On paper, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to compare a product like the new $150 Soundcore Liberty 4 to earbuds like the $249 AirPods Pro and declare Apple’s buds the victor.
The same can be said for Sony’s $280 WF-1000XM4 camera. Soundcore has included nearly every feature you could want: noise cancellation, transparency, wireless charging, Bluetooth multipoint, a high-resolution Bluetooth codec (LDAC), long battery life, and a companion app with a plethora of customization options.
As if that weren’t enough, these earbuds also feature spatial audio with optional head-tracking, as well as built-in sensors to monitor your heart rate. They’re also $100 less expensive than Apple’s flagship buds and $130 less expensive than Sony’s. All of this makes the Liberty 4 an unbeatable value in terms of features, which leaves only one question: how do they perform?
What is Anker Soundcore Liberty 4
The answer to that question is, for the most part, very well. Soundcore has kept what has worked in the past (such as a compact, wireless charging case with a great sliding lid mechanism), but hasn’t been afraid to toss out what hasn’t, such as its usual touch controls, for the Liberty 4.
Instead, it followed Apple’s lead and placed force sensors on the stems of each earbud. As with the AirPods Pro, you squeeze to click on the small, flat sections. It’s a slower gesture to execute than a tap, but it’s far more accurate and comes with an audible click sound to confirm that you did it correctly.
Soundcore has taken inspiration from Apple for more than just the controls: the buds themselves are much smaller than their predecessors, the Liberty Air 2 Pro, and are now nearly the same size and shape as the AirPods Pro.
The Soundcore app continues to provide a plethora of customization options, including the ability to assign any function to each of the six gestures (single, double, and triple-click on each earbud).
The only thing that’s missing is a long-squeeze gesture for a total of eight commands, but most people will be content with six. When you remove your earbuds, a set of wear sensors automatically pauses your music, and it works flawlessly.
The ergonomic shape of the buds themselves, as well as the choice of four sizes, aids in keeping the earbuds in place. If you need it, the app also has a fit test that tells you when you’ve got a good seal. For me, they’re about as secure as the AirPods Pro, which means they’ll stay in place during moderate activity.
If you’re going to push yourself, you might want something more robust. If you enjoy working out, an improved IPX5 rating will keep the buds dry and sweat-free longer than previous Liberty models.
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Sound Quality with EQ Tweaking Options
The sound quality is excellent right out of the box. If you don’t like it, Soundcore has the most EQ tweaking options. You can choose from a large selection of presets, use the eight-band equalizer to create and save your own custom mix, or use the HearID feature, which uses clever algorithms to rebalance the sound based on your personal hearing profile.
I used HearID, and it significantly improved the soundstage’s clarity and depth. Overall, the Liberty 4 provides excellent detail in the mids and highs, as well as a well-executed but conservative bass response, resulting in a very balanced sound signature.
Bassheads may wish for a little more oomph, but I found the sound to be very pleasing, especially when paired with an LDAC-capable phone and a source of 24-bit, lossless music like Apple Music or Amazon Music Unlimited. Not every pair of earbuds benefits from the presence of LDAC, but I could hear a difference in detail and dynamics when listening in a quiet environment versus AAC on an iPhone.
Now, let’s talk about the new spatial audio feature. Here’s the thing: it’s entertaining, but it’s mostly a gimmick. Using a setting in the Soundcore app, you can apply the spatial treatment to any audio you’re listening to, effectively widening and deepening the soundstage and repositioning some of the instruments to take advantage of the larger virtual stage.
When you enable head-tracking, some of the music elements (usually the vocals or lead guitar) remain on stage as you turn your head, adding to the sense of “being there.”
It works with any audio, not just Dolby Atmos or 5.1 surround sound, unlike Apple’s version. In fact, it appears to have no idea whether you’re listening to these formats or not — everything is treated the same.
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Active Noise Cancellation Performance
Active noise cancellation (ANC) is a hit-or-miss technology. The Soundcore app uses a modified version of HearID to tailor ANC to your specific ears, but it didn’t work for me. Even at maximum volume, it appeared to struggle to keep noise at bay.
Don’t get me wrong: it still provides noticeable and welcome noise reduction, but it’s not as powerful as the best ANC buds money can buy. Transparency mode, on the other hand, performs admirably — no complaints.
Multipoint works flawlessly, allowing you to seamlessly switch between two connected devices — just keep in mind that enabling the LDAC codec (whether actively used or not) disables multipoint. It’s also worth noting that if you’re listening to music on your computer and a phone call comes in, the connection won’t switch until you answer the call — the incoming call ring will be inaudible.
And while we’re on the subject of calling holy cow, these earbuds are spectacular. The Liberty 4 effortlessly erased background noises, such as traffic or construction, and kept my voice perfectly clear.
In quiet environments, it sounds just as good as my phone’s built-in mic. This is an increasingly important feature for those who spend a lot of time on calls (both voice and/or video), and you’ll get great results using these earbuds.
Heart Rate Monitoring
The other new feature on the Liberty 4 is heart rate monitoring, which is arguably far more useful. The Soundcore app can track any type of activity by simply recording your heart rate over a set period of time, or it can guide you through a few predefined walking and running workouts.
You can choose whether or not to receive audio feedback during your tracked activity, which I turned off because the interruptions to my podcasts were too long and not something I cared about, though I can see how it could be useful.
Alternatively, you can tell the app to monitor your stress levels even when you’re not working out. The wellness section of the app is very well laid out, and when I compared the results to those from my Apple Watch 5, the two devices were within 2 to 3 beats per minute of each other.
I can’t say which is more accurate without a professional heartbeat monitor, but some studies have shown that the ear is a more reliable location than the wrist.
The only drawback to the Soundcore app’s wellness section is that the data isn’t shareable with other fitness apps like Apple Health, which limits what you can do with it.
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Soundcore Liberty 4 battery life
Soundcore claims that the batteries will last nine hours with two full charges in the case, but that’s under ideal conditions at 50% volume, without using ANC, transparency, LDAC, spatial audio, or heart rate monitoring. In practice, it will be significantly less, but still reasonable.
For example, with LDAC, ANC, and volume set to 50%, We got about five hours per charge. We would have gotten about seven hours if had used AAC instead. If you need a little more juice, a 15-minute fast charge will give you an extra three hours.
So, what’s missing from the Liberty 4? Only one thing comes to mind: there is no find my earbuds feature, as there is with Apple or Jabra. It would be convenient, but is it a deal breaker? Hardly.
Soundcore’s wireless earbuds have always been easy to recommend to people looking for the most bang for their buck, and the Liberty 4 makes it even easier.
I can’t think of any earbuds that offer this unique combination of features for $150. The excellent Jabra Elite 5, which comes close and is arguably better for people who need a more secure fit, can’t compete with the Liberty 4’s sound quality or handy heart rate monitor.
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