Razer first introduced its gaming-centric Hammerhead True Wireless earbuds in 2019. The new version, released yesterday, includes active noise cancellation (ANC), the company’s signature Chroma RGB Lighting and a few other enhancements.
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Razer is associated with its products for gamers. Those include specialized laptops and tablets, plus peripherals such as the DeathAdder gaming mouse and Huntsman keyboards.
And it’s known for putting colorful lights on practically everything. Now its well-regarded Hammerhead earbuds join that party, too. And they’re not just dressed up, either. Reviewers are finding the sound is solid. Even USA Today is excited.
Razer Hammerhead True Wireless
RGB Chroma
The company’s Razer Chroma RGB offers 16.8 million colors and a suite of effects. The earbuds can light up, pulse along with music or settle into a color-changing pattern meant to emulate breathing. You can also stick with just one color, if you prefer. You use the Razer Audio app to control the lights.
ANC
Sound-wise, the biggest addition to the Hammerheads is ANC, as it is with so many wireless earbuds coming out these days. Razer’s noise-cancellation features a pass-through so you can hear some ambient noise if you don’t want it thoroughly blocked.
For calls, the earbuds feature dual environmental noise cancelling (ENC) microphones. Razer said they detect, identify and reduce unwanted background noise so that voice calls are exceptionally clear.
In other new tweaks, the new Hammerheads support Google Fast Pair and Bluetooth 5.2, updated from Bluetooth 5.0.
Improved battery life
Another significant leap for version 2.0 of the Hammerheads is battery life. The originals had a total duration of up to 16 hours. The new ones last up to 32.5 hours. That’s 6.5 hours for the earbuds, plus 26 hours from case with four full recharges of the earbuds.
All of those numbers go down a bit when you fully engage the Hammerheads’ ANC and RGB Chroma features. Fully engaged, those numbers change to up to 20 hours total, with 4 hours on earbuds, plus 16 hours from the case with four full recharges of the earbuds.
Yet true to the original
Some of the earbuds’ features are holdovers from the original version. Like the old ones, the new ones feature a low-latency gaming mode (60ms), on-ear touch controls and an IPX4 water resistance rating.
You can pick up the new Hammerheads on Razer’s website or on Amazon for $129.99.
Where to buy: Amazon
