features precision sound, adaptive ANC, an innovative “virtual boom” microphone with beamforming technology, and long-lasting comfort. Not only can this versatile premium headset be used for Xbox gaming, but it has also been designed for use when on a conference call, listening to music, or even watching TV and movies. With up to 12 hours of battery life with Xbox Wireless, Bluetooth, and active noise cancellation enabled, the headset gets up to 24 hours with only Bluetooth and ANC turned on.
Users can also access various settings in the companion audio app with game/chat balance, mute, and volume controls on the headset. Available for iOS or Android, the app allows users to swap between Gaming, FPS, RPG, Music, and Movie presets, as well as set a custom EQ. The app allows users to adjust mic monitoring, game/chat balance, mic tone, and adaptive active noise-cancelling. In addition, the headset comes with Dolby Atmos for Headphones pre-activated for optimal gaming sound.
Specifications of the Beoplay Portal Designed for Xbox Limited Series gaming headset include:
| Fit | Over-ear |
| Frequency range | 20-22,000 Hz |
| Driver sensitivity | 95dB @ 1kHz/1mW |
| Impedance | 24 Ohm +/- 15% |
| Driver type | Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation, transparency mode, Dolby Atmos for headphones |
| Cusomtizable sound EQ | Presets available and fully customizable through Bang & Olufsen app |
| Microphone | 4 x MEMS for voice Mic (2 mics sharing with ANC), 4 x Dedicated MEMS mic for ANC function (2 mics in each earcup), Virtual boom arm for crystal clear conversations |
| Inputs and outputs | 1.25 m audio cable with 3.5mm mini-jack for corded Connectivity, 1.8 m USB-A to USB-C cable for Charging |
| Wireless connectivity | Bluetooth 5.1, Xbox Wireless |
| Sound codecs | SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive |
| On-device controls | • Right button: On/Off/BT pairing • Left button: Xbox connect/disconnect • Right slider: Volume up/Volume down • Left slider: ANC/Transparency or Own-voice • Touch interface: Play/Pause or Mute/Unmute |
| Multipoint | 2 active devices concurrently |
| Certifications | Google Fast Pair, Made for iPhone (MFi), Microsoft Swift Pair |
| Battery Size | Lithium-ion Battery, 1200 mAh capacity |
| Battery Life | Up to 12 hours with Xbox wireless, Bluetooth and Active Noise Cancelling, Up to 24 hours with Bluetooth and Active Noise Cancelling |
| Charging time | Approximately 2 hours |
| Materials | Aluminium, leather, fabric, polymer, rubber |
| Dimensions | 167.3 x 178.7 x 92.6mm |
| Weight | 282g |
The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal gaming headset for Xbox one retails for US$499/CA$549. You can sign up on the Bang & Olufsen website to be notified of availability or purchase the Black Anthracite today or pre-order the Grey Mist or Navy colorways from the Xbox website. The latter two ship colorways are expected to ship in May.
What do you think about the Beoplay Portal gaming headset for Xbox? Will you be picking a pair up once they are available? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Facebook, or MeWe.
