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Anker’s flawed shot at budget TWS earbuds
Anker has made some pretty decent TWS earbuds. For example, the Liberty Air 2 are a great pair of TWS earbuds at a great price. And the company have a reputation for offering solid alternatives to premium devices, in this case, the AirPods from Apple.
The Life P2 cuts that price almost in half, which seems like a tempting offer, but has the features and quality been cut in half too?
Let’s find out in this in-depth Anker SoundCore Life P2 review…
(4.2 / 5)Design
The earbuds are fully plastic but feel solid. They have a similar stem design to the Liberty Air 2 or Apple’s AirPods, and there isn’t anything in the design that you haven’t seen other brands do.
And that’s not a bad thing. For general consumers who don’t want something that is cutting edge or challenges the way we use earbuds, and are simply looking for a good pair of earbuds at a fair price, these are perfect. It’s all about blending in, being consistent, and delivering what you promise. And that’s exactly what you get with these.
Not the most functional…
There are no touch gestures; instead, we get a button fitted on each earbud. The earbuds fit well and seal decently, but the buttons are so hard to press that it creates a lot of discomfort and pressure just trying to press the button.
The earbuds work well for workout sessions, and the IPX-7 rating makes them fully waterproof, and you can even put them underwater for up to 30 minutes. That said, we did have some issues with the buds falling out during vigorous training or when the stems get caught in the towel while wiping our face.
A perfect fit…
The case, like the earbuds, is fully plastic and is very durable, plus it is small enough to be easily carried in your pocket. The earbuds and case come in a black, matte-like color and ships with five different sizes to find the best fit.
Sound
The earbuds sound great, especially at their price. They feature a slightly boosted low-end, which will help listeners separate vocals from the instrumentation. Some of the low to mid-range frequencies have also been boosted to make the instrumentation a little louder and clearer.
Balanced across the frequencies…
The earbuds have a surprisingly accurate sound profile when compared to other earbuds such as those from Beats or Bose. They are also great for people who want to transition to more neutral-sounding earbuds, but don’t want to pay the high price of a lot of the better-sounding premium earbuds and headphones.
Usually, at this price, most earbuds and headphones aim for that consumer-friendly, bass-boosted sound profile.
However…
The isolation on offer is average at best, with some external noise making its way through. It also means there will be some sound leakage as well, but never to the point that we thought it might be a disruption for those around us.
If you have third-party memory foam ear tips, they will help a lot with isolating the music you are listening to.
Not the best for calling…
The four-microphone array, which sounds fancy, doesn’t really do much to make the microphone quality any better. It does a good job of isolating your voice, but it cancels so much noise that your voice becomes almost unintelligible. It sounds distant, quiet, and is de-emphasized far too much.
Connectivity and Battery Life
The earbuds connect via Bluetooth version 5. They support hi-res audio codecs, namely aptX for Android users and AAC for IOS users.
Connecting was quick and easy, but there is no multi connection function on these, so you will have to turn off your current device’s Bluetooth or unpair before you can connect to a different device.
The Anker SoundCore Life P2 had decent battery life lasting six and a half hours before they needed to be recharged. Charging the case is done via USB-C, and the case provides just over four recharges before you’d need to charge the case.
Anker SoundCore Life P2 Review Pros and Cons
Pros
- AptX and AAC codecs supported.
- IPX-7 rating.
- Great battery life.
- Durable and lightweight.
Cons
- Stiff buttons are difficult to use.
- Microphones are sub-par.
Also see: TicPods 2 Pro Review
Looking for some other superb earbud options?
If so, check out our reviews of the Best Headphones and Earbuds for Sleeping, the Best Noise Cancelling Earbuds, the Best Earbuds under 100 Dollars, the Most Comfortable Earbuds, the Best Wireless Earbuds for Small Ears, the Best Earbuds under 50 Dollars, or the Most Durable Earbuds currently on the market.
Anker SoundCore Life P2 Review – Final Thoughts
The Life P2 are the jack of all trades. They do everything well to some extent but have nothing special or new to offer.
For the general consumer looking for a cheaper pair of reliable TWS earbuds, these will suffice. However, if you are looking for sport orientated earbuds, the Jabra Elite Active 75T are a far better choice.
For audiophiles looking for superior sound quality, the Creative Outlier Air earbuds have stellar audio quality at a great price.
To end, we really do love Anker as a brand, but they simply haven’t delivered anything special with these earbuds. And even though they sound good for the price point and are ok for working out, the competition is better.
Happy listening.
