Android Advisor - UK (2021-08)

98 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 88

BUYING GUIDE

The anodizedaluminiumdisc has a subtle gradientthanksto a

manufacturingprocessthatB&Odeveloped.

theeye-catchingeffectsthematerials

create.B&Otoldmethecompanyused

a proprietaryanodizationtechniqueit

first developedfor its Beosound One NY

Edition loudspeaker.

As with previous-generation B&O

headphones, the discs have a functional

aspect too. Tap twice quickly on either

ear cup to pause and twice again to play.

If you’re on a call or using the Portal

in conjunction with Zoom or Teams,

tapping twice mutes/unmutes the call.

Oddly, the Portal does not come with

any sort of carrying case. B&O typically

accessorizes their headphones with a

luxurious carrying pouch of some sort,

but not here.

The Portal sports Bluetooth 5.1 and

multipoint Bluetooth. You can add up

to eight devices and have two devices

paired at a time. Note that gaming

connections take priority.

Touch Bar volume control

Each ear cup features a vertical Touch Bar

that is (in my opinion) one of the most

outstanding features of the Portal and is,

for now, unique to this headphone. Once

you use the Touch Bar, you’ll never want

to go back to buttons or gesture-based

controls. This vertical bar is mounted

flush on the left and right ear cup, with a

small bump at the end that orients you to

the sliders’ boundaries. The right slider

controls the headphone’s volume. Slide

your finger up to increase volume and

down to decrease. The left slider controls

the Portal’s adaptive noise cancelling and

transparency. Slide up

for transparency and

down for ANC. When

you’ve hit the limit of

either, the headphone

will give you a distinct,

gentle prompt.

The most brilliant

part is the fine-tuning

B&O has performed.

Not only does sliding

your finger up or down

feel completely natural

but the speed at which

the volume increases