- Up next, we're joined by
engineering leader, Branden Powell to take a look at
the latest Microsoft hardware innovations
in support of remote and hybrid work
at home and in the office
and how they deliver the best experience on Microsoft Teams.
So Branden, welcome to Microsoft Mechanics.
- Thanks Jeremy.
Super excited to be here.
- And thanks again for joining us.
So the latest round of accessories is available today
from the latest Surface Headphones 2+ for Business,
the new Microsoft accessories line
with the Modern USB and the Modern Wireless Headsets
and Modern USB-C Speaker to the new Modern Webcam.
So Branden, congrats first on the launch
and this is probably one of the most
significant updates that we've seen for a while.
And what I really noticed here was the cohesiveness
of design across the entire portfolio
that we can see from Microsoft now.
- Thanks so much.
At the end of the day, we're really just one design team.
You can see here, for example,
I've got the Surface Headphones on my right
and the Microsoft Wireless Headset on the left
and you can really see the design synergy.
There's a lot of shared learning and best practices
and there's things we just won't compromise on.
Everything we build uses premium materials.
So they look great and they're built to last.
They're compact and lightweight,
really to optimize your space
no matter where you're working from.
And we've prioritized that all-day comfort and mobility.
Also, everything is certified
for use with Microsoft Teams
to give you a great online meeting experience.
And this convergence of hardware, plus software
goes a long way to minimizing meeting fatigue
so we can keep you fresh and in the flow of your work.
- Right. And one thing that the last year
has really shown us is that meeting fatigue is a real issue.
So how are we looking to improve things here?
- So, a lot of people may be using the mic, speaker,
and cameras on your PCs to join meetings.
And that makes a lot of sense.
In fact, our Surface PCs are optimized
to give you a premium experience there.
But there are times when you may want more freedom
to adjust the angle of the camera,
like with our Modern Webcam that you can adjust,
while still keeping you in focus,
or you may want to move more freely;
untethered to your desk.
This is where our Surface Headphones
and our Modern Wireless Headset and Speaker
make a huge difference and give you that mobility.
And an added bonus for device flexibility,
the battery life on the Wireless Headset has been tested
up to 30 hours for talk time and 50 hours of audio playback.
And designing for mobility also means
they need to be easy to carry.
So if we take the Speaker and Surface Headphones
for example, both come with protective cases
so you can throw them in your bag
as you move from space to space.
It's really easy to remove the speaker from the case.
And you'll also notice that we've designed it
with cable management in mind.
- Right. And you also mentioned the all-day comfort.
So how was the design team then able to achieve that?
- Well, if you take the Modern Headset, for example,
each weighs around 140 grams or five ounces.
This is one of the lightest-weight headsets
and we've designed it so you can barely feel it.
We were very deliberate and purposeful
about choosing the exact right materials, the right density
of foam, shape of the ear cups,
and even though the headsets are less expensive
they still have a similar comfort level
to Surface Headphones.
And there are other things that are non-negotiable,
such as the clamping force of the headset
and Surface Headphones.
They are calibrated to be used for extended periods of time.
There's also a lot of attention to detail
that went into the device controls.
On the Microsoft accessories,
they're designed to be tactile.
For example, the mute button is concave
and the Teams button is convex.
We've also made meeting controls
more ergonomically accessible.
For example, if you place your hands
on the Wireless Headset,
where your right hand naturally falls
the Teams button is under your index finger
and mute button under your thumb.
- So let's dig deeper though into the Teams
and mute controls
that are consistent across Microsoft Accessories
and also the Surface Headphones 2+.
- Our whole focus here is on giving you more control
and saving you time.
The first thing that jumps out at you across the range is
the integrated Microsoft Teams button.
On the wired headset
and speaker it's backlit, so you can easily find it.
It can be a lot more convenient using the physical buttons
versus finding controls in the software.
And it helps in a couple more ways.
When you're multitasking
and have a lot of windows open,
it brings Teams to the front
so you can easily find and join your meetings.
But even as a meeting starts,
when you see that notification toast pop up in Windows,
hit the Teams button,
and it takes you to the screen
to quickly join your meeting.
- I gotta say,
this is a really cool capability to be able to get back
to Teams calls instantly.
So for me, a real big differentiator
though has been the mute button.
You know, we've all been there as we work from home
and maybe something outside starts up like a lawnmower
or a leaf blower.
We want to quickly be able to place ourselves
on mute to minimize the impact of those distractions.
- Happens at least once a day.
We really want to give you more control to deal
with those disruptions in your environment
and protect your privacy by making it a lot easier
to mute yourself with confidence.
The microphone mute control for Teams is present
on all of our Teams Accessories.
You will find dedicated buttons on both Modern Headsets
and the speaker with red LED lights
to remind you when you're muted.
And on the Surface Headphones
it's a single tap on either side's touch control to mute.
With the Wireless Headset,
you place the boom mic in the up position to mute
and swivel it down towards your mouth to unmute.
We placed an LED light on the microphone arm.
So if you're muted, you can see the red light
in your peripheral vision.
And if you unmute while the boom arm is up
it will voice prompt you to lower the boom.
Additionally, both the Wireless Headset
and Surface Headphones 2+ for business
have a USB dongle with an LED,
which is red when muted and green when you're not.
We've also built in a push-to-talk capability
for devices with the mute button.
So you can stay on mute.
Just long press that mute button,
hold it down to unmute yourself while talking,
then release the button to return back to mute.
- And that's super useful.
By the way
even if you don't place yourself on mute
sometimes presenters and organizers on Teams calls,
they can mute you as well.
So whatever the reason the visual indicator really helps
keep you informed of your status.
That said though, hardware mute buttons:
I think they're pretty common
on things like microphones and headsets.
So how are these different?
- It's a good question.
And our devices, the mute button is a hardware control
that can mute local microphones,
but it's also a software control
that synchronizes and interacts with Teams
to trigger the audio mute in the Teams app.
This eliminates echo as you come off of mute.
- And to be clear, you know that software mute feature
is an advantage of the Teams certification.
You know, otherwise hardware-only mute is
like switching your microphone on and off.
So if you're using a speaker that the mic can pick up
then Teams by design will need a couple of seconds
to recalibrate as it samples the audio
to suppress noise and also transmit the cleanest audio.
But let's go back to the dongle though.
So why did Teams-certified versions of the
Surface Headphones and the Wireless Headsets need the dongle
versus just going over Bluetooth?
- You're not the first person to ask that question.
The dongle gives you a few benefits though.
First it's plug and play, and it takes priority in Teams
as the default device
if you already have other audio peripherals connected.
Compare that to Bluetooth,
where typically the last device to connect wins.
And beyond that, in terms of performance
the dongle helps provide high quality,
wide band audio throughput,
and more connection reliability.
In fact, whereas Bluetooth standard range is 10 meters,
with the dongle
we've tested the range beyond 30 meters in open spaces.
Also the dongle's dedicated frequency band and radio
ensures that you're not competing
with other Bluetooth connected devices.
And if you happen to lose or misplace your dongle
you can fall back to Bluetooth connectivity
and order a replacement dongle if you need to.
Of course, the dongle ensures all
the Teams specific controls just work,
including the hook switch
which you can use to quickly accept or hang up calls.
- That makes a lot of sense.
But let's go deeper into the device experiences.
- So a huge theme for us with this round of accessories
was the audio and video experience.
We want you to look and sound your best,
starting with the sound you receive,
whether that's through the speaker
or the headsets, it needs to be accurate
and tuned for the human voice.
So our sound profile is not too boomy or bright
on the top end,
like a lot of the music-optimized headphones.
With our audio devices,
we're optimizing frequency response
in the spoken vocal range.
Here, for example, you're seeing a frequency response curve
for the speaker during a Teams meeting.
This curve is focused on the human voice range,
which is typically 200-5,000 Hertz.
And when listening to music, we automatically
change the EQ profile to boost base frequencies
and give you that fuller sound.
Equally important is the sound
you send in meetings or calls
so that you sound natural to others.
In our product design and testing,
for example, we've optimized the length and angle
of the boom in our headset to position it more closely
to your mouth for better tone reproduction.
- Right, but in addition to audio,
you know, the video experience thing is an important aspect
of feeling connected and included
in remote and hybrid meetings.
So why don't we switch gears
to the Modern webcam.
- You're absolutely right.
Video plays a huge role.
There are lots of devices out there
with integrated cameras built into device bezels
and for size or cost reasons just don't hit the mark
in terms of video quality.
So we set out to build an affordable 1080p webcam.
It's tuned out of the box for great image quality
which shoots at 30 frames per second
and is capable of high dynamic range.
We also designed the base of the camera
to get the lens as close as possible to your screen
to optimize your eye gaze during Teams calls.
And just like you want the confidence
of knowing you're on mute,
we want you to have the same peace of mind
that you are off camera too.
A lot of engineering and attention went
into building an integrated privacy shutter
that's easy to slide open and shut
with a magnetic snap as it moves across positions.
And even at its price point
it has incredible performance in terms of low-image noise,
high-color accuracy, image detail, low-latency, and jitter.
- Okay, but do all these accessories
then work across platforms as well?
- Yes, everything I've shown today works
on Windows and Mac OS.
Additionally, the audio devices also work
on iOS and Android.
And even though everything is tuned
to work great out of the box,
if you're using Microsoft accessories with Windows,
we also have the new Microsoft Accessory Center
to help you manage them.
The app automatically installs when you connect
to any of our Modern accessories.
It's great for managing all your settings,
updating device firmware, and more.
- It's really great to hear
how this new accessory lineup supports our new world
of remote and hybrid work.
- You know, at the end of the day,
we built off our own experiences
over the past year to design a set of products
that are perfect for this new way of working:
at home, at the office, or wherever you get work done.
- Okay. So what do you recommend then
for people who might want to get their hands
on these accessories?
- We made everything I just presented
available today for purchase.
You can find them at your favorite electronics retailers
and there are more detailed specs at
aka.ms/ModernAccessories as well as Surface.com.
- Thanks so much, Branden.
And of course, keep watching Microsoft Mechanics
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And as always, thanks for watching.
(electronic music)