Intro Hi I’m Gidon from thetechnologyman.com.
Today I’m going to compare some budget true wireless earbuds from Soundpeats against some
very popular true wireless earbuds from Anker, that cost over twice as much.
The Soundpeats TrueFree+ cost around £30 or $30 and the Anker Soundcore Liberty Airs
cost around £80 or $80, but can be found cheaper on Amazon from time to time. I got
them for £60. You can find links down below for detailed
reviews I’ve done on both these earbuds, but let’s try and find out if the Ankers
are worth the extra money. In the box
The Soundpeats are only available in black and come in fairly basic packaging. In the
box you get the earbuds themselves in their charging case, a micro-USB charging cable,
spare extra small, small and large ear tips as well as the already fitted medium ear tips.
The Anker earbuds are available in black or white and come is more premium packaging.
They too come with their own charging case in black or white, matching the earbuds. And
the exact same assortment of accessories. An instruction manual comes with both earbuds.
The Soundpeats manual is a little more wordy and the translation is not perfect, but it’s
clear enough. Overview and build quality
The Soundpeats charging case is quite bulky and a little too thick to slide into your
jeans pocket. It weighs 51g with the earbuds and measures 38mm wide by 32mm thick and 77mm
long. The Anker charging case is a little more slender
with rounded edges, which do make it easier to slip into your pocket. It weighs a little
more at 57g with the earbuds and measures 30mm thick by 48mm tall and 61mm wide.
Both charging cases only offer micro-USB charging ports. I would have preferred to see USB-C,
especially on the more expensive Anker. There’s no wireless charging on either of them.
The Soundpeats case has a slightly bigger 800mAh battery which also charges quicker
with a 1A input. The Anker case has a 500mAh capacity and only charges at 0.5A. Charging
takes a similar amount of time with both cases - between one and two hours. But the Soundpeats
case provides between 9 and 10 charges of the earbuds, versus 3 charges with the Anker.
Since the Anker Liberty Air earbuds have up to 5 hours battery life and the Soundpeats
only 4 hours, overall you should get around 20 hours of total battery life with the Ankers
and between 35 and 40 hours with the Soundpeats. It’s a tradeoff, but I prefer the Anker’s
slimmer case and the longer battery life of the earbuds, even if I have to charge the
case itself a little more often. Both cases have lids that snap shut rather
satisfyingly, although the Anker’s has a slightly lighter mechanism that can also be
open and close one-handed. Which is a good thing, because its bottom is rounded so it
can’t be stood up without turning it upside down on its flat top.
Both cases are well made although the Soundpeats feels a little cheap compared to the Anker,
but not as much as the price difference would dictate. I also prefer the matte finish of
the Anker case even if does attract fingerprints. Both cases have LEDs that show their state
of charge. The Anker’s three white LEDs indicate the charge remaining when you open
and close the case and when you plug it in to charge. The 2 green LEDs on the Soundpeats
only show charge remaining when it’s charging so there’s no way of checking the current
charge without plugging it in. Both the Anker and Soundpeats earbuds are
held securely in the case magnetically. They are both in-ear earbuds but the Anker earbuds
are more like Apple AirPods, with a 4cm stem that extends from your ear. The Soundpeats
are slightly more discreet only protruding a bit from the inside of your outer ear, with
a design closer to the Samsung Galaxy Buds. The Anker earbuds are made of a glossy plastic
that does feel a little cheap. I slightly prefer the build and finish of the matte Soundpeats
although they are a bit slippery taking them out of the case.
Both the Anker and the Soundpeats have a microphone at the bottom of each earbud for phone calls
and voice commands. Replaced in their case they both have LEDs
that indicate their charging status. The Soundpeats are red whilst charging, then turn white briefly
before turning off when fully charged. The Ankers have a small white LED that’s quite
difficult to see outdoors, and turns off when fully charged.
You have to open the Anker case to see the status LEDs. The Soundpeats have a translucent
lid so you can just about see the state of charge through the case. They have a single
multifunction physical button on each earbud whilst the Ankers have a multifunction touchpad.
I’ll come back to the controls shortly Pairing process
Pairing the Anker Soundcore Liberty Airs is very straightforward. When you take them from
the case, they pair with each other and the right status LED flashes white quickly. You
can then choose “Soundcore Liberty Air” in your Bluetooth device list.
You can’t pair to each earbud separately. You’re actually pairing to the right earbud
which connects to the left earbud. You can leave the left earbud in the case but if you
want to listen to just the left earbud, you’ll need to still take the right earbud out of
the case. Pairing to the Soundpeats is a little more
complicated since it’s possible to pair them as a stereo pair as with the Ankers,
but you can also connect to them separately if you like in mono mode.
If you take them both out of the case, they will pair to each other. The right earbud
will flash red and white quickly when it’s ready to pair to your device. You can then
tap on Soundpeats “TrueFree+ R” in Bluetooth settings on your device.
Both the Ankers and Soundpeats can only pair to one device at a time in stereo mode. You’ll
need to disconnect from that device, say my iPad, to connect across to another device,
in this case my Apple Watch. If you only take the left earbud out of the
charging case, it will flash for 8s while it looks for the right earbud, but will then
flash red and white ready for pairing when it doesn’t find it. You can pair this to
the same device as the right earbud, or a different device.
Overall I appreciate the simplicity of pairing with the Ankers, but I quite like the extra
versatility of being able to pair to each earbud separately with the Soundpeats.
Ear fit and comfort There’s a slight knack to fitting the Soundpeats
earbuds in your ears for the best fit. Hold them straight up with the microphone at the
bottom and insert into your ear. I find it helps to angle the earbud away from my ear
slightly as I do this. Then rotate the earbud backwards so it rests mostly inside the outer
ear. The microphone should now be pointing towards your mouth.
The Anker earbuds are easier to fit, since they fit more like traditional in-ear earphones.
You just need to insert them and twist them slightly for the best fit.
I found the fit much more secure with the Soundpeats. I was able to run with them, whereas
the Ankers fell out when running within minutes of setting off. They were ok for general use
though. But everyone's ears are different, so you might find them perfect for you.
You can change the silicone ear tips with both earbuds for a better fit. The eartips
are slightly harder to take off and on with the Soundpeats.
I found the already fitted medium tips worked best for me with both sets of earbuds. Often
it’s how you fit them in your ear that is more of a factor than the size of ear tips.
Controls The touch controls on the Anker earbuds work
quite well, and pressing the physical button on the Soundpeats can be uncomfortable, pushing
the earbuds further into your ear. But the controls are a little more intuitive
on the Soundpeats. Pressing either earbud’s button pauses and plays your music, podcast
or video. Or answers an incoming phone call. A double tap on the left and right earbud
skips to the previous or next track respectively. And holding either earbud’s button for a
second activates the voice assistant. With the Ankers, you have to remember which
side does what. A double tap on the right earbud pauses and plays your media and answers
phone calls. A double tap on the left earbud activates your voice assistant. Tapping and
holding the left or right earbud skips to the previous or next tracks respectively,
similar to the Soundpeats. Audio quality
Both the Anker Liberty Airs and the Soundpeats Truefree+ sound good. But the Ankers definitely
have the edge. They have better clarity and handle the mids very well. They have a little
less bass than the Soundpeats, but that could be partly due to the Truefree+’s better
fit in my ears. Both the Ankers and Soundpeats didn’t handle
the highs so well, especially at louder volumes where they sound quite harsh. Lowering the
volume helps, and this will of course depend on what you’re listening to. Tracks with
more vocals and also podcasts sound pretty good on both earphones.
The Soundpeats go a little louder than the Ankers but there’s not much in it.
Both earphones have some audio lag playing games or watching YouTube videos. Although
this is negligible in Netflix. The sound isolation again depends on fit,
so was slightly better with the Soundpeats for me. Sound leakage was pretty close between
both of them and not enough to be of concern. At maximum volume it was more apparent with
the Soundpeats, since they’re a bit louder. There’s no active noise cancellation on
either set of earbuds. Both earbuds have stereo voice calling and
I found they sounded very clear. The microphones also do a good job on both
sets of earbuds. I couldn’t tell the difference listening to a call from someone via the Anker
or the Soundpeats earbuds, compared to an iPhone X’s microphone.
Although it can be convenient, I don’t particularly like making voice calls with both earbuds
in. Because of the sound isolation, you don’t hear your own voice properly which is an odd
sensation. Battery life and Bluetooth range
The quoted battery life of 5 hours for the Liberty Airs and 4 hours for the Soundpeats
was very close to what I got, playing music at around 70% volume. The extra hour from
the Ankers does give them the edge. Unfortunately neither of them have fast charging
for charging the earbuds, or the case for that matter. But twenty minutes of charge
from empty still provides at least an hour of playback if you’re got the case with
you. A full charge took just over an hour for both pairs of earbuds.
Both earphones use Bluetooth 5.0 and I found range good, with no dropouts in the next room
of the house around 10 metres away. I did have some issues with the Ankers dropping
out when connected to my Apple Watch. It was ok outside away from any interference and
they were fine with my iPhone and iPad. Conclusions
The Anker Soundcore Liberty Airs do have better sound quality. And that does justify their
higher price tag to a degree. Their longer battery life and slimmer charging case, also
make them a little more convenient for when you’re out and about. Plus they have an
IPX5 rating against the elements. The touch controls generally work quite well,
but I prefer how the Soundpeats buttons are configured. And the sound quality is still
surprisingly good with the Soundpeats, especially when you consider the price. Pairing the Soundpeats
is a little more complex, but you do get the flexibility of being able to pair to each
earbud separately. Neither earphones have fast charging, wireless
charging, or volume controls. And there’s no app to control them.
If you don’t want to spend too much, I think most people would be more than happy with
the Soundpeats. For running I actually find them the better option since they’re a more
secure fit - in my ears at least. I also feel less self conscious with the Soundpeats, but
that’s subjective and I’m sure of lot of you will prefer the look of the Ankers.
For the best sound quality I’d go for the Ankers Soundcore Liberty Airs. I just wish
they had a more secure fit and that their build quality was a little better - especially
for the price. But do keep an eye on the price especially if you’re not in a rush - I’ll
link to both sets of earphones down below. If you can get them for less than their RRP,
they are definitely worth considering. But what do you think? Have you tried either
of these earbuds. Do you think the Ankers justify their higher price tag? Which do you
prefer the look of? Let me know down below. And as ever if you have any questions, please
ask - I read every comment and will do my best to respond.
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