You know the brand SteelSeries by its gaming peripherals, and recently maybe you’ve seen its audio products more than anything, under the Arctis line. There’s a new addition to the list, and it’s no gaming headset. What it is, instead, are the SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds, which the brand intends to sell as something for “a versatile gaming lifestyle”.
The SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds come with just about all the features that you’d expect from a modern pair of WTS earbuds, plus some gaming-centric features. This includes support for both Bluetooth 5.3 and 2.4GHz wireless via a dedicated USB-C dongle. It doesn’t look like you can take audio input from both simultaneously, but switching between them is done with a triple-tap on the button on the earbud. There’s also a four-mic hybrid ANC setup and the accompanying transparency mode.
Being a newer release, the SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds also gets support through the Arctis Companion mobile app, which it shares with the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless. This means getting access to loads of preset equalisers for specific games, though hopefully they’ve been made easier to sift through since I last reviewed the headset that uses it.
Other items on the SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds spec sheet include a 10-hour battery life with a case that provides another 30. The brand claims that being plugged in for 15 minutes provides three hours of use, and that the carrying case also supports Qi wireless charging. Rounding things up is an IP55 rating, though this likely only applies to the buds themselves and not the case.
If you’re interested, the SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds come with a price tag of RM899. These can be bought via the retail outlets, as well as the brand’s official stores on Lazada and Shopee. While it was announced with two colour choices, it looks like only the black colourway has made its way to the local market.
