Neat Microphones has unveiled its first truly new mic since Turtle Beach bought the company in January, and… it's not what you'd expect. The normally quirky Neat has unveiled the Skyline, a USB condenser mic billed as an "elegant" design reminiscent of skyscrapers but, frankly, is rather generic. It looks a little too much like everyday office audio conference hardware, a beard trimmer or (if you're feeling generous) a pen in an inkwell. It's certainly a far cry from the whimsical Widgets and Bees you've come to know from Neat so far.
The functionality is solid, at least. The Skyline is built with videoconferencing and podcasts in mind, and the 24-bit, 96kHz audio should be a huge upgrade from your laptop's built-in mic. The large, illuminated mute button should also be very helpful when you need to step away from a Zoom chat.
The Skyline's greatest advantage might be its $70 price. It potentially offers higher quality output than the 48kHz Blue Yeti Nano in a more affordable package. With that said, appearances can matter — you may want to pay more for the Yeti (or AKG's new Ara) if you're a livestreamer or otherwise concerned as much about form as function.