Soundcore
soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max | Earbuds with AI Note-Taker Smart Case
soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max | Earbuds with AI Note-Taker Smart Case
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- Guinness World Records: soundcore Liberty 5 Pro was certified by Guinness World Records in April 2026 as the "Highest speech quality score (G-MOS) for TWS earbuds (objective test)." Liberty 5 Pro Max features the same earbud units, delivering identical call performance.
- Smart Note-Taking with AI: Capture every word without lifting a finger. Transcribes meetings, interviews, or lectures in real time, then turns them into clear summaries with action points, so you leave with everything you need, already organised.
- Calls That Are Always Loud and Clear: Take calls anywhere and be heard clearly. Advanced AI chip and 10 sensors filter out background noise so you sound like you're face to face, even if you're whispering in a loud environment.
- Silence the World, Instantly: With Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) that's twice as powerful as the previous generation and adapts to your world as it changes, block out distractions the moment you put Libery 5 Pro Max in.
- Lag-Free Voice Control: With 20 built-in commands, you can select Next Track, Play Music, and adjust the volume. Offline processing ensures zero delay—hands-free and always ready.
- AI NOTE-TAKER & Subscription: The smart charging case records in-person meetings and interviews via its built-in mic, then transcribes and generates AI summaries with key points and action items. In-room audio only—does not capture online meetings, video calls, or phone calls. Manage workflows on the go via the soundcore app (iOS/Android), or use the Web portal with "Ask Anka" AI assistant for desktop efficiency. The free Starter Plan includes 120 min/month of AI transcription for 24 months. Upgrade to Pro for 1,200 min/month (£15.99/mo, £69.99 / 6 months, or £99.99/year), and Unlimited covers all-day transcription (£224.99/year). You can also buy extra minutes anytime.
- STRICT BUSINESS-GRADE PRIVACY: The trusted audio choice for professionals handling confidential information. Your conversations are secured with local AES-256 encryption. Without cloud sync enabled, temporary cloud files will be immediately deleted once you receive the audio transcription results, ensuring no audio and transcription content is retained. Built to the security standards with ISO 27001/27701, SOC 2 Type 1, HIPAA, EN 18031, EN 303645, and NIST IR 8425 compliance, the soundcore app and Liberty 5 Pro Max deliver uncompromising data privacy and peace of mind.
- Sound Tuned to You: HearID 5.0 adapts to your ears, customisable EQ settings let you personalise your sound , and soundcore's AI Audio Enhancer work together to deliver richer detail, deeper bass, and a listening experience that's made for you.
- Effortless Touch Control: The charging case's large 1.78″ touchscreen display lets you adjust settings, switch modes, and access features like the AI Voice Recorder without having to reach for your phone.
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- 5 stars: 15 (88%)
- 4 stars: 1 (6%)
- 3 stars: 1 (6%)
- 2 stars: 0 (0%)
- 1 star: 0 (0%)
Best ones
Still testing it. Sound is good. A little complicated to understand. Early days though. Promising product, but need mode time before writing a more comprehensive review.
2026 New Anker soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max Wireless Earbuds, AI Note-Taker for In-Person Meetings, Whisper-Clear Calls, Active Noise Cancelling, 1.78" AMOLED Smart Case, 5 Mins Charge = 4 Hrs Playtime This is an interim review for now until I get chance to utilise all the amazing features on these headphones when I am back in the office. My initial view is that I am blown away by them. Now I cannot compare them to the current market leaders, but I am already astounded that I can take calls in very noisy environments and hear and be heard as if I am sat in a library. I have really early been able to find my way round the controls and connectivity is simple and always constant. I love being able to control from the charging case. The quality of the sound is great and I didn't realise that I could get such good noise cancellations from ear buds. The quality is amazing and I think these are good value for money for all the features they offer. For listening to music they are amazing. Though I normally use cheap ear buds, for the radio and audio books, for music listening I generally wear some Bose over ears, Ive always been put of expensive ear buds because of the difficulties I have finding comfortable pairs for my little ears. But these are literally the most comfortable in ear ear buds I have ever tried. I literally cannot wait to put the note taking and translation to the test when I get back to work. but my first thoughts are that these are already a premium 5 star item.
Very happy with these earbuds sound quality is good and they fit very well and can be worn for long periods.
soundcore 2026 New Anker Liberty 5 Pro Max. These were on sale for £199.99 when I got them. Let me start this review with a couple of caveats about me. I don’t like loud noises or music being loud, it hurts me and makes me uncomfortable. I’ve used supposedly “noise cancelling” headphones before and never really been impressed by them, the surrounding noise is quieter, but that could be the headphones just not letting the surrounding sound in. So I got these and they’re impressive. They come with the unique charging case, a pair of headphones that fit into each ear, USB C charging cable, 5 different sized ear tips to suit pretty much any shape or size of ear and 3 different sized ear fins. The case lid opens by sliding away from you to reveal the headphones, they drop into their respective charging slots easily and go straight onto charge, as soon as you pick them out they turn on. The top of the case has a touchscreen on it, allowing you to easily check the battery life of not only the case, but each of the earbuds. When they’re in the case, they’re lit up brightly on the display, but when you remove them from the case, they go dimmer to signify they’re not in the case. You can do so much with the case itself, change settings, change song, access the note taking ability, adjust the noise cancelling and sound effects of the headphones. You can also use it as a remote shutter to be able to take a photo with your mobile phone, which is great if you wanted to take a selfie. As for the headphones themselves, they’re really comfortable to wear, I’ve stuck with them as they’ve come, so ear fin size 1 and medium ear tips, and they fit me very well. Usually I’m not a fan of headphones that fit into your ears, I prefer the over the ear ones as they don’t usually move about or fall off, but I’ve used these a fair bit recently moving around and doing things, and they’re great, they don’t move once you put them in, they just stay there. I connected them to my mobile phone really easily, downloaded the Soundcore app and paired them. Not only the headphones, but then you can also pair the case, which allows it to do more things. I then fired up Spotify and it started playing through the headphones. The sound quality is brilliant, best I’ve heard from headphones. I wasn’t sure about the noise cancelling, so I’m sat in the living room, playing music, not loudly, then my son walked in and I could see him moving his lips but I couldn’t hear anything from him. I took the headphones out of my right ear and asked if he was messing about and no, he was actually talking to me, but I couldn’t hear a thing aside from my music. And let me restate this again, I don’t have my music loud. But I couldn’t hear him or anything else. You can change the settings to use sound transparency, so if it picks up people talking around you (even yourself or if you go to sing) it’ll change it so you can hear all the surrounding noise, whilst still listening to the music. After a few seconds of no talking, it’ll go back to noise cancelling mode. It’s so impressive, I’m not able to fully put into words how effective it is. I wore them walking around the house, they don’t move, they’re comfortable, flushed the toilet and it was like someone had pressed the mute button on everything. No noise. Running water washing hands, nothing. The only thing I did hear is when the kettle was boiling, got a slight little bit of noise there, but I was stood right next to it. I’ve just put them in now and I’m not even playing music and the sound of my computer fans next to me has gone. I can hear clicking on my mechanical keyboard and it’s muted. It’s like the wife is sat over the other side of the living room doing a diamond art painting, and I can slightly hear the crinkling of the plastic sheet as she’s moving it, but as soon as I start the music, I can’t hear anything else. As you’re using them, you get notifications on your phone showing the power levels on the headphones and case, which is useful. You can also run a fit test on the headphones where it’ll tell you if you’ve got a good seal on them or if you need to adjust them. I find that putting it into my ear and then twisting it slightly gives a really good seal. All in all, these are fantastic, best headphones I’ve ever had and I’m a convert to noise cancelling now.
Very nice, noise cancelling on point.
buds ANC are good, but the touch case and AI app are awful. not responsive on touch, slow in taking action and constant issues trying to generate transcripts or summary
Product - these earphones are immaculate! The quality is absolutely amazing, they’re easy to set up, even for someone not as technologically advanced as some. The case is unique and slides up as opposed to flipping open. They fit great however do come with additional buds to ensure they fit. They’re comfortable to wear and very lightweight. The case is sturdy and durable without being too heavy. The screen is an added bonus to the ear buds and I feel it really elevates the look of them. The sound quality is incredible and there are several different settings on the headphones depending on your taste. There is an app you can download however this is not necessary, I have downloaded it but not used it yet. Packaging - the earphones are packaged in a branded box which is a strong, good quality box. There are strips on either side for you to remove prior to opening. Inside is everything you need, the earphones, charger, additional buds and instruction manual. Price - I feel this is a fair price for a product of such quality. These ear buds will last years and as someone who uses them multiple times a day then I think they are very worth it.
Sorry about the grime in my pics - been using these buds a lot! The main selling feature for these buds is the AI NoteTaker, so I'll concentrate my review on this mainly. The charging box is a quite capable sound recorder, with a screen, memory and probably a processor and built-in software. The earbuds seem to have very little to do with the note taking capability. You can make recordings and they're sync'd to your phone for playback and review. When reviewing recordings, changing playback speed doesn't change the pitch - no one sounds like Pinky or Perky and it works really well to save time when reviewing a presentation. "Voice enhancement" works quite well but background sounds are sometimes transformed into weird noises and can be quite distracting. I find it's best to switch this off sometimes. "Skip silent segments" works well, too, but you can't have this switched on without Voice enhancement. Very rudimentary editing can be carried out on your recordings with the crop tool - at leas I think so. I can't work out how this works and I always just end up keeping the bit I want to throw away and losing the rest of the recording. I may be doing it wrong, but I'll have very little use for this facility. Soundcore seem to be pushing this set of earbuds as a note taking facility because it has the Anker+ AI chip and a few AI tools built in: transcription and auto generated summaries. These are paid services, but you can test them out for a month for free. Suffice it to say, transcription works really well - I'm impressed by how accurate it is; even when one of my speakers was Ukrainian and spoke with a strong Russian-like accent. Intelligent Summary generation is augmented by setting a "Domain" in the setting for the recording. You can tell the system you're working in a legal environment, sales, architecture etc. Summary generation works well if the domain fits your situation but for me it's mostly hit and miss. I work in a weird sector few have heard of and it doesn't feature in the "Domains" available. One major plus point for me was that the AI system learned my voice, could tell when I was speaking and this was reflected in the transcriptions. I can see this will all be incredibly useful for some (I do use it myself). It already works pretty impressively now and I can imagine it will only get better as Soundcore improves it and maybe get feedback (and maybe AI model training?) from users. The buds, ANC sound quality etc… Connection quality is what you'd expect from Soundcore - solid, no isues, easy to pair. Full disclosure: I generally rate Soundcore quite highly. In my view they consistently produce high quality products. These buds (and the charging box) are no exception. They're clearly a premium product. The box has a touch screen and without having to take your phone from your bag or pocket you can control ANC, EQ, check batteries, control playback etc. The buds are a bit of a weird design, but it works well. For me personally they do feel a bit insecure in my ear, but they never fall out - even when running or power walking. They're comfortable enough to wear for extended periods - I often use them for 5 hours or more. The buds come with a number of different ear tips and some different sized rubber flanges that attach to the tops of each one. I'm not sure what these are for - they don't improve fit security (don't actually touch my ear at all). I wonder if they're some kind of baffle for the ANC mics..? ANC is very impressive! It's up with the best I've experienced in earbuds and works well (possibly not the best) for voices (for example TV or busy room), but for droning, engine-like sounds it's very, very good! Adaptive ANC is very impressive in restaurant like environments. Transparency mode is also impressively good - no weird sound effects and no annoying hiss like some other buds produce. I really like the Easy Chat feature: when I'm listening to music, EasyChat will detect a conversation and lower the music so I can participate. Works well except when someone speaks behind me! Sound quality is fantastic - these are bordering on audiophile reproduction and they compete with more expensive buds. They make a deep and creamy but punchy bass, incredibly detailed mids and well balanced - not too screechy or too EQ'd - highs. They handled everything I threw at them admirably, from challenging modern electro-intensive stuff like Emika's Professional Loving to older music mastered for the frequency response limitations of vinyl and tape: Dave Brubeck, Abbey Road, Oxygène, Donna Summer's I Feel Love… These are lovely earbuds with extras. The sound recorder and note taking feature work well and I can see them getting better as the AI improves. I can see these (and the associated transcription subscription) would suit someone who sits in a lot of meetings very well (although I have seen people baulk at the use of a recorder in meetings before). Even without this the buds are worth the ...
These feel like earbuds built for someone who takes calls constantly, commutes, jumps between devices, and likes tech features. The Midnight Black version looks sleek without trying too hard, and the whole package feels more premium than Soundcore’s older “budget flagship” identity.They feel quite premium in the hand and the case is a lot more feature-heavy than typical earbuds, especially with the display and extra smart functions built Fit is secure once you get the right ear tips and fins, though it takes a bit of trial and error.The extra AI and smart features feel more like add-ons than essentials, but they do make it feel more “all-in-one” than standard earbuds.The only thing stopping them from being an easy recommendation is that some of the AI features currently feel more impressive on a product page than in real life.
These are the most expensive earbuds I have ever owned at the current price of £199.99. As someone who isn't a tech expert or an audiophile, I was a bit worried all the fancy features might just go over my head. However, they are incredibly idiot proof and the amount of use I get out of them every day helps justify the steeper price tag. Having only ever used really cheap earbuds – I think the most expensive pair is no more than £30 – I can really tell the difference in sound quality immediately. Even as soon as you put them in your ears and before you start to play anything through them. At the time I was listening to This Morning – it was a link section where the presenter gives an overview of what is coming up next before the adverts but they also play the theme tune music alongside it. Upon putting the earbuds in although I could hear the presenters voice, I couldn’t hear the music and neither could I hear traffic noise through the open window. I thought I knew what noise cancelling was but hadn’t truly experienced it until now. Once you start playing your audio, the noise cancelling is incredibly effective and instantly blocks out background noises like traffic, the engine noise on a bus or other people chatting in the office. (You really will need to be careful if you’re using these whilst out walking or jogging on quieter roads when crossing roads etc due to this). The charging case is also an obvious upgrade on other cases – there is a screen on the case which looks like the layout on a smart watch. You can change settings, check battery life, skip songs etc without needing to get your phone out. You need to slide it to open it, I was trying to flip it open like every other case I’ve ever had. The battery life is really long and the speed of the fast charging is incredible. Plugging them in for less than 10 minutes gives you several hours of use, which is perfect when you’re in a rush. The sound is deep, rich, and amazingly clear whether listening to music, a podcast or videos. It has something called Spatial Audio which I have never experienced before with my cheaper earbuds and I was really wowed by it. From what I understand about audio, standard headphones play music in stereo, which means the sound is split into two channels: left and right. The music feels like it is static inside your head, playing directly into your ears. Spatial audio changes make the noises sound and feel like they are moving around your head. Instead of feeling like a voice is inside your head, it feels like they are standing five feet in front of you, the guitar is off to your left, and the drums are behind you. They are also very good on phone calls even in wind my voice apparently is clear and loud. You need to download the Soundcore app onto your phone which is well worth doing to find out what settings you can change – and I would really advise doing these when you have time to play about with it as it really is worth exploring, honestly as you will find settings to do stuff you didn’t even know existed. One of these settings which is something these have which my cheaper ones haven’t, is head tracking. If you are listening to a video, film whatever on your tablet and you turn your head to the right, the earbuds shift the audio so it still sounds like the voices are coming from the screen – it’s very clever. It is a really detailed app, but it makes everything simple to use. You can use the app to change what happens when you tap the earbuds, test if you are using the right size ear tips, or tweak the noise cancelling levels. A clever feature is easy chat which automatically turns down the music the second you start talking out loud so you don't have to take the earbuds out to answer someone – absolutely amazing for the office. There is even a hearing test - instead of making you mess around with complicated audio sliders that I don’t understand anyway, it just plays a few different tones to see what your ears like best. Then, it automatically sets up a custom sound profile made just for you. If you don't want to bother with that, you can just click a button to boost the bass or make vocals clearer. One test even tells you if you are wearing the correct tips! Comfort wise – they are surprisingly comfortable to wear for prolonged periods. They are lightweight and sit naturally in the ear. I wouldn’t say that I don’t know I am wearing them, but my ears don’t feel sore when I’ve had them in for a long time and I don’t feel the need to remove them. They stay in well and feel secure which is great for when you are out jogging or walking outside as for the price, you really do not want to lose these. All in all, I have been extremely impressed by these. I can’t compare them to other premium audio brands as I have never owned an expensive set but if you are like me, only ever used budget earbuds and are thinking of treating yourself to an ear bud upgrade but are wary of spending money, I wo...
Got it just now and I'm liking it
These are far and away to best sounding in-ear headphones I have ever owned. The bass is excellent, as is the noise cancelling. The box having a screen is a nice extra, particularly the feature to be able to take a photo with your phone remotely. It would definitely be a 5 star but for teh cost. Whilst the sound is good it isnt 10 times better than other Anker Soundcore products. I guess if you want the microphone function then maybe it justifies teh cost a little. I have been using them for a week in Teams meetings and they have been really good. My voice is clearly heard and I can hear the meeting clearly. I often work from home and with the noise cancelling on I cant hear anything else, which does mean I cant hear the doorbell ring.. which could be good or bad :) The voice to text might be a feature some like but I cannot think of a scenario where I would use it, and the fact that you can start a recording with no audible warning seems a little dodgy for anyone else on the call and it seems to be a subscription feature.
Absolutely amazing buds - the quality is something else I've never had such noise cancellation when it's on everything is silent around me and have it on voice mode so if someone speaks it lets he hear the person . Nice sized ear buds first really comfy in ears . I thought the at source ai translation but would be a gimic it's defo not it works well . Just need to test the voice notes now
Really impressed with these earbuds. The sound quality is clear and powerful, and they’re great for listening to music as well as taking calls. Noise cancelling works well and helps block out background sound, especially in busy places. Calls also sound very clear on both sides. The charging is very fast and battery life is solid for daily use. The display is also a nice bonus and makes them feel more high-tech. Overall, very good value and perfect for everyday music and calls.
To be clear, this item was made available to me as part of the soundcore Vine program but my review is based solely on my own experience and represents my honest assessment without any influence from the seller or third parties. Having tested countless earbuds and headphones over the years, including my previous favourite premium Sony WH-1000XM4s, I can confidently say that the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max are not just competitive; they are genuinely superior in crucial areas of performance. While £199 is a significant investment for earbuds, these are a rare case where the hardware, AI-driven processing, and feature set fully justify the premium price tag. The most immediate impression is the staggering audio fidelity. The level of separation, crispness, and customization available is simply incredible. I am hearing layers and subtle details in familiar tracks that I never realized existed before. Whether you are a casual listener or an audiophile, the ability to tune the sound profile so precisely through the HearID 4.0 system ensures you are getting a tailored experience that matches your unique hearing sensitivities. The bass is powerful and deep without becoming muddy, while the highs remain sharp and clear even at higher volumes. What truly sets these apart is the integration of the proprietary Anker THUS AI Chip. By handling complex environmental analysis and audio optimization on-device rather than relying on standard phone app processing, the performance is exceptionally responsive. The adaptive noise cancellation is remarkably effective, creating a near-silent oasis even in chaotic urban environments, while the "Whisper-Clear" call quality, backed by a comprehensive microphone array and advanced sensors, is genuinely a game changer for phone calls, ensuring you can take calls in noisy settings without the other party hearing background chatter. The user experience is made even better by the smart charging case, which features a large, bright AMOLED touchscreen. Being able to change settings, monitor battery status, and control advanced features directly via this screen, rather than fumbling with a smartphone app, is a massive convenience that makes these feel truly premium. The AI voice note and transcription feature is a brilliant addition for those who need to capture ideas on the fly; while it takes a little practice to master, it quickly becomes a really useful feature for taking notes in meetings and lectures. In terms of build and convenience, the battery performance is fair, offering up to 6.5 hours of continuous playback with ANC enabled, and the hyper fast charging (giving 4 hours of playtime from just a 5-minute charge) is a lifesaver for avoiding battery anxiety. With an IP55 dust and water resistance rating and wireless charging support, these earbuds are physically built to endure daily wear and tear for years. When you break down the "cost-per-use" over a year of daily work calls, commutes, and workouts, they offer one of the lowest daily costs of any piece of tech I own. They are not just an accessory; they are a high-end productivity and audio powerhouse, and I recommend them without any hesitation whatsoever. They are worth every penny. Just incredible.
I'm really impressed with these soundcore wireless earbuds. They're not like any I've had before! They have so many additional features my other ones don't have. I'm really loving the hands free voice control. The AI note taker is like something i've never seen before (I'm not very tech savvy). Also, I can't believe how clear and crisp everything sounds, even in noisy environments. The charging base is a good size. It's not overly big but it's fine for what I need it's used for. I can use the touchscreen to adjust settings and check how much battery is left. The earbuds themselves are comfortable to wear, they took a few wears for me to get used to them. There is an app you can download to access all features these earbuds have to offer. The battery life is incredible. Overall, I'm so very pleased and really happy I got them. I would happily recommend.
- 5 stars: 15 (88%)
- 4 stars: 1 (6%)
- 3 stars: 1 (6%)
- 2 stars: 0 (0%)
- 1 star: 0 (0%)
Best ones
Still testing it. Sound is good. A little complicated to understand. Early days though. Promising product, but need mode time before writing a more comprehensive review.
2026 New Anker soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max Wireless Earbuds, AI Note-Taker for In-Person Meetings, Whisper-Clear Calls, Active Noise Cancelling, 1.78" AMOLED Smart Case, 5 Mins Charge = 4 Hrs Playtime This is an interim review for now until I get chance to utilise all the amazing features on these headphones when I am back in the office. My initial view is that I am blown away by them. Now I cannot compare them to the current market leaders, but I am already astounded that I can take calls in very noisy environments and hear and be heard as if I am sat in a library. I have really early been able to find my way round the controls and connectivity is simple and always constant. I love being able to control from the charging case. The quality of the sound is great and I didn't realise that I could get such good noise cancellations from ear buds. The quality is amazing and I think these are good value for money for all the features they offer. For listening to music they are amazing. Though I normally use cheap ear buds, for the radio and audio books, for music listening I generally wear some Bose over ears, Ive always been put of expensive ear buds because of the difficulties I have finding comfortable pairs for my little ears. But these are literally the most comfortable in ear ear buds I have ever tried. I literally cannot wait to put the note taking and translation to the test when I get back to work. but my first thoughts are that these are already a premium 5 star item.
Very happy with these earbuds sound quality is good and they fit very well and can be worn for long periods.
soundcore 2026 New Anker Liberty 5 Pro Max. These were on sale for £199.99 when I got them. Let me start this review with a couple of caveats about me. I don’t like loud noises or music being loud, it hurts me and makes me uncomfortable. I’ve used supposedly “noise cancelling” headphones before and never really been impressed by them, the surrounding noise is quieter, but that could be the headphones just not letting the surrounding sound in. So I got these and they’re impressive. They come with the unique charging case, a pair of headphones that fit into each ear, USB C charging cable, 5 different sized ear tips to suit pretty much any shape or size of ear and 3 different sized ear fins. The case lid opens by sliding away from you to reveal the headphones, they drop into their respective charging slots easily and go straight onto charge, as soon as you pick them out they turn on. The top of the case has a touchscreen on it, allowing you to easily check the battery life of not only the case, but each of the earbuds. When they’re in the case, they’re lit up brightly on the display, but when you remove them from the case, they go dimmer to signify they’re not in the case. You can do so much with the case itself, change settings, change song, access the note taking ability, adjust the noise cancelling and sound effects of the headphones. You can also use it as a remote shutter to be able to take a photo with your mobile phone, which is great if you wanted to take a selfie. As for the headphones themselves, they’re really comfortable to wear, I’ve stuck with them as they’ve come, so ear fin size 1 and medium ear tips, and they fit me very well. Usually I’m not a fan of headphones that fit into your ears, I prefer the over the ear ones as they don’t usually move about or fall off, but I’ve used these a fair bit recently moving around and doing things, and they’re great, they don’t move once you put them in, they just stay there. I connected them to my mobile phone really easily, downloaded the Soundcore app and paired them. Not only the headphones, but then you can also pair the case, which allows it to do more things. I then fired up Spotify and it started playing through the headphones. The sound quality is brilliant, best I’ve heard from headphones. I wasn’t sure about the noise cancelling, so I’m sat in the living room, playing music, not loudly, then my son walked in and I could see him moving his lips but I couldn’t hear anything from him. I took the headphones out of my right ear and asked if he was messing about and no, he was actually talking to me, but I couldn’t hear a thing aside from my music. And let me restate this again, I don’t have my music loud. But I couldn’t hear him or anything else. You can change the settings to use sound transparency, so if it picks up people talking around you (even yourself or if you go to sing) it’ll change it so you can hear all the surrounding noise, whilst still listening to the music. After a few seconds of no talking, it’ll go back to noise cancelling mode. It’s so impressive, I’m not able to fully put into words how effective it is. I wore them walking around the house, they don’t move, they’re comfortable, flushed the toilet and it was like someone had pressed the mute button on everything. No noise. Running water washing hands, nothing. The only thing I did hear is when the kettle was boiling, got a slight little bit of noise there, but I was stood right next to it. I’ve just put them in now and I’m not even playing music and the sound of my computer fans next to me has gone. I can hear clicking on my mechanical keyboard and it’s muted. It’s like the wife is sat over the other side of the living room doing a diamond art painting, and I can slightly hear the crinkling of the plastic sheet as she’s moving it, but as soon as I start the music, I can’t hear anything else. As you’re using them, you get notifications on your phone showing the power levels on the headphones and case, which is useful. You can also run a fit test on the headphones where it’ll tell you if you’ve got a good seal on them or if you need to adjust them. I find that putting it into my ear and then twisting it slightly gives a really good seal. All in all, these are fantastic, best headphones I’ve ever had and I’m a convert to noise cancelling now.
Very nice, noise cancelling on point.
buds ANC are good, but the touch case and AI app are awful. not responsive on touch, slow in taking action and constant issues trying to generate transcripts or summary
Product - these earphones are immaculate! The quality is absolutely amazing, they’re easy to set up, even for someone not as technologically advanced as some. The case is unique and slides up as opposed to flipping open. They fit great however do come with additional buds to ensure they fit. They’re comfortable to wear and very lightweight. The case is sturdy and durable without being too heavy. The screen is an added bonus to the ear buds and I feel it really elevates the look of them. The sound quality is incredible and there are several different settings on the headphones depending on your taste. There is an app you can download however this is not necessary, I have downloaded it but not used it yet. Packaging - the earphones are packaged in a branded box which is a strong, good quality box. There are strips on either side for you to remove prior to opening. Inside is everything you need, the earphones, charger, additional buds and instruction manual. Price - I feel this is a fair price for a product of such quality. These ear buds will last years and as someone who uses them multiple times a day then I think they are very worth it.
Sorry about the grime in my pics - been using these buds a lot! The main selling feature for these buds is the AI NoteTaker, so I'll concentrate my review on this mainly. The charging box is a quite capable sound recorder, with a screen, memory and probably a processor and built-in software. The earbuds seem to have very little to do with the note taking capability. You can make recordings and they're sync'd to your phone for playback and review. When reviewing recordings, changing playback speed doesn't change the pitch - no one sounds like Pinky or Perky and it works really well to save time when reviewing a presentation. "Voice enhancement" works quite well but background sounds are sometimes transformed into weird noises and can be quite distracting. I find it's best to switch this off sometimes. "Skip silent segments" works well, too, but you can't have this switched on without Voice enhancement. Very rudimentary editing can be carried out on your recordings with the crop tool - at leas I think so. I can't work out how this works and I always just end up keeping the bit I want to throw away and losing the rest of the recording. I may be doing it wrong, but I'll have very little use for this facility. Soundcore seem to be pushing this set of earbuds as a note taking facility because it has the Anker+ AI chip and a few AI tools built in: transcription and auto generated summaries. These are paid services, but you can test them out for a month for free. Suffice it to say, transcription works really well - I'm impressed by how accurate it is; even when one of my speakers was Ukrainian and spoke with a strong Russian-like accent. Intelligent Summary generation is augmented by setting a "Domain" in the setting for the recording. You can tell the system you're working in a legal environment, sales, architecture etc. Summary generation works well if the domain fits your situation but for me it's mostly hit and miss. I work in a weird sector few have heard of and it doesn't feature in the "Domains" available. One major plus point for me was that the AI system learned my voice, could tell when I was speaking and this was reflected in the transcriptions. I can see this will all be incredibly useful for some (I do use it myself). It already works pretty impressively now and I can imagine it will only get better as Soundcore improves it and maybe get feedback (and maybe AI model training?) from users. The buds, ANC sound quality etc… Connection quality is what you'd expect from Soundcore - solid, no isues, easy to pair. Full disclosure: I generally rate Soundcore quite highly. In my view they consistently produce high quality products. These buds (and the charging box) are no exception. They're clearly a premium product. The box has a touch screen and without having to take your phone from your bag or pocket you can control ANC, EQ, check batteries, control playback etc. The buds are a bit of a weird design, but it works well. For me personally they do feel a bit insecure in my ear, but they never fall out - even when running or power walking. They're comfortable enough to wear for extended periods - I often use them for 5 hours or more. The buds come with a number of different ear tips and some different sized rubber flanges that attach to the tops of each one. I'm not sure what these are for - they don't improve fit security (don't actually touch my ear at all). I wonder if they're some kind of baffle for the ANC mics..? ANC is very impressive! It's up with the best I've experienced in earbuds and works well (possibly not the best) for voices (for example TV or busy room), but for droning, engine-like sounds it's very, very good! Adaptive ANC is very impressive in restaurant like environments. Transparency mode is also impressively good - no weird sound effects and no annoying hiss like some other buds produce. I really like the Easy Chat feature: when I'm listening to music, EasyChat will detect a conversation and lower the music so I can participate. Works well except when someone speaks behind me! Sound quality is fantastic - these are bordering on audiophile reproduction and they compete with more expensive buds. They make a deep and creamy but punchy bass, incredibly detailed mids and well balanced - not too screechy or too EQ'd - highs. They handled everything I threw at them admirably, from challenging modern electro-intensive stuff like Emika's Professional Loving to older music mastered for the frequency response limitations of vinyl and tape: Dave Brubeck, Abbey Road, Oxygène, Donna Summer's I Feel Love… These are lovely earbuds with extras. The sound recorder and note taking feature work well and I can see them getting better as the AI improves. I can see these (and the associated transcription subscription) would suit someone who sits in a lot of meetings very well (although I have seen people baulk at the use of a recorder in meetings before). Even without this the buds are worth the ...
These feel like earbuds built for someone who takes calls constantly, commutes, jumps between devices, and likes tech features. The Midnight Black version looks sleek without trying too hard, and the whole package feels more premium than Soundcore’s older “budget flagship” identity.They feel quite premium in the hand and the case is a lot more feature-heavy than typical earbuds, especially with the display and extra smart functions built Fit is secure once you get the right ear tips and fins, though it takes a bit of trial and error.The extra AI and smart features feel more like add-ons than essentials, but they do make it feel more “all-in-one” than standard earbuds.The only thing stopping them from being an easy recommendation is that some of the AI features currently feel more impressive on a product page than in real life.
These are the most expensive earbuds I have ever owned at the current price of £199.99. As someone who isn't a tech expert or an audiophile, I was a bit worried all the fancy features might just go over my head. However, they are incredibly idiot proof and the amount of use I get out of them every day helps justify the steeper price tag. Having only ever used really cheap earbuds – I think the most expensive pair is no more than £30 – I can really tell the difference in sound quality immediately. Even as soon as you put them in your ears and before you start to play anything through them. At the time I was listening to This Morning – it was a link section where the presenter gives an overview of what is coming up next before the adverts but they also play the theme tune music alongside it. Upon putting the earbuds in although I could hear the presenters voice, I couldn’t hear the music and neither could I hear traffic noise through the open window. I thought I knew what noise cancelling was but hadn’t truly experienced it until now. Once you start playing your audio, the noise cancelling is incredibly effective and instantly blocks out background noises like traffic, the engine noise on a bus or other people chatting in the office. (You really will need to be careful if you’re using these whilst out walking or jogging on quieter roads when crossing roads etc due to this). The charging case is also an obvious upgrade on other cases – there is a screen on the case which looks like the layout on a smart watch. You can change settings, check battery life, skip songs etc without needing to get your phone out. You need to slide it to open it, I was trying to flip it open like every other case I’ve ever had. The battery life is really long and the speed of the fast charging is incredible. Plugging them in for less than 10 minutes gives you several hours of use, which is perfect when you’re in a rush. The sound is deep, rich, and amazingly clear whether listening to music, a podcast or videos. It has something called Spatial Audio which I have never experienced before with my cheaper earbuds and I was really wowed by it. From what I understand about audio, standard headphones play music in stereo, which means the sound is split into two channels: left and right. The music feels like it is static inside your head, playing directly into your ears. Spatial audio changes make the noises sound and feel like they are moving around your head. Instead of feeling like a voice is inside your head, it feels like they are standing five feet in front of you, the guitar is off to your left, and the drums are behind you. They are also very good on phone calls even in wind my voice apparently is clear and loud. You need to download the Soundcore app onto your phone which is well worth doing to find out what settings you can change – and I would really advise doing these when you have time to play about with it as it really is worth exploring, honestly as you will find settings to do stuff you didn’t even know existed. One of these settings which is something these have which my cheaper ones haven’t, is head tracking. If you are listening to a video, film whatever on your tablet and you turn your head to the right, the earbuds shift the audio so it still sounds like the voices are coming from the screen – it’s very clever. It is a really detailed app, but it makes everything simple to use. You can use the app to change what happens when you tap the earbuds, test if you are using the right size ear tips, or tweak the noise cancelling levels. A clever feature is easy chat which automatically turns down the music the second you start talking out loud so you don't have to take the earbuds out to answer someone – absolutely amazing for the office. There is even a hearing test - instead of making you mess around with complicated audio sliders that I don’t understand anyway, it just plays a few different tones to see what your ears like best. Then, it automatically sets up a custom sound profile made just for you. If you don't want to bother with that, you can just click a button to boost the bass or make vocals clearer. One test even tells you if you are wearing the correct tips! Comfort wise – they are surprisingly comfortable to wear for prolonged periods. They are lightweight and sit naturally in the ear. I wouldn’t say that I don’t know I am wearing them, but my ears don’t feel sore when I’ve had them in for a long time and I don’t feel the need to remove them. They stay in well and feel secure which is great for when you are out jogging or walking outside as for the price, you really do not want to lose these. All in all, I have been extremely impressed by these. I can’t compare them to other premium audio brands as I have never owned an expensive set but if you are like me, only ever used budget earbuds and are thinking of treating yourself to an ear bud upgrade but are wary of spending money, I wo...
Got it just now and I'm liking it
These are far and away to best sounding in-ear headphones I have ever owned. The bass is excellent, as is the noise cancelling. The box having a screen is a nice extra, particularly the feature to be able to take a photo with your phone remotely. It would definitely be a 5 star but for teh cost. Whilst the sound is good it isnt 10 times better than other Anker Soundcore products. I guess if you want the microphone function then maybe it justifies teh cost a little. I have been using them for a week in Teams meetings and they have been really good. My voice is clearly heard and I can hear the meeting clearly. I often work from home and with the noise cancelling on I cant hear anything else, which does mean I cant hear the doorbell ring.. which could be good or bad :) The voice to text might be a feature some like but I cannot think of a scenario where I would use it, and the fact that you can start a recording with no audible warning seems a little dodgy for anyone else on the call and it seems to be a subscription feature.
Absolutely amazing buds - the quality is something else I've never had such noise cancellation when it's on everything is silent around me and have it on voice mode so if someone speaks it lets he hear the person . Nice sized ear buds first really comfy in ears . I thought the at source ai translation but would be a gimic it's defo not it works well . Just need to test the voice notes now
Really impressed with these earbuds. The sound quality is clear and powerful, and they’re great for listening to music as well as taking calls. Noise cancelling works well and helps block out background sound, especially in busy places. Calls also sound very clear on both sides. The charging is very fast and battery life is solid for daily use. The display is also a nice bonus and makes them feel more high-tech. Overall, very good value and perfect for everyday music and calls.
To be clear, this item was made available to me as part of the soundcore Vine program but my review is based solely on my own experience and represents my honest assessment without any influence from the seller or third parties. Having tested countless earbuds and headphones over the years, including my previous favourite premium Sony WH-1000XM4s, I can confidently say that the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max are not just competitive; they are genuinely superior in crucial areas of performance. While £199 is a significant investment for earbuds, these are a rare case where the hardware, AI-driven processing, and feature set fully justify the premium price tag. The most immediate impression is the staggering audio fidelity. The level of separation, crispness, and customization available is simply incredible. I am hearing layers and subtle details in familiar tracks that I never realized existed before. Whether you are a casual listener or an audiophile, the ability to tune the sound profile so precisely through the HearID 4.0 system ensures you are getting a tailored experience that matches your unique hearing sensitivities. The bass is powerful and deep without becoming muddy, while the highs remain sharp and clear even at higher volumes. What truly sets these apart is the integration of the proprietary Anker THUS AI Chip. By handling complex environmental analysis and audio optimization on-device rather than relying on standard phone app processing, the performance is exceptionally responsive. The adaptive noise cancellation is remarkably effective, creating a near-silent oasis even in chaotic urban environments, while the "Whisper-Clear" call quality, backed by a comprehensive microphone array and advanced sensors, is genuinely a game changer for phone calls, ensuring you can take calls in noisy settings without the other party hearing background chatter. The user experience is made even better by the smart charging case, which features a large, bright AMOLED touchscreen. Being able to change settings, monitor battery status, and control advanced features directly via this screen, rather than fumbling with a smartphone app, is a massive convenience that makes these feel truly premium. The AI voice note and transcription feature is a brilliant addition for those who need to capture ideas on the fly; while it takes a little practice to master, it quickly becomes a really useful feature for taking notes in meetings and lectures. In terms of build and convenience, the battery performance is fair, offering up to 6.5 hours of continuous playback with ANC enabled, and the hyper fast charging (giving 4 hours of playtime from just a 5-minute charge) is a lifesaver for avoiding battery anxiety. With an IP55 dust and water resistance rating and wireless charging support, these earbuds are physically built to endure daily wear and tear for years. When you break down the "cost-per-use" over a year of daily work calls, commutes, and workouts, they offer one of the lowest daily costs of any piece of tech I own. They are not just an accessory; they are a high-end productivity and audio powerhouse, and I recommend them without any hesitation whatsoever. They are worth every penny. Just incredible.
I'm really impressed with these soundcore wireless earbuds. They're not like any I've had before! They have so many additional features my other ones don't have. I'm really loving the hands free voice control. The AI note taker is like something i've never seen before (I'm not very tech savvy). Also, I can't believe how clear and crisp everything sounds, even in noisy environments. The charging base is a good size. It's not overly big but it's fine for what I need it's used for. I can use the touchscreen to adjust settings and check how much battery is left. The earbuds themselves are comfortable to wear, they took a few wears for me to get used to them. There is an app you can download to access all features these earbuds have to offer. The battery life is incredible. Overall, I'm so very pleased and really happy I got them. I would happily recommend.
- 5 stars: 15 (88%)
- 4 stars: 1 (6%)
- 3 stars: 1 (6%)
- 2 stars: 0 (0%)
- 1 star: 0 (0%)
Best ones
Still testing it. Sound is good. A little complicated to understand. Early days though. Promising product, but need mode time before writing a more comprehensive review.
2026 New Anker soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max Wireless Earbuds, AI Note-Taker for In-Person Meetings, Whisper-Clear Calls, Active Noise Cancelling, 1.78" AMOLED Smart Case, 5 Mins Charge = 4 Hrs Playtime This is an interim review for now until I get chance to utilise all the amazing features on these headphones when I am back in the office. My initial view is that I am blown away by them. Now I cannot compare them to the current market leaders, but I am already astounded that I can take calls in very noisy environments and hear and be heard as if I am sat in a library. I have really early been able to find my way round the controls and connectivity is simple and always constant. I love being able to control from the charging case. The quality of the sound is great and I didn't realise that I could get such good noise cancellations from ear buds. The quality is amazing and I think these are good value for money for all the features they offer. For listening to music they are amazing. Though I normally use cheap ear buds, for the radio and audio books, for music listening I generally wear some Bose over ears, Ive always been put of expensive ear buds because of the difficulties I have finding comfortable pairs for my little ears. But these are literally the most comfortable in ear ear buds I have ever tried. I literally cannot wait to put the note taking and translation to the test when I get back to work. but my first thoughts are that these are already a premium 5 star item.
Very happy with these earbuds sound quality is good and they fit very well and can be worn for long periods.
soundcore 2026 New Anker Liberty 5 Pro Max. These were on sale for £199.99 when I got them. Let me start this review with a couple of caveats about me. I don’t like loud noises or music being loud, it hurts me and makes me uncomfortable. I’ve used supposedly “noise cancelling” headphones before and never really been impressed by them, the surrounding noise is quieter, but that could be the headphones just not letting the surrounding sound in. So I got these and they’re impressive. They come with the unique charging case, a pair of headphones that fit into each ear, USB C charging cable, 5 different sized ear tips to suit pretty much any shape or size of ear and 3 different sized ear fins. The case lid opens by sliding away from you to reveal the headphones, they drop into their respective charging slots easily and go straight onto charge, as soon as you pick them out they turn on. The top of the case has a touchscreen on it, allowing you to easily check the battery life of not only the case, but each of the earbuds. When they’re in the case, they’re lit up brightly on the display, but when you remove them from the case, they go dimmer to signify they’re not in the case. You can do so much with the case itself, change settings, change song, access the note taking ability, adjust the noise cancelling and sound effects of the headphones. You can also use it as a remote shutter to be able to take a photo with your mobile phone, which is great if you wanted to take a selfie. As for the headphones themselves, they’re really comfortable to wear, I’ve stuck with them as they’ve come, so ear fin size 1 and medium ear tips, and they fit me very well. Usually I’m not a fan of headphones that fit into your ears, I prefer the over the ear ones as they don’t usually move about or fall off, but I’ve used these a fair bit recently moving around and doing things, and they’re great, they don’t move once you put them in, they just stay there. I connected them to my mobile phone really easily, downloaded the Soundcore app and paired them. Not only the headphones, but then you can also pair the case, which allows it to do more things. I then fired up Spotify and it started playing through the headphones. The sound quality is brilliant, best I’ve heard from headphones. I wasn’t sure about the noise cancelling, so I’m sat in the living room, playing music, not loudly, then my son walked in and I could see him moving his lips but I couldn’t hear anything from him. I took the headphones out of my right ear and asked if he was messing about and no, he was actually talking to me, but I couldn’t hear a thing aside from my music. And let me restate this again, I don’t have my music loud. But I couldn’t hear him or anything else. You can change the settings to use sound transparency, so if it picks up people talking around you (even yourself or if you go to sing) it’ll change it so you can hear all the surrounding noise, whilst still listening to the music. After a few seconds of no talking, it’ll go back to noise cancelling mode. It’s so impressive, I’m not able to fully put into words how effective it is. I wore them walking around the house, they don’t move, they’re comfortable, flushed the toilet and it was like someone had pressed the mute button on everything. No noise. Running water washing hands, nothing. The only thing I did hear is when the kettle was boiling, got a slight little bit of noise there, but I was stood right next to it. I’ve just put them in now and I’m not even playing music and the sound of my computer fans next to me has gone. I can hear clicking on my mechanical keyboard and it’s muted. It’s like the wife is sat over the other side of the living room doing a diamond art painting, and I can slightly hear the crinkling of the plastic sheet as she’s moving it, but as soon as I start the music, I can’t hear anything else. As you’re using them, you get notifications on your phone showing the power levels on the headphones and case, which is useful. You can also run a fit test on the headphones where it’ll tell you if you’ve got a good seal on them or if you need to adjust them. I find that putting it into my ear and then twisting it slightly gives a really good seal. All in all, these are fantastic, best headphones I’ve ever had and I’m a convert to noise cancelling now.
Very nice, noise cancelling on point.
buds ANC are good, but the touch case and AI app are awful. not responsive on touch, slow in taking action and constant issues trying to generate transcripts or summary
Product - these earphones are immaculate! The quality is absolutely amazing, they’re easy to set up, even for someone not as technologically advanced as some. The case is unique and slides up as opposed to flipping open. They fit great however do come with additional buds to ensure they fit. They’re comfortable to wear and very lightweight. The case is sturdy and durable without being too heavy. The screen is an added bonus to the ear buds and I feel it really elevates the look of them. The sound quality is incredible and there are several different settings on the headphones depending on your taste. There is an app you can download however this is not necessary, I have downloaded it but not used it yet. Packaging - the earphones are packaged in a branded box which is a strong, good quality box. There are strips on either side for you to remove prior to opening. Inside is everything you need, the earphones, charger, additional buds and instruction manual. Price - I feel this is a fair price for a product of such quality. These ear buds will last years and as someone who uses them multiple times a day then I think they are very worth it.
Sorry about the grime in my pics - been using these buds a lot! The main selling feature for these buds is the AI NoteTaker, so I'll concentrate my review on this mainly. The charging box is a quite capable sound recorder, with a screen, memory and probably a processor and built-in software. The earbuds seem to have very little to do with the note taking capability. You can make recordings and they're sync'd to your phone for playback and review. When reviewing recordings, changing playback speed doesn't change the pitch - no one sounds like Pinky or Perky and it works really well to save time when reviewing a presentation. "Voice enhancement" works quite well but background sounds are sometimes transformed into weird noises and can be quite distracting. I find it's best to switch this off sometimes. "Skip silent segments" works well, too, but you can't have this switched on without Voice enhancement. Very rudimentary editing can be carried out on your recordings with the crop tool - at leas I think so. I can't work out how this works and I always just end up keeping the bit I want to throw away and losing the rest of the recording. I may be doing it wrong, but I'll have very little use for this facility. Soundcore seem to be pushing this set of earbuds as a note taking facility because it has the Anker+ AI chip and a few AI tools built in: transcription and auto generated summaries. These are paid services, but you can test them out for a month for free. Suffice it to say, transcription works really well - I'm impressed by how accurate it is; even when one of my speakers was Ukrainian and spoke with a strong Russian-like accent. Intelligent Summary generation is augmented by setting a "Domain" in the setting for the recording. You can tell the system you're working in a legal environment, sales, architecture etc. Summary generation works well if the domain fits your situation but for me it's mostly hit and miss. I work in a weird sector few have heard of and it doesn't feature in the "Domains" available. One major plus point for me was that the AI system learned my voice, could tell when I was speaking and this was reflected in the transcriptions. I can see this will all be incredibly useful for some (I do use it myself). It already works pretty impressively now and I can imagine it will only get better as Soundcore improves it and maybe get feedback (and maybe AI model training?) from users. The buds, ANC sound quality etc… Connection quality is what you'd expect from Soundcore - solid, no isues, easy to pair. Full disclosure: I generally rate Soundcore quite highly. In my view they consistently produce high quality products. These buds (and the charging box) are no exception. They're clearly a premium product. The box has a touch screen and without having to take your phone from your bag or pocket you can control ANC, EQ, check batteries, control playback etc. The buds are a bit of a weird design, but it works well. For me personally they do feel a bit insecure in my ear, but they never fall out - even when running or power walking. They're comfortable enough to wear for extended periods - I often use them for 5 hours or more. The buds come with a number of different ear tips and some different sized rubber flanges that attach to the tops of each one. I'm not sure what these are for - they don't improve fit security (don't actually touch my ear at all). I wonder if they're some kind of baffle for the ANC mics..? ANC is very impressive! It's up with the best I've experienced in earbuds and works well (possibly not the best) for voices (for example TV or busy room), but for droning, engine-like sounds it's very, very good! Adaptive ANC is very impressive in restaurant like environments. Transparency mode is also impressively good - no weird sound effects and no annoying hiss like some other buds produce. I really like the Easy Chat feature: when I'm listening to music, EasyChat will detect a conversation and lower the music so I can participate. Works well except when someone speaks behind me! Sound quality is fantastic - these are bordering on audiophile reproduction and they compete with more expensive buds. They make a deep and creamy but punchy bass, incredibly detailed mids and well balanced - not too screechy or too EQ'd - highs. They handled everything I threw at them admirably, from challenging modern electro-intensive stuff like Emika's Professional Loving to older music mastered for the frequency response limitations of vinyl and tape: Dave Brubeck, Abbey Road, Oxygène, Donna Summer's I Feel Love… These are lovely earbuds with extras. The sound recorder and note taking feature work well and I can see them getting better as the AI improves. I can see these (and the associated transcription subscription) would suit someone who sits in a lot of meetings very well (although I have seen people baulk at the use of a recorder in meetings before). Even without this the buds are worth the ...
These feel like earbuds built for someone who takes calls constantly, commutes, jumps between devices, and likes tech features. The Midnight Black version looks sleek without trying too hard, and the whole package feels more premium than Soundcore’s older “budget flagship” identity.They feel quite premium in the hand and the case is a lot more feature-heavy than typical earbuds, especially with the display and extra smart functions built Fit is secure once you get the right ear tips and fins, though it takes a bit of trial and error.The extra AI and smart features feel more like add-ons than essentials, but they do make it feel more “all-in-one” than standard earbuds.The only thing stopping them from being an easy recommendation is that some of the AI features currently feel more impressive on a product page than in real life.
These are the most expensive earbuds I have ever owned at the current price of £199.99. As someone who isn't a tech expert or an audiophile, I was a bit worried all the fancy features might just go over my head. However, they are incredibly idiot proof and the amount of use I get out of them every day helps justify the steeper price tag. Having only ever used really cheap earbuds – I think the most expensive pair is no more than £30 – I can really tell the difference in sound quality immediately. Even as soon as you put them in your ears and before you start to play anything through them. At the time I was listening to This Morning – it was a link section where the presenter gives an overview of what is coming up next before the adverts but they also play the theme tune music alongside it. Upon putting the earbuds in although I could hear the presenters voice, I couldn’t hear the music and neither could I hear traffic noise through the open window. I thought I knew what noise cancelling was but hadn’t truly experienced it until now. Once you start playing your audio, the noise cancelling is incredibly effective and instantly blocks out background noises like traffic, the engine noise on a bus or other people chatting in the office. (You really will need to be careful if you’re using these whilst out walking or jogging on quieter roads when crossing roads etc due to this). The charging case is also an obvious upgrade on other cases – there is a screen on the case which looks like the layout on a smart watch. You can change settings, check battery life, skip songs etc without needing to get your phone out. You need to slide it to open it, I was trying to flip it open like every other case I’ve ever had. The battery life is really long and the speed of the fast charging is incredible. Plugging them in for less than 10 minutes gives you several hours of use, which is perfect when you’re in a rush. The sound is deep, rich, and amazingly clear whether listening to music, a podcast or videos. It has something called Spatial Audio which I have never experienced before with my cheaper earbuds and I was really wowed by it. From what I understand about audio, standard headphones play music in stereo, which means the sound is split into two channels: left and right. The music feels like it is static inside your head, playing directly into your ears. Spatial audio changes make the noises sound and feel like they are moving around your head. Instead of feeling like a voice is inside your head, it feels like they are standing five feet in front of you, the guitar is off to your left, and the drums are behind you. They are also very good on phone calls even in wind my voice apparently is clear and loud. You need to download the Soundcore app onto your phone which is well worth doing to find out what settings you can change – and I would really advise doing these when you have time to play about with it as it really is worth exploring, honestly as you will find settings to do stuff you didn’t even know existed. One of these settings which is something these have which my cheaper ones haven’t, is head tracking. If you are listening to a video, film whatever on your tablet and you turn your head to the right, the earbuds shift the audio so it still sounds like the voices are coming from the screen – it’s very clever. It is a really detailed app, but it makes everything simple to use. You can use the app to change what happens when you tap the earbuds, test if you are using the right size ear tips, or tweak the noise cancelling levels. A clever feature is easy chat which automatically turns down the music the second you start talking out loud so you don't have to take the earbuds out to answer someone – absolutely amazing for the office. There is even a hearing test - instead of making you mess around with complicated audio sliders that I don’t understand anyway, it just plays a few different tones to see what your ears like best. Then, it automatically sets up a custom sound profile made just for you. If you don't want to bother with that, you can just click a button to boost the bass or make vocals clearer. One test even tells you if you are wearing the correct tips! Comfort wise – they are surprisingly comfortable to wear for prolonged periods. They are lightweight and sit naturally in the ear. I wouldn’t say that I don’t know I am wearing them, but my ears don’t feel sore when I’ve had them in for a long time and I don’t feel the need to remove them. They stay in well and feel secure which is great for when you are out jogging or walking outside as for the price, you really do not want to lose these. All in all, I have been extremely impressed by these. I can’t compare them to other premium audio brands as I have never owned an expensive set but if you are like me, only ever used budget earbuds and are thinking of treating yourself to an ear bud upgrade but are wary of spending money, I wo...
Got it just now and I'm liking it
These are far and away to best sounding in-ear headphones I have ever owned. The bass is excellent, as is the noise cancelling. The box having a screen is a nice extra, particularly the feature to be able to take a photo with your phone remotely. It would definitely be a 5 star but for teh cost. Whilst the sound is good it isnt 10 times better than other Anker Soundcore products. I guess if you want the microphone function then maybe it justifies teh cost a little. I have been using them for a week in Teams meetings and they have been really good. My voice is clearly heard and I can hear the meeting clearly. I often work from home and with the noise cancelling on I cant hear anything else, which does mean I cant hear the doorbell ring.. which could be good or bad :) The voice to text might be a feature some like but I cannot think of a scenario where I would use it, and the fact that you can start a recording with no audible warning seems a little dodgy for anyone else on the call and it seems to be a subscription feature.
Absolutely amazing buds - the quality is something else I've never had such noise cancellation when it's on everything is silent around me and have it on voice mode so if someone speaks it lets he hear the person . Nice sized ear buds first really comfy in ears . I thought the at source ai translation but would be a gimic it's defo not it works well . Just need to test the voice notes now
Really impressed with these earbuds. The sound quality is clear and powerful, and they’re great for listening to music as well as taking calls. Noise cancelling works well and helps block out background sound, especially in busy places. Calls also sound very clear on both sides. The charging is very fast and battery life is solid for daily use. The display is also a nice bonus and makes them feel more high-tech. Overall, very good value and perfect for everyday music and calls.
To be clear, this item was made available to me as part of the soundcore Vine program but my review is based solely on my own experience and represents my honest assessment without any influence from the seller or third parties. Having tested countless earbuds and headphones over the years, including my previous favourite premium Sony WH-1000XM4s, I can confidently say that the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max are not just competitive; they are genuinely superior in crucial areas of performance. While £199 is a significant investment for earbuds, these are a rare case where the hardware, AI-driven processing, and feature set fully justify the premium price tag. The most immediate impression is the staggering audio fidelity. The level of separation, crispness, and customization available is simply incredible. I am hearing layers and subtle details in familiar tracks that I never realized existed before. Whether you are a casual listener or an audiophile, the ability to tune the sound profile so precisely through the HearID 4.0 system ensures you are getting a tailored experience that matches your unique hearing sensitivities. The bass is powerful and deep without becoming muddy, while the highs remain sharp and clear even at higher volumes. What truly sets these apart is the integration of the proprietary Anker THUS AI Chip. By handling complex environmental analysis and audio optimization on-device rather than relying on standard phone app processing, the performance is exceptionally responsive. The adaptive noise cancellation is remarkably effective, creating a near-silent oasis even in chaotic urban environments, while the "Whisper-Clear" call quality, backed by a comprehensive microphone array and advanced sensors, is genuinely a game changer for phone calls, ensuring you can take calls in noisy settings without the other party hearing background chatter. The user experience is made even better by the smart charging case, which features a large, bright AMOLED touchscreen. Being able to change settings, monitor battery status, and control advanced features directly via this screen, rather than fumbling with a smartphone app, is a massive convenience that makes these feel truly premium. The AI voice note and transcription feature is a brilliant addition for those who need to capture ideas on the fly; while it takes a little practice to master, it quickly becomes a really useful feature for taking notes in meetings and lectures. In terms of build and convenience, the battery performance is fair, offering up to 6.5 hours of continuous playback with ANC enabled, and the hyper fast charging (giving 4 hours of playtime from just a 5-minute charge) is a lifesaver for avoiding battery anxiety. With an IP55 dust and water resistance rating and wireless charging support, these earbuds are physically built to endure daily wear and tear for years. When you break down the "cost-per-use" over a year of daily work calls, commutes, and workouts, they offer one of the lowest daily costs of any piece of tech I own. They are not just an accessory; they are a high-end productivity and audio powerhouse, and I recommend them without any hesitation whatsoever. They are worth every penny. Just incredible.
I'm really impressed with these soundcore wireless earbuds. They're not like any I've had before! They have so many additional features my other ones don't have. I'm really loving the hands free voice control. The AI note taker is like something i've never seen before (I'm not very tech savvy). Also, I can't believe how clear and crisp everything sounds, even in noisy environments. The charging base is a good size. It's not overly big but it's fine for what I need it's used for. I can use the touchscreen to adjust settings and check how much battery is left. The earbuds themselves are comfortable to wear, they took a few wears for me to get used to them. There is an app you can download to access all features these earbuds have to offer. The battery life is incredible. Overall, I'm so very pleased and really happy I got them. I would happily recommend.