To stand out from the many over-ear headsets that Razer has released for consoles, the company is bringing a new version of its Hammerhead wireless earbuds to PlayStation and Xbox in November for $149.99. Each console is getting its own color treatment of the Hammerhead HyperSpeed (white with blue accents for PlayStation, black with green for Xbox). This model features active noise cancellation — and of course, Chroma RGB lighting effects. Included with each is a USB-C audio transmitter along with a USB-C-to-A adapter since the Series X / S consoles don’t have a USB-C port.
As you might have anticipated, each version handles connectivity a little differently but both support 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth 5.2 for pairing with mobile devices. Razer’s PR lead, Will Powers, told The Verge that the Xbox version is the definitive model because it can connect to Xbox consoles (this requires a special security chip in the audio transmitter) plus PlayStation consoles. If you’ve just got to have the PS-themed colorway, know that it’s limited in terms of compatibility compared to the Xbox version despite being the same price.
%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24110042%2FhammerheadhyperspeedPS.jpg&w=2400&q=75)
Razer is promising that the USB-C HyperSpeed transmitter will deliver low-latency audio performance (ranging from 25–35ms) and that, with the charging case, you’ll get up to 30 hours of total use, but Razer says the buds themselves last about eight hours per charge. The Hammerhead HyperSpeed feature dual “environmental noise canceling” microphones that the company says will provide clear vocals.
Wireless gaming earbuds for consoles and other platforms are the latest trend to hit the gaming headset market, with brands like HyperX and Logitech debuting models in 2022. Razer is no stranger to making gamer-friendly earbuds, particularly for people who game on mobile, but the Hammerhead HyperSpeed aim to deliver more features for console gamers.