While 8K TVs stole the show at IFA 2018, there was also a fair amount of noise cancelling headphones in Berlin, too – most notably, the Sony WH-1000XM3 and AKG N700NC. The former was announced for the US and UK audience while the latter was announced as a Europe-only product.
Now, thanks to its partnership with Samsung, Harman is bringing its AKG noise-cancelling headphones Stateside to the tune of $350 and will be released alongside two other models, the AKG Y500 and AKG Y100, that will cost you $150 or $100, respectively.
On the surface, there are lot of similarities between the AKG N700NC and WH-1000XM3: Not only are they wireless noise-cancelling headphones, but they both offer adaptive noise-cancellation, for example, as well as Talk Through modes that let you hear the outside world.
That said, the Samsung and AKG claim the N700NC only has around 20 hours of battery life after a two hour charge, compared to the 30 on the Sony WH-1000XM3. Plus, the Sony headphones offer aptX, aptX HD and LDAC codec support while the AKG N700NC do not.
It's not all bad, though. AKG's ace in the hole is its Perfect Calls feature that could help it surpass the WH-1000XM3 in its weakest, most criticized area.
AKG for when you're AFK
Alongside the N700NC, the other headphones slated for US release, the AKG Y500 and AKG Y100, are a pair of wireless on-ear and in-ear headphones, respectively.
The AKG Y500 will offer up around 33 hours of battery life and come in four colors (black, blue, green, pink) while the Y100 last up to 8 hours and will be available in the same shades.
The AKG Y500 and Y100 will be available starting today in the US with the N700NC slated for launch later this year.
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