Soundcore P30i by Anker Noise Cancelling Earbuds, Strong and Smart Noise Cancelling, Powerful Bass, 45H Playtime, 2-in-1 Case and Phone Stand, IP54, Wireless Earbuds, Bluetooth 5.4 (Black)

MDuck United States

It’s the tricks, not the kicks

For pure sound quality, I recommend the Moondrop Space Travel TWS Earphone Bluetooth 5.3 Noise Canceling True Wireless Stereo IEMs(Black) over these. They are an off-brand, but popular, semi “in ear monitor” quality earbud. However, these Soundcore P30i are a lot easier to set up, change modes, an use, while not giving up much in terms of everyday music and video quality. Especially when watching tv and movies, you won’t likely notice any difference. So, let’s start with a “strong average” rating for these earbuds. No bad habits. No annoying faults. No weird emphasis on one part of the sound spectrum. How is set up? Well, be prepared for NO pairing button on the case or inside the hood. These enter paring mode automatically the first time you pull them out and remove the little plastic tabs off the charging spots. They will automatically pair with the most recently paired device IF it is on. Otherwise they go into pairing mode. If you really want to move them to another device, please delete from your old device first so you know what’s going on. (No probblem if your phone is stolen and you want to re-pair to your new phone). There is another step that I recommend. Download the Soundcore app. Use it to customize your settings. Especially you need to deal with ANC - activve noise cancelling. Do you want it On, Off, or Automatic? And set up the desired right and left ear “taps” for usual stuff like activating a voice assistant or answering a call. THE AUTOMATIC ON-OFF FOR ANC IS SOMETHING I HAVEN’T SEEN BEFORE. It doesn’t activate in my apartment even when noisy trucks go by. I assume if activates automatically on airplanes, where the engine and airstream noise are constant (other reviewers have flown and confirm this. HOWEVER, given the new menu on the control panel, make sure your earbuds are in Automatic mode; when these first shipped (I have early release and current release firmware versions) they were Automatic only, with no way to “force” ANC as with other ANC earbuds. I think these should ship in Automatic mode, but they seem to ship in ANC-off mode now; use the app to select Auto mode, and to set the taps you want to use to cycle through the three ANC, Normal (silicone tips block some external sounds), and Transparent modes (Transparent uses the mics to relay external sounds through to your ears, as though you don’t have silicone noise blocking tips in the ear canal). Finally, the current firmware adds a chime to the three modes as you cycle through them. I would like to see a set of XL for extra large ear tips. Apple has started doing this. It is a challenge for some earbud designs since the cup holding the tip would need to be larger so the earbuds fit, but then the stem with the charging pads might wobble. Apple and Beats seem to be the only makers with the XL option. With L tips on, I have a good, but not snug, fit. On other earbuds with ANC test modes, I need noticeably snug earbud tips or I don’t bass the onboard ANC test. I intend to keep the app on my device for my next flight and test out Automatic and forced ANC modes and see if there is any difference. Also, to compare to the original Beats (not the later Plus) version) earbuds. I don’t need high fidelity inflight, just enough ANC so I can actually hear dialogue over the cabin roar. Finally, I have a drawer of varioius ANC options. Why did I invest another $30 in these? Disposability plus Anker assurance. In terms of disposability, keep in mind these don’t have a necklace - if one wiggles loose from yawning or eating and rolls away, it’s probably toast. No shrill alarm mode to help find it. Anker assurance? With the exception of a recalled powerbank, Anker has meant solid middle of the field design and reliability. Better audio than pre-Bose Skullcandy, actually comparable to the Solo Buds from Beats, but best value taking into account price, featrures, and quality. Heck, even without noise cancelling I would have bought these. With ANC they are a steal. Then add in the neat built in phone stand, and killer battery capacity for 14 hour flights? No brainer.

David United States

Best ANR earbuds I've ever used

I bought these on a whim when they were on sale before last Christmas. I've tried ANR buds before, and have always returned them ... they've never stayed in my ears. I must have small ear canals. Not a problem with these...they come with multiple tips, and even with the medium ones they didn't fall out. I ended up switching to the small ones, and now they fit great. They are very comfortable, for earbuds. I mean eventually they get uncomfortable, but I can usually keep them in for at least an hour or two before that happens. The sound quality is good, typical anker quality. There is an app, and you can customize the EQ and stuff with it. They're ear buds, so obviously bass is going to be limited by the size of the speaker, but it's really not bad. The noise cancelling is where they really shine though. I have Q20+ and Q30 over-the-ear headphones, and of course you're never going to get quite as good ANR from buds as muffs. But I'm really amazed at how good it is. They are amazing at blocking out background noise. Great with car noise, and even great with stuff like TVs and "elevator music" in waiting rooms and stuff. There have been so many times when I've been trying to read or something and was distracted by ambient noise, like in a doctor's office. Pop these in, and poof! I mean you can still hear it, but it's amazing to me how much it reduces the sound. The buds and case have decent battery life. I generally go a week or two between case charges. The bad thing is there is no battery level indicator on the case. It has an insanely bright LED on the front of the case, and the manual says it should give you a long blink or short blink when putting the buds in, to let you know when the case's battery is getting low. And it sort of works, but it's almost worthless...by the time it fast-blinks, it can't even recharge a single bud a little bit, and it takes several hours for the case to recharge. Pretty bad. I would gladly have paid an extra few bucks to have a battery meter. The build quality on the buds is great. On the case, less so. The little "phone stand" that's built in broke within a week. I contacted support and anker was absolutely willing to replace...but I needed to mail in the old buds, and then once they received it they'd repair or replace. By that point I just couldn't bear to be without them, and honestly I don't care about the phone stand, so I just kept them. Also I had some initial problems where the buds didn't always seem to make a good connection with the charging pins. It only happened once where it was in the case and one of the buds didn't power off, and once I realized it i just jiggled it a little and it powered off and started charging. Fairly minor thing. The case size is also a little awkward...it's very thick. Given the bud size/shape this might be impossible to reduce...but it'd be nice if the case was a little thinner so it would fit in a pocket easier. It's fine in a laptop bag or a coat pocket, but I wouldn't want to carry them in blue jeans pocket or something. Overall I'm really happy with them. They'd be even better if they had a good charge indicator. Also better if the LED wasn't quite so bright...in a dark room, it feels like you could use it as a flashlight when putting the earbuds away. But these are very minor gripes. They fit great, don't fall out, and the noise cancelling is amazing. I couldn't imagine not having them...if they broke I'd buy a replacement pair immediately!

Alexandre Sandor United States

Shockingly satisfying in every possible way

After spending $1000 in headphones/earbuds in the last 3 years (1 Sony $390, 1 Samsung $350, 1 Google $199), and being disappointed with "cost/benefit" on all 3, I decided to give a shot at this absolutely inexpensive option. But before pressing "buy now" and just purchase it, I decided to do very same work I did when buying the other 3 premium devices, and took my time, reading reviews, educating myself about the company and it's commitment with customers/users, and finally, I went deep into the specs of the hardware, software, and the mobile app (this last one definitely a big plus). At this point you might say: "it's a freaking $30 Bluetooth earbud" just buy, use it, and if doesn't deliver it's promises, then just return it and add another "zero" to the original $30 and buy a premium device. Well, not so fast... I was intrigued by how good it all sounded and I want to use this whole experience to test an assumption I've been carrying for a short while, which is that we've been all scammed and abused with the so called premium priced devices, in other words , if you want the goods, you have to pay much higher price for it. So, I looked into this as an opportunity to unmask my theory and for that I had to put the "works" in place. After blending and filtering all the information gathered (the process even included "unclutter suspicious" reviews), the conclusion was obvious: despite all looking very standard, there was a positively intriguing desire to give it a try, and the result couldn't be more satisfying. Design looks average initially, but it actually reflects a distinct personality with a touch of elegance, specially with the colors available (green was my option and I was not disappointed). The hardware is absolutely underestimated for the price tag, meaning, it has the ability to deliver a sound quality that matches my Sony WH1000 (I listen to audio-music/books/podcasts an average of 6 hours a day) with crystal clear sound nuances, including a sharp treble and a solid bass, and yesssss, a battery life that will get you listening music and talking on the phone for a few days just by a one full charge on the charging case. Call quality... isn't this feature one of the most important components that will drive us towards or far away from a device...Yes!!!! So here it is: Shockingly amazing call quality. They built this right, and the balance between the software and the hardware, is in perfect harmony, 4 mics and AI, cleaning all the "distractions" away from phone conversations, and music listening without any disappointment. And here is the "cherry in the cake: THE MOBILE APP. Again, another well built component of the whole experience. Better than my Sony, Google, and yes, heartbreaking, my Samsung (I'm a big fan of Samsung products). Summarizing, it's not Bluetooth 6.0, not 14mm sound shell, but it's absolutely a shocker of a quality device that only cost me $30, and it gives me peace of mind with call and music-sound quality. Noise Canceling absolutely under your control, through an app designed with everything you need to make it "your way", and satisfy your desire to listen music like a music producer ;) Ps: no one paid me to write this review, and despite the fact that I don't ever right a review, here is one I hope it will add value to your decision.

Ateric United States

Great sound with a lot of bass (if desired) good microphone. Fantastic value.

Summary: I would definitely recommend. Great sound and a really good value. Update: I lost the case for the earphones. These were an easy choice to buy again. The value is really outstanding. Review: Great value. IMHO it punches above its class. The sound is very good. I generally like quite a bit of bass in my music, and this one came with the bass. I will say that it did sound a little muddy for my tastes, but the app's EQ let me set it exactly how I wanted. I love the fact that the recharging terminals for the earphones are easily accessible. I've have other earphones that are vertical and it is very hard to clean the terminals of that type of earphone case. The app has the ability to change the "gestures". I generally prefer the volume accessible on the earphones. The microphone does a great job on phone calls. *And* it doesn't have that annoying issue some earphones have where the call gets out of sync between ears. The range really surprised me. I've left my phone indoors when working outside and it didn't drop except for the most extreme areas. The earphones fit well in the ear. I can even sleep in them without them being uncomfortable. That was actually surprising to me. I can't really review the ANC since I don't use it much. I can say that it seems to adjust the sound more to the lower sound ranges when enabled. I generally keep it off for battery life. The battery life is as I expected. At first I thought the case was loosing charge quickly, but then I realized the case's light only turns on when removing or putting the earphones in the case. Cons (quite minor): * The "find" tone of the earphones is way too low to hear. When I activate that on some other earphones I can hear it when I'm in the room. This one is so low that you have to be within a foot to hear it. * I wish the case had an actual battery percentage. Or at least would show in the app.