The Microsoft Surface Earbuds, announced late last year, are finally making their primetime debut. Microsoft's first wireless earbuds have a uniquely large design made to provide many intuitive control options with the touch of a finger, in addition to deep integration with Surface devices and Windows 10 apps. [The Surface Earbuds promise lifelike audio with what Microsoft calls "Surface Omnisonic" sound and are made to pair instantly with Surface PC devices. And because this is a Microsoft product, Surface Earbuds can work with Microsoft 365 apps such as PowerPoint and Outlook, allowing you to swipe through slideshows, listen to email messages, and more without touching your phone or PC. without touching the phone or PC. [Can Surface Earbuds compete with Apple AirPods and Google Pixel Buds 2? Here's everything you need to know about Microsoft's new earbuds.

The Microsoft Surface Earbuds will be available on May 12 for $199 and come in one off-white Glacier color; the $159 Apple AirPods, $149 Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus and the $179 Google Pixel Buds 2 are cheaper, making the Microsoft Buds relatively expensive given their lack of noise-canceling features.

The first thing you may notice about the Surface Earbuds is that they are large. The earbuds have four anchor points designed to hold them securely in your ears, and three sets of swappable ear tips are included to help you find the perfect fit. But the real attraction here is the enormous area (no pun intended) that the buds offer for touch control, allowing you to manipulate songs, calls, and even work presentations with a tap or swipe. [Surface Earbuds are optimized to work with a variety of Windows 10 apps. For example, you can add live captions with real-time translation to a PowerPoint presentation or swipe through slides without touching your PC. Surface Earbuds also allow users to listen to and sort their Outlook email using only touch and voice.

Microsoft promises rich sound quality with the earbuds' "Surface Omnisonic" sound. The earbuds have Spotify integration, which allows users to instantly call up songs from the popular music service with a triple tap. Both buds also feature a microphone to block out ambient noise during calls.

The Surface Earbuds work with iOS, Android, and Windows 10, but are especially likely to shine on Surface PC devices. With the Swift Pair feature, the Surface Earbuds can be instantly paired to a device such as the Surface Pro 7 simply by holding the charging case close to the PC.

In our hands-on review of the Microsoft Surface Earbuds, we found the buds to be surprisingly comfortable and offer solid sound quality. However, it didn't take me long to open Spotify or call up Cortana, which took several taps to do.

The Microsoft Surface Earbuds promise 8 hours of battery on a single charge, or about 24 hours with the charging case. This is a higher rating than the Apple AirPods 2019 (5 hours on a charge and 24 hours with a case), but not as huge as the 11 hours the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus get on a single charge.How the Surface Earbuds' battery life holds up in actual use in our full review. [The Microsoft Surface Earbuds look to be one of the most unique wireless earbuds we've seen, with a large design for comfort and a wealth of PC-specific features. Bud's ability to do this is appealing, but may be a bit niche compared to Apple's AirPods and others.

There is also the question of price. Asking $199 for earbuds without active noise cancellation is a terrible deal. However, if you are a hardcore Surface or Windows 10 user and want earbuds that connect seamlessly to your laptop or tablet, the Surface Earbuds may be a good fit.