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Having originally been announced back at CES, Anker’s latest addition to its stable of Soundcore earbuds arrives as a true AirPods Pro competitor with a bevy of eye-catching features for the price. Centered around the oh-so-popular true wireless design we’ve all come to expect, you’ll find added active noise cancellation, up to 26-hour playtime, and plenty of customization. Not to mention a price tag of just $130. Head below for a quick look at the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro and a few hands-on thoughts.
Hands-on with Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro
Anker’s new Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro arrive as the brand’s latest pair of flagship earbuds. Right off the bat, it’s hard not to compare these to AirPods, and especially the Pro models that the Anker earbuds are specifically designed to go head to head with. The feature sets of both have plenty of other laps, though there are plenty of deviations from the Apple route with Anker’s approach here.
Inside the box, you’ll find the earbuds themselves as well as a USB-C charging cable and a pretty impressive selection of earbud sizes to ensure you can get the right fit. As for the actual specs here, Anker notes that its latest Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds arrive with a bevy of features to earn the pro nomenclature. First up is the active noise cancellation that’s becoming more and more common these days, but also up to 28-hour battery life with the include Qi charging case and more.
Compared to the Apple buds that they’re designed to go head-to-head with, the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro arrive with an entire feature set that the AirPods Pro just can’t match: Customization. Within the companion app, Anker provides access to various sound modes, in-depth personalization of the touch controls, and even the ability to completely adjust the EQ settings.
That customization carries over into the design, with these earbuds coming in four different styles. I got my hands on the blue colorway, but there’s also white, black, and pink as well for some added variation. Each pair enters with a $129.99 price tag.
Tested with 9to5Toys
Anker’s latest earbuds arrive with a pretty compelling list of specs on paper, but does the real-world performance actually deliver? Absolutely.
As we’ve come to expect from Anker at this point, its Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro are well-made and have a solid build overall. Sure we’re not talking about an Apple-level premium here, but I was pleasantly surprised with how nice everything from the charging case to the buds themselves felt in-hand.
Getting them set up is a breeze, and even though the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro lack any kind of fast-pairing features, they were already ready to go when flipping open the charging case. While the earbuds can be paired to your device and used right out of the box, a companion app brings a wealth of customization features into the mix like adjustable EQ, as well as a customized fit test that makes use of the various earbud tips.
But after getting everything set up, the earbuds are quite reliable after putting them to the test over the past week. Sound quality is actually pretty respectable on the default setting, with a bass-heavy mix that can always be adjusted if the preset isn’t quite going to do it. How active noise cancelling is arguably a bigger deal than just all-around sound quality, and Anker certainly delivers on this front. The software combined with the in-ear design of the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro does a really solid job at blocking out the world around you. I wouldn’t quite say as good as AirPods Pro, but the ANC is far better than other earbuds I’ve used.
Anker also incorporates a transparency mode into its latest releases, which unfortunately doesn’t quite match the ANC performance. I think it comes down to the microphones not being as well-tuned to overtake how good of a seal the earbud tips create in your ear, so it ultimately still sounds disorienting to talk with its ambient noise setting enabled.
At the end of the day here, the new Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro are all about the price. You’re getting as compelling of a feature set as you’ll find at this price point, and the actual execution certainly delivers. They’re certainly one of the best values out there for those who aren’t interested in paying for one of Apple or Google’s first-party pairs of true wireless cans.
They might not be as good as AirPods Pro, but whether the gap between them is worth $119 is certainly up for debate. You’re not getting any of the Apple secret sauce here, but what you are scoring is plenty of features for the price. It’s easy to recommend these are $130 for those in the Android ecosystem or anyone with an iPhone who wants to enjoy active noise cancelling and other premium features on a tighter budget.
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