Anker announced its latest swell of wireless earbuds yesterday, and the products reveal that Anker is extending its focus beyond the usual sound quality upgrades.
The company unveiled three pairs: the Soundcore Sleep A10, Soundcore Liberty 4, and Soundcore VR P10 earbuds.
Anker has launched its Liberty earbuds as a great value, and now it’s observing a new domain with the Soundcore Sleep A10 and VR P10. However, things didn’t end there. Anker also acquainted its first-ever set of sleep earbuds, which will oppugn Bose’s $249 Sleepbuds II and other products in this moderately small category.
The $179.99 Soundcore Sleep A10 earbuds can choke out “up to” 35 dB of noise that might otherwise distract you at bedtime. In addition, they use “an adaptive noise masking algorithm to track and automatically modify the audio volume to secure your surroundings don’t disturb you.”
The new Liberty 4 earbuds offer better sound; they’re Anker’s first “stick”-style buds to include dual drivers in each earbud. They can read the heart rate for fitness and wellness objectives. This functionality has been gossiped for Apple’s AirPods lineup but has yet to materialize.
Anker contains ear wings and “twin-seal” ear tips for making a secure seal, and the A10s are smaller than buds created for music and everyday listening. So they’re not going to pile up to the favorite earbuds in audio fidelity but should be acceptable for their intended purpose. For example, Anker claims the small footprint makes these appropriate for side sleepers.
The drivers in the Earbuds Sleep A10 are optimized for low-frequency sounds to improve white noise and other calming sleep tracks. You can access those audio channels from the Soundcore mobile app. You can also use these like regular earbuds for music, audiobooks, or whatever content you want. In addition, Anker provides more flexibility than Bose since the Sleepbuds II limits you to preset, soothing audio selections.
Anker’s app includes sleep tracking data, but you can’t say how accurate or valid that information will be. Screenshots show that you’ll be able to witness your total sleep time and disintegration of how long you expended in light and deep sleep stages. Unfortunately, the details in the Soundcore app don’t sync with health apps from Apple or Google. The Sleep A10 earbuds can endure up to 10 hours of nonstop playback, and the case counts for another 40 hours.
Anker also announced the VR P10 earbuds, which are squarely targeted at gaming and use with VR headsets, in addition to the Liberty 4s and Sleep A10 earbuds. The VR P10s can play audio over Bluetooth, but they also come with a USB-C dongle that transmits “lag-free” audio over a 2.4Ghz wireless connection using the LC3 codec.
Presumably, that dongle can plug into VR headsets like the Oculus Quest 2. “We have early access to the VR P10 available now at Best Buy,” said Anker’s Adam Weismann during last night’s press event.
“But we have some inspiring news in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.” The VR P10s enclose a very sci-fi case with a purple LED on the front, and you can take the USB-C dongle right in the topic itself.
Having already launched its Liberty and Liberty Pro earbuds as a decisive value year after year, Anker seems balanced to take the Soundcore brand into new territory with these more niche products. You can already order the Sleep A10 earbuds, though the VR P10 buds aren’t yet open for preorder.