I will not purchase a wi-fi PC headset if it lacks this humble characteristic
Sound high quality is clearly tremendous vital for a PC gaming headset, as are long-term consolation, ambient noise isolation, and a microphone with clear noise cancellation. Ideally, it also needs to have replaceable ear pads for prolonged lifespan and a body that doesn’t creak.
All of these issues are well-known givens. However once I’m searching for a PC gaming headset as of late, there’s one different characteristic that has turn into non-negotiable for me: hot-swappable batteries.
I by no means even knew I’d love these a lot till I obtained my SteelSeries Arctis Professional Wi-fi 5 years in the past. It was an on-sale extravagance—a deal with to myself through the pandemic—that has opened my eyes to the wonders of hot-swappable batteries. All these years later, it has turn into certainly one of my favourite PC gaming equipment. Right here’s why.
Who cares about battery life?
I love wi-fi devices. I’ve a wi-fi gaming keyboard and a ridiculously pointless wi-fi gaming mouse with a wi-fi charging mouse pad system. And whereas I don’t ever want to fret about charging my mouse, my keyboard nonetheless sometimes has me reaching for a USB cable. Telephones, tablets, smartwatches, earbuds, and others issues with batteries sometimes catch me out, too.
What I’m saying is, it’s a ache whenever you need to use a tool however its battery is drained… so you’ll be able to’t use it whenever you want it.
Jon Martindale / Foundry
However with my SteelSeries Arctis Professional Wi-fi, that’s simply not one thing I want to consider because of its hot-swappable battery.
When the battery runs low, it beeps. I can then come out the battery—like we used to do with cell telephones again within the day—and pop it on the charger, then stick my backup battery as an alternative. It takes about 5 seconds and I’ve a completely charged headset once more. I can do it whereas mid-game, and it’s so quick I don’t even should warn my allies on Discord. I may even do it with one hand, if I really feel so inclined.
Identical to the Logitech PowerPlay mouse pad that ensures my wi-fi mouse stays charged whereas I’m utilizing it—a giant cause why that’s additionally certainly one of my all-time favourite equipment—the hot-swappable battery in my Arctis Professional Wi-fi is the top of wi-fi battery comfort.
Costly, however not a “halo” characteristic
The PC area has a variety of nice examples of so-called “halo” merchandise. The sorts of devices and elements that might be superb to have… in the event that they weren’t priced past attain.
Halo merchandise are imagined to be aspirational and make you suppose the remainder of the model’s extra inexpensive merchandise are equally spectacular. Assume alongside the traces of Herman Miller’s “gaming” chairs or Nvidia’s Titan-esque RTX 5090 graphics card. These are merchandise that merely aren’t designed with on a regular basis individuals in thoughts.
SteelSeries
Scorching-swappable batteries aren’t like that. Sure, they’re solely obtainable on a number of the dearer wi-fi gaming headsets, however they aren’t 1000’s of {dollars}. The newer model of my very own headset—the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi—is just round $310 as of this writing. That’s not low cost, nevertheless it isn’t prohibitive both.
The Turtle Seaside Stealth Professional Wi-fi has an analogous hot-swappable battery design, and that one retails for round $330. However I’ve seen it on sale for nearer to $200 at occasions, making it a viably cheaper different to the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi choice.
And in the event you’re extra inquisitive about headtelephones than a headset (i.e., you don’t want a built-in mic), the Fairphone Fairbuds XL are about $250.
It’s a characteristic value preventing for
Whereas I could be tempted to explain hot-swappable batteries as a “nice-to-have” characteristic, it’s really reached the purpose of a “must-have” for me with regards to shopping for future PC headsets.
However that form of places me in a pickle. I’m actually stunned that hot-swappable batteries in headsets haven’t caught on as extensively as I’d hoped, even so a few years on from my authentic SteelSeries buy. There simply aren’t that many choices to select from.
I’ve discovered some headsets like mine that may do what I would like, however not as many as there ought to be. There are superb gaming headsets on the market with incredible sound high quality, nice consolation, and lengthy battery life, however when you transcend a sure level, all that’s nearly redundant.
Fairphone
A 30-hour battery life is helpful, certain, however in actuality, if I’m not charging it as soon as a day, it solely takes one slip-up and I’ll discover myself wanting to make use of it in the future nevertheless it gained’t be charged sufficient. Which means plugging it in and utilizing it wired or ready for it to cost, which defeats the purpose of a wi-fi headset within the first place.
Wi-fi headsets—and wi-fi units on the whole—are about freedom. You aren’t supposed to fret in regards to the tether, however a low battery warning all the time drags you again to actuality: you are tethered and all the time have to fret about conserving it adequately charged.
Not so with hot-swappable batteries. It’s simple to maintain a backup battery absolutely charged and able to go, and I can cease worrying about how a lot battery is left within the precise headset. And when it runs out, it’s simple sufficient to swap out. It’s the perfect of all worlds.
Scorching-swappable batteries are priceless
I do know I mentioned earlier than that headsets with hot-swappable batteries aren’t halo merchandise, however I’m not so delusional to suppose that $300 headsets are mainstream. It’s past what most individuals would take into account “affordable” for a headset. However in the event you are paying that a lot for a headset, then it ought to include premium options that respect that premium price ticket.
For me, hot-swappable batteries are the créme de la créme of gaming headset options. They make wi-fi work the way it ought to. They’re so sensible and helpful that I gained’t even take into account a headset in that worth vary anymore if it doesn’t have them. Certainly, I don’t know if I’d purchase any wi-fi headset with out them ever once more.
