The AnkerWork PowerConf H700 UC headphones/boom mic is perfect for working from home or an office where you need a pair of lightweight, Bluetooth, Noise cancelling, reasonable-cost, Unified Communications headphones.

You may not have heard the term Unified Communications (UC). This essentially means that it works with and supports Zoom, Teams/Skype, Google, Webex, GoToMeeting features and more. It is also multi-point – PC/Mac and seamless smartphone connections.

A few things make UC headphones stand out – Comfort, Noise cancelling, sound quality (clarity) and voice quality. Let’s see how it fares.

It is a specialised division of Anker focusing on webcams, speakerphones, and work headsets. It joins other Anker divisions, including Eufy (Eufy X8 Twin-Turbine Hybrid robovac/mop – a powerful little sucker (review), Eufy Security, Eufy Pet, Nebula (Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K – finally, a mini-projector that sees the light (review), SoundCore, and the Anker brand wall and QI chargers, cables, power banks and USB-C adapters.

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

You can click on most images for an enlargement.

This is an on-the-ear headset. That is important for comfort and cooling for extended use. At 184.2g, they are light enough for all-day use.

 It comes with a charger stand (no charger supplied, and you can charge with USB-C as well), a USB-C cable, and a Bluetooth USB-A dongle to use with a PC or Mac (works with a USB-C adapter as well).

The boom mic is a fixed length but longer than most to ensure reasonable proximity to your mouth.

It has a metal adjustable, neoprene padded headband and faux leather replaceable ear pads – important for constant office use. Push button controls are power/Bluetooth and ANC on/off. Touch controls cover LEFT: Play, Pause, Skip Forward, Skip Back, Volume Up and Down, Receive, Cancel and End Calls. ANC, Normal & Transparency. RIGHT: Do Not Disturb & Voice Shield.

It has auto-pause and auto-resume when you remove/replace the headset. It also supports Auto mute on a PC where you lift the boom mic.

They are commercial quality and come in a nice hard-sided carry case.

It uses the same AnkerWork Software as the AnkerWork B600 Video Bar – a webcam that shines brightly (review). You must connect to the PC/Mac using the BT Dongle to access it (reasonably standard procedure in UC devices). The PC/Mac version will not update the H700 firmware (as it is connected to the USB BT dongle), so you do that via the Android or iOS App.

On-the-ear does not have that passive isolation that over-the-ear does. It uses standard feed=forward and feed-back mics to provide Noise Cancelling, Transparency and Normal modes and low or high settings for each. It won’t block out a jet aircraft but blocks conversations, loud keyboards, and general office hum.

The EQ has Signature, Acoustic, Bass Boost, Speech, R&B, Rock, Electronic and Classical modes – a little overkill for an office headset. We found Speech the best for UC work, although the Signature EQ was also pretty good for most music genres. It lacks a customisable EQ – not a deal breaker.

AnkerWork provides a cloud-based transcription service. The trial is for up to 1000 minutes but expires after two months. There are fees (not disclosed) for its further use.

It has a 500mAh battery and can use any USB-A or USB-C port or charger from 5V/.75A/3.75W (not supplied). It gives up to 21/24 hours of ANC on/off. In 8-hours of tests, it used about 30%, so the figure is accurate.

The Charge time is about 2 hours with a fast charge – three hours in five minutes.

It is not Hi-Fi standard but has adequate bass, mid and treble to provide pleasant music listening. Its focus is clear voice.

The range is 30m (tested to 20m), allowing for Multi-point pairing to a PC/Mac and smartphone. One hint: make sure the app is closed on the device you are not using at the time. It supports SBC and AAC on smartphones/Macs and SBC on PC.

AnkerWork has done a great job challenging the domain of Jabra, Poly and more with a fully-featured, well-priced UB headset.

Its AI-driven VoiceShield ANC is very good for office, and home use and its battery life is excellent. As a bonus, its music sound signature is pretty good too.

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