Microsoft introduces new colorful Comfort Headset earphones

Alongside today's reveal of the Lumia 435 and 532 smartphones, Microsoft has also quietly announced a new set of earphones recommended for those devices, the Comfort Headset.

The earphones come in orange, black and white colors. Microsoft says:

"Unlike many other headsets, the earpieces match the shape of the human ear. They are designed to sit securely in the ear while maintaining maximum comfort – it's a great fit for most people's ears.""The earpieces direct sound deeper in the ear for minimum sound loss. Ergonomic design and a perfectly placed earpiece speaker create a super-comfortable, high-quality listening experience."

In addition, the Comfort Headset adds a unique button designed to take smartphone calls. From the description:

"Use the button to take calls with the headset on. And once you've answered, the built-in microphone lets you keep your hands free while you chat. It's a small feature that makes a big difference."

Microsoft has not announced if the Comfort Headset will be released as a stand-alone product nor pricing or availability.

Source: Microsoft (opens in new tab); Thanks to Guilherme for the tip!

187 Comments

Looks good, does anybody know the frequency response on these headhones?
It's on the website
From the specifications: Frequency response:
20 - 20000 Hz
But at what range? + or - 3dB?, + or - 10 dB?, somewhere on an unnamed scale? Without the frequency response chart and known range of loudness across the spectrum, the frequency response numbers are worthless. I'm so tired of headphone manufacturers putting meaningless numbers on their products without specifying how those numbers were obtained. It's like saying my car has a speedometer that goes up to 150, even though the power to weight ratio, along with wind resistance means it would take about 2-3 miles of straight, smooth road, with a strong tailwind to ever get to that speed. ...Not to mention that it has a limiter to prevent anything faster than 135MPH. But yet, they advertise the 150 MPH top speed. It's a pointless set of numbers in the real world.
How in the world we get 20Hz on earphone? Even few bass speakers can do it, imagine a earphone. 20000Hz sounds impossible too, I don't think these drivers can do things like that. Sounds impossible to me. Anyway, sensibility is the most important information for me. Nothing about 100db is good on smartphone.
They can do that but with like -36dB or more falloff.
My headphones can do 16Hz - 27000Hz so those numbers are accurate.
No, its not possible. Like I say, even cery complex huge bass speaker have problema to play frequency like 30hz. 27000hz is crazyness too. Dont believe in every specs that brand tell us. Almost everything is a lie.
LOL, nope, I have a studio headphones by AKG, that really do those specs. So get your facts straight m8.
Last month I got coloud boom wh-530 and I'm enjoying it a lot...if this one is priced correctly then I'm surely getting it...the one that comes in the box pretty much sucks..
Maybe they can give these in the box with lumias above the 730/735 series
My situation is opposite, I bought coloud boom many months ago and I was & am still disappointed. They lack deep bass, I thought I was upgrading from coloud pop only to realise pop was better though recently my coloud pop earphones' right side suddenly stopped working
That's why I invested $90 in the Sennheiser CX 5.00 S.
Cool, I'll take a green 1 to go with my 1030. Oh, wait... Guess I'll have to get One M8 silver/gunmetal
They come in orange, black and white only
sorry. I forgot to add this: /S
Let's hope the 1030 comes and when it does...it better be green
plus I really hope that they start to add Neon Blue phones to the line up.
I am happy with my Coloud Pop...but will surely check this out once it becomes available...
Am happy with my JVC so to say..
Could never get those Coloud Pop to work. Always "pop" out of my ears. Returned them thanks to generous return policy from Microsoft.
Me too. I picked up the pop and boom headphones both for a total of $30. Totally worth it!
I loved my pop but the right earphone stopped working...now using the ones that came with L 1520 and they just fine but I like very deep bass... I might go for Purity Monster In-ear, I'm not sure that's the correct name
The unique button to take smartphone calls from headset was missing on nokia Lumia 520
i did have that button on mine, lumia 520 with included headset
Am I the only one waiting on volume rockers????
It'd be pretty cool if they had playback control too xD
Mostly they do, if you have one button (like the standard with Lumia's) you can press once to pauze/play, twice to skip to the next and three times to go back ;)
thats what cortana is for
If you want really good ear buds for windows phone with volume buttons too, then look up Nokia purity by monster trust me its amazing
The Purity headphones have been discontinued.
Remember how those old Nokia ear phones use to have all those controls....great times :)
Ya like the one I got with X2 J2ME handset!
No. You're not alone. We seriously need to have a great in the ear headset with playback and volume controls, either Nokia or Microsoft branded. It would be great if the build quality is like the Xbox One Stereo Headset.
Price??
Read at the bottom of the article
I think apple already released this design. Am I right?
They are similar to apples earpods. But not the same. :)
Well...now I'm using Nokia WH-208... Looks like I should give this a try...
208 is amazing value. I'm on my third pair. But this looks tempting!
They do look similar
Yep.. I instantly remembered the Apple's specific ad about the design of their pods years back!
All the way down to specifically advertising these as being shaped like the ear. I don't like EarPods, so I doubt I'll like these.
Earbuds are definitely a personal thing. I like these shaped earbuds better, but my son hates them and prefers Nokia standard in ear earbuds.
Yeah, not the product for me then. Those apple headphones never fit my ears comfortably unless I flipped them upside down. I guess I have weird ears. They sound bad too.
Your not the only one :P.
Nokia had them before. Before Lumia's. So both are copying Nokia then.
First thing I thought of too...and the apple ones are not comfortable and slip out so easily. I'm in market for new headphones, leaning towards Bluebuds X or whatever they are called.
Sorry Microsoft, but it's going to take a lot more than colorful headphones to get me to go back to WP. I loved my Lumia Icon, but Verizon has fropped all WP devices except HTC M8 and an old Samsung device. No Nokia or Microsoft Devices are offered! I reluctantly went to Android hoping WP would make a come back but it doesn't look like it!
I don't think you should blame Microsoft in this case it seems you issue is with Verizon
So, does this mean you just hang out here for sake of critiquing every announcement now?
That's what I thought. How odd to be on a WP site just to hang around and provide criticism. Get a life!
Well you can just rejoin us when Windows 10 comes out. No worries.
3 simple, yet meaningful words : Preview for Developers :)
Two more meaningful words: No firmware.
Two more meaningful words: not needed.
You clearly do not know what you're talking about or have a very low end Lumia. The need for the firmware in the Icon is indisputable.
Get sim free man! Love it with Vodafone UK :)
Looks like Apple Pods
Sure enough do. I'll stick with my UE ones.
Which one? Old or new ones?
Prefer the old Nokia ones we got with the 820 and 920 etc
I second that.
Yep, still rockin the blue Nokia Purity wh920
I have them in black, love them.
MY ATT 920 came with squat.
Can always get them on ebay cheap as chips
That would be AT&T :P
Plus 920, at least with the HTC M8 came with a decent pair of HTC ear buds.
Good idea to attract more music lover phone users. I wanna hear some bigger news tho!!
Those kind of headphones is awful imo. (they look similar to iPhones)
Yes! Apple pods
That's a bit like complaining that one company's shoes look like another company's. When a product is designed around a certain body part, they're bound to look similar.
Lol yeah.
Yeah I know. But if they are anything like apple pods, they won't be very good. I could never wear my pods even I had iPhone, they hurt my ear. I'm just hoping these will be better.
Are these actually Microsoft earphones? If so, I'm buying them when its available.
Looks good but isn't this button design outdated? It neve fitted in my ears though!!!
Doesn't it look like the apple ear pods in color??
Yes!
doesn't look like nokia anymore
Shaped to fit the ear = reminds me of marketing of Apple's Ear Pods.
maybe this means MS will start to package headphones along with devices now. fingers crossed.
Me too!!!
meh...get some good IEM from Sony, Sennheiser or whatever..
Agreed. I recently gave up on the budget/consumer earphone market and went to the pro IEM market. They sound so much better. The Shure IEM's are pretty much standard for entry level stuff, but one should also check out Westone and Audio-Technica. I went with Audio-Technica ATH-IM02's that I'm pretty happy with. Oh, but you don't get all the pretty colors with pro earphones, so if that's your thing... [rolling eyes]
I own Westone, Shure, B&O, and a set of B&W's. The downside with the higher end headsets with a mic is they are only compatible with iOS and some Androids. No Microsoft Phones! So this is a good thing for most consumer's. These high end companies need to make them for us as well. It's a simple change. If you make it, we will buy!!!
I need some ear buds... Quality ear buds that match my Icon
It should come bundled with all of the Lumia phones.
Just out of curiosity, what makes an anouncement "quietly"? Tech sites use this term all over the place and seems over used imo.
Beats is better
You don't know anything about audio. Beats are only ok for EDM/Hip-hop.
Love the colour. Got Green???
I like them. I'll take a set in orange, please. But I would like volume controls too.
I'd buy this if its available by itself, need one of these multi purpose earphones
I like the ones with my 820 I forgot what is its name but its something 208 Its so good !
Make then available EVERYWHERE like Apple does.
Make them not rediculously expensive like Apple does. The thing is that all iphone users I know had to replace them in a couple of months (because of the wire) and replaced them with cheap but likewise quality earbuds. LOL. So lets hope MS will not screw it's users like Apple does.
My green 930 is sad. I want these in green. :|
It is Nokia's proprietary product.
Still prefer zune premium's
They were great.
Am I the only one that enjoyed Purity Pro headsets and waiting for a new serie ?
I need fins in any in-ear headphones or there's no way they'll stay in my weird ears while running.
Check out the Jaybird Bluebuds X. I've had 2 of their bluetooth headphones, and they don't fall out. I've worn them at the gym, work, 5K run, half marathons, and around the house. They're definitly worth the cost and have amazing sound quality.
I use headphones at the gym all the time and refuse to pay $100 for headphones that will probably break and get drenched in sweat. Got some $20 skull candy headphones from RadioShack with the over the ear grips. Work great and sound great.
"Use the button to take calls with the headset on. And once you've answered, the built-in microphone lets you keep your hands free while you chat. It's a small feature that makes a big difference." Could anyone explain this??
It's the same as any other headphones with an in-line mic. A call comes in, you press the button to answer it, and you talk into the in-line mic. iPhone works the same way if you're more familiar with that.
I think that's a kinda stupid thing to even tell about the feature. A simple "it also has a button to answer calls" would've been more than enough. Seems as if they're desperately trying to sell it and makes it seem as if it doesn't have any other feature. That's like advertising "the new Lumia device can MAKE CALLS and take photos of you in HIGH DEFINITION!!!!" Come on Microsoft.. Don't advertise about things that are actually old as something completely new. Don't be like Apple ;)
Anything that a device can do is a feature. Yes it isn't new to the industry, but how many people would pass up these headphones if MS didn't say that it has those capabilities? Mentioning the quality of a camera and showing off the images is an indirect tactic to say that you can take HD photos of anything. It's all in how it's presented.
Certainly it is a good feature to have, but these features have been available on some ear buds for a very long time. Nothing new. Also, additional features such as volume controls on the wires, have been invented long ago, and are missing from these ear buds.
Cool it looks much more premium than my skull candy earphones! Looking forward to it!
Can the button be assigned to whatever you want to do with it like shutter or Cortana?
I have the Monster headphones that came out a while ago. The button does work to launch Cortana with a long press, but it doesn't act as a camera button. I'd guess these work similarly.
Hmmmm they look like the iPhone 5 headphones which, in my experience, are very uncomfortable... But maybe I do not belong to the "most people" segment hahaha
I had them, super comfortable for me :3
Needs LARGER buttons, with full inline controls (Volume up, down, etc.), so you can wear gloves and still find the buttons. Actually, what MS needs to do, is make the PHONES compatible with all the other head phones with inline controls! Then life would be good.
Beautiful
I hope they start packaging these with their phones similar to what Apple does with the iPhone. Sick of having to grab my wife's ear buds from her iPhone to use with my WP. Also, glad they went with colors other than just white, though I wish there was more than just orange to break from the black/white. Also think the design for the ear looks pretty comfy. I know the iPhone ones aren't comfortable at all.
Ear buds are so expensive it really deserves complaining /s
Ear buds have been a standard accessort bundled with smartphones for years... And yes if i pay Euro 600 for a device I expect it to have them bundled.
They're obviously worthy of you at least clicking a story, going through the comments, and then replying. So yes, I think they are worthy of my comment.
Why is Microsfot ripping off the Apple ear pods? They are a terrible fit in your ear, and sound terrible. Hopefully the audio from these are better. However, I'll stay with my Monster ear buds.
MS aren't ripping off Apple... Jeez... So is Addidas ripping off Nike when they release similar looking trainers?
You can call it "inspired by" if you want to, but yes even in the apparel industry that would be ripping them off as well. Why do you think Apple and Samsung have been in litigation for so many years? I could see MS going after the ex-Google employees that obviously copied the Surface 2/Pro 3 design and features. It's interesting how the only images of these are folded up like they're laying on a table. It hides the similarity very well. At least MS is offering them in more colors than just white.
Check history. Nokia has those shaped ear buds long before. Man, brainwashed americans....
The snarky jab at Americans wasn't necessary. If you could provide a link to the Nokia ear buds that would be great. I'm more familiar with Apple's because it is a current product, and I only started following Nokia since the announcement of the 920 more than 2 years ago. I'm still enjoying my Nokia Purity ear buds. They were definitely worth the original cost.
Look alike apple earpod.. The orange one is nice!
That's what I was thinking.
If it sounds the same, I would love to have it..
I will get yellow. Should be available in yellow as well.
Beautifull
That look like it has no bass. I'm all about that bass no treble.
Look like ear pods, love my sennheiser mx365, will get them when my earphones give up!
Need flat cords
Wish they'd make more of the purity over the ear lineup. Really wanted a pair of Purity Pros in cyan
Are these going to be on par with the purity headphones line?
Probably not. In ear headphones alway have better quality audio. Especially bass because this design will leak audio/pressure because it's an 'open' design. Also people around you will hear more. So less good in environments where need to be quiet. The real use is that these are cheaper and for some, more comfortble.
Price ?
Bet they are $29. Would rather get the Xiaomi Pistons in this price range
Hopefully they are in pair with Apple Earpods which I'm using. Loved the ones that came with Lumia 800, had two pairs that lasted me for 2 years.
My Discman had full controls including volume back in '92. Please bring back corded volume control.
I like them. I am probably in the minority but I would prefer an angled conector (90 degrees).
How much in India..?
Cant they keep volume buttons.. It would have been better ^_^
Not a big fan of these as they are really designed to fit one group of people, namely those who tested it lol.
Are they available on amazon???
Can't wait to try them out.
They look uncomfortable. I'll stick with my JVC HA-FX3X. They pretty much crush anything I've used in ear.
I didn't even get any earphones with my Lumia 830 :(
Affordable flagship dude...
Yeah, because those cheap and nasty pack in earphones manufacturers provide are REALLY expensive.
Nice
Microsoft should launch some more accessories for Lumia devices.....
Looks kind of like earpods by apple
You did not read the comments above? Really they look like Nokia ear buds from a couple of years ago. Apple copied those ;)
Looks like iPhone headphone! xD
I wish they would stop announcing products that you can't even buy nor do they even say when they'll be available. DT-903?
It will probably take 9 months ro release and wont be available outside the US!
So cool, I want one
These look beautiful! I should get these ASAP
Those look like the headphones that came with my old Lumia 800.
Looks very much like the stuff that ships with the idevices:)
About time a good quality headphone was made for the platform
I always felt MS/Lumia should had included earphone that's the same color as phone. I think it would be great marketing tool. Folks know when someone has an iPhone by their white earphones. Everyone wearing a white earphone is pretty much a walking billboard for Apple...same with their laptops. They got the white earphone market, MS should have the rest of the color and market...white WP can have grey earphones. :)
The 920 and 1520 came with matching earphones. Wait, maybe not the 1520, I can't remember.
The AT&T version of the 920 didn't come with any headphones at all. At least not when my brother and I got ours in July 2013.
Can window central do a post on selecting earphones and what the numbers on the box mean....
Mmm idk I'll stick with my Nokia Monster earphones
Howz the power on these?
Huh? They derive power from the phone.
The headsets need to be powerful i threw away my earphones that came with my lumia and bought in ear Skull Candy i tell those ear phones are powerfull the bass is superb
Will these things ever reach Nigeria?
Looks cool however considering I've been using senhieser for years I doubt ill switch anytime soon.
Can someone explain how the button to take calls is "unique"?
I hope I'm going to get these with my phone when I'm upgrading later this year.
Good but not good as Nokia Coloud Earphones
I'm a bit confused on this "unique button" that they speak of... Is it more than just a regular control button on most earphones?
It's just a button that answers calls, it's as old as the hills.
So earpods? Posted via the Windows Central App for Android on my Oneplus One
These probably suck. Sure, the color will match your phone and they lol like apples earphones. I do hope they come with the phone's like iPhone comes with earphones so that it gives the phones more value and makes it so everyone at least has a pair of speakers to use.
Just get ones that are known to be good. That's what I do and I am satisfied.
I seem to have seen something like this before, even had the same description... those were white though.... hmmmm
Is there any plan to release nokia bh-505 like stereo Bluetooth ???
Colound earphone is still the best
Am I the only person who thinks that the picture of the headphones outside the box looks like some kind of well endowed alien woman?
So earpods basically.
Good compliment to my knock headphones
Has anyone seen these on sale yet ?

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