Anker Soundcore Life P3 review: Cheap noise-cancelling earbuds impress
Our Verdict
The Anker Soundcore Life P3 is a pleasantly surprising pair of earbuds, with strong sound that matches its powerful noise counterfoil — all for less than $eighty.
For
- Customizable, warm sound
- Surprisingly good ANC for the price
- Numerous features via Soundcore app
- BassUp technology has been improved
- Lengthy playtimes
Confronting
- Mediocre call quality
- Finicky bear on controls
Tom's Guide Verdict
The Anker Soundcore Life P3 is a pleasantly surprising pair of earbuds, with strong sound that matches its powerful noise counterfoil — all for less than $eighty.
Pros
- +
Customizable, warm sound
- +
Surprisingly expert ANC for the toll
- +
Numerous features via Soundcore app
- +
BassUp technology has been improved
- +
Lengthy playtimes
Cons
- -
Mediocre call quality
- -
Finicky touch on controls
Anker Soundcore Life P3 specs
Price: $79
Colors:Black, Navy Blue, Oat White, Sky Bluish, and Coral Cherry
Battery life (rated): 6 hours (ANC on), vii hours (ANC off), xxx hours (with charging example and ANC on), 35 hours (with charging instance and ANC off)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
Processor: BES2300Y
Size: 1.five x 0.9 x 0.9 inches (per bud), 2.4 ten 2 10 1.2 inches (charging case)
Weight: 0.ii ounces (per bud), 1.8 ounces (charging example)
Anker continues its tendency of stealth releases, recently dropping the Soundcore Life P3 out of nowhere. This product essentially replaces the disappointing Life A2 NC as the brand'south flagship ANC model nether $100. It comes with bassy sound and enough features to give fifty-fifty the best racket-cancelling earbuds pause.
Aesthetics accept been upgraded to give this third-gen version moisture and water protection, while bombardment life has been increased to bask playback for several hours. Withal, non everything runs smoothly on the Life P3: call quality and the impact controls aren't as reliable as one would expect from a new release. Are these deal-breakers? Read our Anker Soundcore Life P3 review to come across whether these drawbacks even affair when breaking down overall performance.
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Anker Soundcore Life P3 review: Cost and availability
- $79 MSRP
- V color options
The Anker Soundcore Life P3 is available from Anker or Amazon. It will run you $79 and is sold in five colors: Black, Coral Red, Navy Blue, Oat White, and Sky Blue.
Anker provides peachy racket neutralization and sound for less than half the toll of the Samsung Milky way Buds Pro ($199) and most a 3rd of the AirPods Pro ($249). If you're seeking wireless earbuds with tenable ANC for a lower cost, the Edifier TWS NBQ ($59) is worth a await.
For all of the latest headphones sales, bookmark our best headphones deals folio.
Anker Soundcore Life P3 review: Design and comfort
- Dull, merely practical
- Fit is comfortable enough
The Life P serial isn't exactly known for its looks. A redesign would take been appreciated for the Life P3, but, instead, we're given the aforementioned unibody build with long-stem silhouette and minimalist details. These buds do bear more resemblance to the Freedom Air 2 Pro rather than the Life P2, except they have protruding touch panels and bigger mic enclosures for "boosted phone call quality." The Soundcore logo is nicely printed at the meridian and the shiny matte finish is elegant.
Construction is sturdy with the all-plastic frame capable of withstanding the daily abuse you'll put these buds through; they won't crack open if dropped from a loftier distance. IPX5 water resistance ensures protection against pelting and sweat, besides.
The pebble-shaped charging instance too looks similar to the Liberty Air 2 Pro case, but instead of a slide-upwardly door, information technology has a flimsy lid top to open up or shut close. Size is perfect for portability, and the case can be conveniently stored in denim pockets or any travel handbag. I like the soft touch terminate with imprinted logo on top. Placing a Bluetooth button in the middle is a thoughtful gesture that comes in handy when you need to manually pair the buds.
Moderately comfy is one style to depict wearing the Life P3. The buds rest pleasantly on the ears, though your concha might feel sore after nearly 2 to 3 hours of utilize, which is a longer stretch than what near other wireless earbuds give you. Fit is fine with the ear tips creating a tight seal around the ear for proper stabilization.
Anker also took a page out of Apple'southward playbook and developed its own Ear Fit Tip Exam, which analyzes your ears to decide the all-time fit for optimal performance. Information technology'south OK, but I thought Apple's and Sony's versions generated better feedback; with the Life P3, the answers were similar no matter which size tips I installed.
Anker Soundcore Life P3 review: Controls and digital assistant
- Supports assistants, but not hands-complimentary activation
- Touch controls tin can exist unresponsive
The Life P3'due south command scheme consists of digital assistance and tap/hold gestures, which are a mixed pocketbook. Google Banana and Siri work well, interpreting and executing vox commands correctly. My merely outcome is the piercingly loud prompt when activating Google Banana on Android devices – there's no way to fix this. I also would take loved to meet vocalism activation, but the buds won't answer to the "Hey Siri" or "Hey Google" action phrase.
Anker programmed the Life P3 with a full suite of media controls, including playback, book, and listening fashion activation but to proper noun a few. These can be assigned to single and double taps or a 2-second hold. If simply the touch panels were more responsive to taps. Multiple attempts were often required to trigger an action.
Sadly, Anker left on-ear detection off the spec sheet, so the buds won't automatically pause when removing them from your ears or resume playback when placed back on.
Anker Soundcore Life P3 review: Sound quality
- Strong bass at slight price of mids and treble
- Gaming style for minimal latency
The default Soundcore Signature EQ runs the show and produces warm, satisfying audio. A BassUp toggle was added to the setting for increased bass response. Those familiar with Anker headphones know nearly this tech; it'due south been a bit contemporary in the past, simply it's improved on the Life P3 and works well. If you lot're the blazon that wants rumbling lows blasting through the 11-millimeter drivers, enabling BassUp will go out a Joker-like smile on your confront. Just know that clarity takes a hit in certain areas.
LL Cool J's "Murdergram" put on a headbanging clinic, led by fiery rhymes and rattling uptempo drums that blended superbly over the ominous bass loop. Despite this recording being a alive functioning, the overall production sounded tight. Even understated sonic elements similar the crowd interaction and siren-like effects were given shine. Disabling BassUp toned downwardly the low end, only it all the same packed a hateful dial when listening with ANC on.
The Life P3 clearly favors bouncy, gimmicky music genres, but too performs decently in others. On acoustic tracks similar Sam Smith's "Latch," mids were well represented with vocals carrying strong over the melodic pianoforte-inspired backdrop. Turning on BassUp did bring down the quality.
There isn't much high-end presence on these buds either. While I could hear the steady hi-hats on Ahmad Jamal's "The Awakening," they lacked emphasis and got lost in the background in one case louder instruments and notes were played.
Anker also developed a Gaming Mode that advertises less latency and enhanced sound furnishings when mobile gaming. However, at that place is 1 caveat: the inform tab states that connection instability may occur. I don't exercise much mobile gaming, simply from the thirty minutes that I played Mario Kart Tour, the only major connectivity issue I encountered was the startup screen taking longer than expected to load. Those with detailed hearing may notice that the globe-trotting and weapon furnishings audio better than when listening in standard style.
Codec back up is limited to ACC and SBC; aptX would take ensured the best streaming quality possible.
Anker Soundcore Life P3 review: Agile noise cancellation
- 3 different ANC modes
- Not a huge difference between them, but they're effective
There are three levels of active racket cancellation on the Life P3: Transport, Indoor, and Outdoor. The differences betwixt them are marginal, but the good news is that all three are effective at blocking out distracting dissonance.
Ship was designed to target low-finish frequencies similar engines and road noise, and does the least convincing chore of making yous feel that information technology offers a unique ANC experience. You may not fifty-fifty be able to tell it apart from Outdoor, which is better engineered to deal with environmental noises. On walks, I barely heard cars whisking by and joggers using their Apple AirPods for calls. Further fracas like the barge work taking place on the waterway near our house was silent. Neither ANC way is potent enough to put a kibosh on high frequencies, but they practice an admirable chore of minimizing them; ambulance sirens and crying babies don't sound and so loud.
Indoors was my favorite of the three and served well during role hours. I managed to block out my wife's Zoom calls, along with door buzzers, loud TVs, and kitchen appliances running in the kitchen. This mode likewise decreases bustling noises at a high level; the centralized Air conditioning unit and deep freezer never distracted me. Trying to avoid my baby's intense cries wasn't so easy, though at least the Life P3 made his grunting less noticeable.
There'due south too a two-level Transparency Mode to either gain greater sensation of your environment (Fully Transparent) or emphasize vocals to hear people speak more clearly (Song Manner). Neither option worked every bit well as I would take liked. I had to drop the volume to 50% in order to hear people speaking, and fifty-fifty then, I could barely make out their words. Some external sounds came off harsh and were difficult to place.
Anker Soundcore Life P3 review: App and special features
- Very characteristic-rich app
- Huge amount of EQ presets and sound modes
Information technology seems like the Soundcore app continues to grow with every new headphone release, which works for me. Much of the same functionality remains intact, but yous might notice one or two extra features that take been thrown into the mix. ANC, Ambient Audio, BassUp, Gaming Mode, control customization, and the Tip Fit Exam have already been discussed. Let's go to the rest of the goodies.
When opening the app, all eyes will be directed towards the Equalizer, which has 22 presets and lets you create sound profiles by tweaking frequency levels. I tin tell Anker has worked hard to meliorate near of the EQs, offering up more variety to complement all music genres along with content similar movies, podcasts and eBooks.
Anker likewise created a soundscapes mode (Superior Slumber) to help meliorate your sleep. I don't see anyone wanting to wearable earbuds overnight, even if white noise helps earn them a bully night's rest. What I will say is that the 11 different sound profiles help to salve any feet or tension you're experiencing throughout the day.
You lot also take access to the LÜM music service, which is bachelor on the app's homepage and lets y'all observe thousands of independent artists. Battery level indicators for the earbuds, toggle controls, firmware updates, a quick start guide, and a Find Device setting round out the Soundcore app.
Anker Soundcore Life P3 review: Battery life and charging case
- Better longevity than AirPods Pro
- Decent fast-charging
Anker rates battery life at 6 hours with ANC on. Our testing saw the buds last 5.5 hours when using the characteristic, which is close plenty. Playtime can be extended to 7 hours when turning off ANC, but volume, streaming, and other special features drops it by 30 minutes to ane hour. No complaints here, especially since this is more than the manufacture-average time set by the regular AirPods: 5 hours. Non to mention ANC playback is college than the AirPods Pro (5.5. hours). A total charge should be OK for a few days of moderate listening.
The charging case holds an additional 24 hours, giving information technology a max capacity of 35 hours. Again, a much higher amount to work with compared to the AirPods Pro charging case (24 hours). Anker added wireless charging for good measure out.
Quick charging is not mentioned on the Life P3's product page, simply its spec canvass lists the fast-charging time at x minutes for ii hours. I saw bombardment levels increase from 70 percent to 90 percent in 5 minutes. Anker states that fully charging the buds takes 2 hours, while the charging example takes 3 hours.
Anker Soundcore Life P3 review: Call quality and connectivity
- Respectable mic functioning in most conditions
- Only Bluetooth 5.0, merely works reliably
I'd place telephone call quality at above average. The Life P3 is most serviceable indoors for voice and video calls. My married woman mentioned that volume and clarity were almost as expert as if I was talking directly through the phone, at to the lowest degree until I walked into the laundry room, where clicks and other noises produced by the washer fabricated their way into our conversation. Talking outside was a flake polarizing, every bit the mics managed to cake out the majority of background sounds,, all the same calls had an repeat-like effect as if I was speaking in a small room. This made communicating difficult.
These buds run on Bluetooth 5.0 and get you stable connectivity. Pairing to mobile devices and laptops was instantaneous and re-pairing to my final continued device was even quicker. It would take been nice if the Life P3 received Bluetooth 5.two, particularly when seeing other budget audio brands like EarFun and Tribit featuring the applied science on their newest releases. In improver, multipoint technology, which would have allowed users to connect the buds to two devices simultaneously.
Anker Soundcore Life P3 review: Verdict
Anker gets affordable ANC right on the Soundcore Life P3, presenting an acceptable racket-cancelling solution that is attainable for all. It won't outperform the Freedom Air ii Pro in most areas, but the fact that it's capable of going toe-to-toe with its pricier, more than powerful sibling says a lot.
The Life P3 beats the AirPods Pro in standard sound performance (non including spatial audio), pumping out dynamic lows and solid mids. Versatile ANC gives you multiple ways to cake out ambient dissonance in various settings. Battery life is also sufficient, no matter what listening manner or features you employ.
If the boring design or choosy controls seem like deal-breakers, the Beats Studio Buds ($149) are another relatively affordable competitor worth checking out. Otherwise, don't hesitate to spend the $80 on these buds, and even consider gifting a pair to someone if yous're feeling generous.
- More: The best headphones with a mic for voice and video calls
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/anker-soundcore-life-p3
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