HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless Review: A Gaming Headset With Mysterious Battery Life

The word "impressive" is not enough to describe my experience with HyperX's Cloud Alpha Wireless. The battery life for most wireless gaming headsets is 30 to 40 hours. HyperX has 300 hours. Three hundred is what you read. I have been searching for an explanation for how these cans last so long. I am at a loss. I can report that HyperX's claim is holding up after using them for more than three weeks.

Testing these headphones has been difficult. I ran into a problem that I rarely have with gadgets, the battery wouldn't die even when I tried hard. I used the Cloud Alpha Wireless for a few hours every day for the first two weeks. I did not charge them when I took them out of the box. I was curious enough to start logging my usage hours on a spreadsheet. We will continue to track battery life over the next few weeks to see if there is anything new.

The mysterious battery.

Like most gaming headsets, the Cloud Alpha Wireless plugs into your PC or PS4 and uses the 2.4- GHz frequency to communicate with it. They can't connect with a 3.5-mm cord, unlike some other headsets. Unlike most headsets, they don't need to be charged.

When I realized the headset wasn't going to die, I started testing it harder. I left it playing music at 50 percent volume when I was not at my desk. HyperX's Ngenuity software stated that the battery life had dropped from 64 percent to 59 percent.

I will continue my tests even after this review has been published. I have used more than 112 hours of continuous usage and the Cloud Alpha Wireless has not dipped below 32 percent. The real numbers are even higher because this only includes hours I log after using them for a week or two.

This kind of battery life is not found in a wireless gaming headset. You might expect a small improvement from new hardware. If Apple released a new phone that lasted three days on a single charge, it would be an impressive engineering feat. We would have serious questions about how it violated the laws of physics if it released a phone that could last a month. HyperX has put us in that position.

I asked HyperX if it could explain what was happening. HyperX is unable to share full details of the design, but the Alpha Wireless features the latest integrated circuit chip technology, a 1,500-mAh battery, and updated dual-chamber technology.

The only clue is the 1,500-mAh battery cell. The HyperX Cloud Flight has a 1,500-mAh battery, which is more than enough to power it for a day. The headset only lasts 30 hours.