Expanding on the generic quality and touch control points mentioned in my previous comment:
--- QUALITY ---
In regards to the lower quality I've mentioned, HX is an "old" project within B&O, then the partnership with Microsoft/Xbox was announced and the Portal project was started, and they shifted most resources to it (in term of development, manufacturing, testing and marketing).
The HX have been released just for the sake of not wasting the time and money spent on them during early development, but it's a "dead" product for B&O, they haven't invested in it and won't do that in the future (i.e. with proper firmware upgrades).
Check how many Twitter posts the Portal have got on the official B&O account. Then check how many the HX have got. Same goes for Beoplay Portal review samples sent to Amazon Vine users and to influencers. Compare that to what they did to promote HX.
HX have been released without an instruction manual. They just had a quick start guide with no useful information (i.e. about the multifunctional button for summoning voice assistant or muting the mic in calls). They got a (crappy) instruction manual weeks after release, after I've contacted them multiple times to have one. H9v3 and Portal got one at lunch. And go look at how much detailed is the user manual of the Portal compared to the one of the HX. It even contains contradicting information (i.e. ANC can't be used during calls or when the headphones are used via 3.5mm jack, which is not true). Some parts are a copy-paste from the Portal user manual, and even in the B&O app the "plugin" of the HX in some places mentions the Portal instead of the HX.
The serial number of the H9v3, together with the manufacturer's address, the FCC ID, and all of the certification stuff, is
printed on the inner side of the earcup, under and around the ear cushions. It genuinely looks sleek and premium. The same information for the HX, are written on a
sticker around the earcup that's not even applied in a good way (you can see in some points it's not adhering properly to the plastic surface, with the result of having some ugly kind of "air bubbles"), and which screams "cheap" from miles of distance.
The ear cushions are just not as soft and comfy as the H9v3 ones, the HX ones feel cheaper.
The BANG & OLUFSEN logo glued on the carrying case is not parallel to the top/bottom sides, it's slightly tilted by a few degrees.
Check the headphones rendering images on B&O website. You'll notice the buttons have some good looking and tidy icons printed ON the buttons (i.e. the ANC icon, a mute icon for the round multifunctional button, and a power and Bluetooth icons on the two sides of the power/pairing button). Well, on the production model of the HX they have cheaped out and changed those to some much uglier icons (and entirely removed the mute icon, which led many people to wonder what the *** that button is for, since it's not mentioned in the quick start guide or in the online support FAQs, nor in the "instructions" part in the B&O app).
Portal supports the microphone over USB-C and 3.5mm, the HX don't. In the B&O app, the Portal tell you what input method they're using (Bluetooth, USB-C, etc). The HX don't. Also, the HX plugin in the B&O app has bugged volume control (H9v3 doesn't and never had, not sure about the Portal though).
The Google Fast Pair implementation is bugged and B&O don't care to fix it providing the correct B&O app ID.
The battery size is the same in HX and Portal. With all of the additional hardware the Portal got inside (for the Xbox connectivity and microphones for the virtual boom arm), I'm sure they could have fit in the HX a larger battery. And remember, the Portal are even slightly lighter than the HX and have more comfortable ear cushions. Yet, the same price (ok HX got the case, but how much does that cost to them, $5?).
And again, how can you release a "premium" pair of headphones with almost no bass and if you try to enhance the bass a bit with the in-app EQ, your drivers can't stand it and crack like no tomorrow? Honestly, it's pathetic.
--- TOUCH CONTROLS ---
The touch controls in the HX are worse than those on the H9v3. Why? The aluminium surface on the H9v3 is "flat", while on the HX it has some concentric "grooves" that create additional distance (air) between your finger and the actual capacitive touch sensor that's behind the aluminium external surface. Because of this, touch inputs are not detected as well as they are on the H9v3.
Because of this, you have to press harder with your finger for the touch input to he recognised, but this creates two issues:
- for volume adjustment, the finger won't slide as smoothly as on the smooth surface of the H9v3, so to prevent sudden and unwanted volume adjustments, they have lowered by more than half the "steps" of volume adjustment that the headphones have (on a scale 1-100, the H9v3 can be adjusted in step of 2 points, while the HX go in steps of 5-6 points)
- for track changes (next/prev track), you'll have to slide your finger horizontally, which means AGAINST the "grain" of the grooves. Good ****ing luck.
B&O idiotic engineers haven't considered this side effect when choosing to use aluminium discs with grooves where previously they always used (from H7 to H9v3) flat brushed aluminium discs.
In addition to that, they have removed the AWESOME swipe-up feature of the H9v3 that allowed you to quickly chat to people around you (with swipe up you'd both pause the music and set transparency at max level, and another swipe up would resume media playback and switch off transparency, bringing you back to either ANC on or off as it was before you engaged transparency).
Now, if you have to talk to people with the headphones on, you have to enable transparency (with the ANC button, one press or two presses depending on the mode you previously were in) and pause the music (by a single tap in the center of the touch panel - again, good luck with that thanks to the god-awful touch controls).
