True wireless earbuds are great, allowing you to enjoy music without the hassle of wires. Problem is, they’re so small, there’s no just no way to put in a bigger battery, which is why they’re usually limited to six hours of listening time or less. That’s what makes the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC a noteworthy release, as it delivers better battery performance than, pretty much, every other TWS earbuds we’ve seen.
According to Anker, each earbud holds enough charge for 10 hours’ worth of playback, allowing you to listen for extended periods before having to put them back in the charging case. Even better, the charging holds another 50 hours’ worth of charge for the earbuds, allowing you to use them for a whopping 60 hours before the case requires a recharge of its own. Do note, Anker doesn’t say whether these battery ratings are taken with ANC running, so it’s entirely possible it only lasts that long without it.
The Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC takes on a familiar Airpods-like shape, complete with a stem hanging down to accommodate any electronics that don’t quite fit on the main earpiece. It’s equipped with 11mm custom-tuned drivers that, the outfit claims, will deliver crisp and detailed sound, along with support for hi-res audio using Sony’s LDAC codec format for those with more discerning listening tastes.
The earbuds are fitted with some of the outfit’s best noise cancellation tech. These include an innovative noise isolation chamber that enables passive reduction of ambient sounds, as well as ANC that uses both in-ear and external sound sensors to pick up every available sound that can affect your listening experience. According to the outfit, this combo allows it to eliminate as much as 98.5 percent of ambient sounds, so you can listen to your favorite playlists without the noise and bustle of your surroundings getting in the way. The ANC is adaptive, by the way, so it can automatically turn it up or turn it down based on your immediate surroundings.
The Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC is equipped with six mics that work together to pick up your voice during phone calls, complete with an AI system that filters out noises, so your voice goes through loud and clear. You also get many of the niceties you find in modern TWS earbuds. There’s multi-point connectivity, for instance, so you should be able to pair it with two devices at once, allowing you to quickly switch between them, as well as wear detection, so it can automatically pause music when you remove the buds and resume playback when you put them back on.
The case supports wireless charging, by the way, so you can use these without dealing with wires at any point whatsoever. And just in case you suddenly run out of battery in the middle of an involved listening session, it’s able to feed four hours of juice back into the earbuds in a mere 10 minutes.
The Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC launches for preorder on June 29. Regular price is $99.99, but those who preorder get a $20 discount.