Soundcore by Anker’s new H30i Wireless Headphones is a new addition to the company’s already established range of audio products. The H30i sports a familiar on-ear design. Available in black and light ivory, the aesthetics are clean and minimalist. The build quality feels surprisingly sturdy for the price point of AED 130.

An adjustable headband with metal reinforcements ensures a comfortable fit for most head sizes. Soft, leatherette earcups provide decent passive noise isolation. At a feather-light 183 grams, the H30i disappears on your head during extended listening sessions. The earcups swivel flat for easy storage in the included pouch, making them a travel-friendly companion.

Sound Quality
The H30i prioritises bass. Bass lovers will find themselves grinning from ear to ear. Anker’s signature BassUp technology delivers powerful, punchy lows that thump satisfyingly on genres like hip-hop and EDM. However, this emphasis on bass can sometimes overwhelm the mids and highs. Instruments such as guitars and vocals can sound slightly muffled.

The saving grace is the Soundcore app. This app unlocks the H30i’s true potential. It offers a variety of EQ presets, including a custom option, allowing you to tailor the sound signature to your preference. The “Electronic” preset, for example, does a good job of boosting clarity in the highs without sacrificing too much bass. Overall, while the H30i might not be an audiophile’s dream come true, it delivers a fun and engaging listening experience, especially for bass enthusiasts.

Battery Life and Connectivity
The H30i shines in the battery department. Anker boasts a staggering 70 hours of playback on a single charge, which is phenomenal for wireless headphones at this price point. During testing, we achieved close to that figure, making these headphones ideal for long journeys or all-day listening sessions. Even heavy users will likely only need to charge them once a week.

The H30i utilises Bluetooth 5.3, offering a stable connection with minimal lag. Multipoint connection allows you to seamlessly switch between two devices, making it convenient for juggling work calls and personal music listening.

Call Quality and Features
Call quality on the H30i is pretty good, too. Your voice will be audible on the other end, but background noise might be a bit more prominent than with some pricier headphones. Integrated controls on the earcup allow for volume adjustment, playback control, and answering calls. These controls are fairly intuitive and easy to use.

The H30i also offers a gaming mode that prioritises low latency for a more synchronised audio experience. While the difference might be subtle, it’s a welcome addition for casual gamers. Unfortunately, the H30i lacks active noise cancellation (ANC), a feature commonly found in higher-end models. However, it isn’t a biggie considering the relatively low entry point.

Verdict
At its price point of AED 130, the Soundcore H30i offers exceptional value for money. The combination of phenomenal battery life, comfortable design, and powerful bass response makes it a compelling choice for budget-conscious listeners who prioritise powerful low-end. The ability to customise the sound signature through the app adds further value.

Price: AED 130

Logitech has announced the Middle East launch of its new Signature Slim K950 Wireless Keyboard designed to simplify the experience across personal and work computers throughout the region. For people with a single workspace for both professional and personal tasks, the Signature Slim products are beautifully designed solutions that look good in the home or office. With more features than typical entry-level keyboards and time-saving software customization, this keyboard creates a seamless, magical experience to manage work and life at the desk.

“We created the Signature Slim keyboard as the perfect companion to the Signature mouse we introduced two years ago to help the many people who juggle work, life and everything in between,” said Art O’Gnimh, general manager of the Core Personal Workspace Solutions business at Logitech. “Signature Slim helps you stay in control of professional and personal worlds, connecting effortlessly to both your home and work computers.”

The Signature Slim K950 brings familiar responsive laptop-like typing to the desk in a slim design. Optimize your desk time and daily tasks with Logi Options+ App, the software that will enhance your experience with the Signature Slim Keyboard. Transition easily between work and leisure with shortcuts such a volume control, play/pause and mute/unmute or use Smart Actions, which gives you the power to skip repetitive actions by automating multiple tasks with a single keystroke, to start or end your day in one touch. The Signature Slim K950 is now available for purchase at leading in-store and online retailers across the region.

Signature Slim K950 keyboards are designed in line with Logitech’s goal to create product experiences that improve people’s lives. This means considering environmental and social impacts as part of every design decision. Both products are certified carbon neutral, just like the rest of Logitech products, and the paper packaging comes from FSC-certified forests and other controlled sources. The plastic parts in Signature Slim K950 include certified post-consumer recycled plastic to give a second life to end-of-use plastic from old consumer electronics.

Logitech G, a brand of Logitech has launched the Logitech G ASTRO A50 X LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Headset and Base Station in the GCC, the fifth generation of the critically acclaimed ASTRO A50 Series console gaming headset. The new ASTRO A5O X is designed to deliver the ultimate console headset experience. With breakthrough innovations in audio and connectivity, the ASTRO A50 X LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Headset + Base Station features:

• New PLAYSYNC technology for easy connectivity and switching between the XBOX, PS5 and PC via a single button press
• PRO-G Graphene Audio Driver technology for high-performance gaming audio
• 24-bit LIGHTSPEED Wireless technology for pro-grade performance on the console

“Over the last decade, the A50 has become an icon in gaming headsets due to its focus on gamer-centric design, premium sound, and superior comfort and durability,” said Dana Zebian, Logitech G’s Marketing Manager for the Middle East. “Our new A50 X elevates this beloved headset with an unmatched level of performance by combining the A50’s award-winning design with several new features and advanced technologies that truly revolutionize gameplay.” Comfort, sound, connectivity, communications and compatibility are the keys that gamers look for in an audio solution. The A50 X combines the design of the original A50, a favourite of console gamers everywhere, with four breakthrough innovations in the console headset market.

Bringing all systems together, PLAYSYNC Technology is an industry first that allows gamers to connect their Xbox Series X|S, PS5 and PC/MAC all at once and seamlessly switch between all three gaming systems with the simple ‘one-click’ of a button on the A50 X headset. When switching between Xbox and PS5 consoles, PLAYSYNC will change what the gamer views on their TV and what is heard in their headset. When switching to PC, PLAYSYNC will change what is heard in the gamer’s headset. Allowing gamers to decide and easily switch to the gaming experience they want to enjoy at any moment.

A50 X is a two-part Base Station and Wireless Headset system that works directly with high-performance game consoles as well as 4K UHD Televisions using HDMI 2.1 technology. Using HDMI, the Base Station directs audio wirelessly to the A50 X Headset while passing the console’s video through to the TV without impacting the source’s intended fidelity and features such as 4K 120Hz HDR, VRR, and ALLM. The result is high-performance and ultra-low latency video.

Audio signals are also intelligently routed on A50 X; with the headset docked to the Base Station, audio signals along with video will be passed through to the connected TV. When gamers undock the headset, audio signals will be rerouted to the headset automatically, improving convenience and versatility between open or private listening experiences.

With sound being such a critical component in gaming, the A50 X’s PRO-G GRAPHENE Audio Driver has been precision-engineered with a 40 mm graphene diaphragm featuring a live edge suspension, to deliver superior audio performance like never before. The new driver delivers improvements in sound reproduction accuracy, time to signal accuracy and distortion reduction, allowing players to identify audio objects more clearly, and more quickly discern their location as objects move relative to the player.

Graphene is a breakthrough material for audio clarity, detail, and spatial timing accuracy. With unprecedented harmonic rigidity, these audio drivers reduce distortion while delivering soaring highs, clear mids and rich bass. Optimized for the multi-platform player who requires the highest levels of audio and visual fidelity, and demands both style and design excellence, the A50 X headset system is purposefully designed to work with high-performance game consoles using HDMI 2.1 & USB-C connectivity, allowing A50 X to deliver uncompressed audio at up to 24-bit fidelity. The integrated LED status info panel and the click-in magnetic charging cradle of the A50 X Base Station keeps the headset battery topped off and always at the ready.

Logitech G’s award-winning 24-bit LIGHTSPEED wireless technology is a continuously improving pro-grade solution for quality of sound, reliability in connectivity, and efficiency for epic battery life. The Base Station also features simultaneous Bluetooth® connectivity allowing gamers to mix Discord chat with game audio or listen to music while playing.

The A50 X is Logitech G’s first headset that comes equipped with an integrated high-resolution 16-bit 48 kHz LIGHTSPEED microphone, this additional bandwidth lets the microphone capture a much broader spectrum of sound delivering unrivalled performance, clarity, and quality in a boom microphone. A50 X lets players control the Game/Chat mix on Xbox, PC—and even their PS5, and balance volume between game and chat with on-ear controls.

Gamers can optimise and fine-tune the gaming audio experience with G HUB on PC and the Logitech G App on iOS/Android devices. Control headset EQ presets or dive deep into the fully parametric EQ. Take advantage of the extended resolution of the microphone and dial-in broadcast-quality EQ settings while controlling their environment with noise reduction. Gamers can set up stream output audio mixing, specify sidetone amount, save custom presets, and more.

The Logitech G ASTRO A50 X Wireless Gaming Headset + Base Station is available now in key retailers across the GCC.