Can the £45 Soundcore Life P2's keep up with the Airpods?

The Anker Soundcore Life P2’s are a pair of true wireless headphones aiming to provide incredible quality and features at a low price point. At only £45 ($59) they are less than a third of the price of the Apple AirPods and Samsung Galaxy Buds. You can read our review of the Samsung Galaxy Buds here. At this price point Life P2’s pack some impressive specs including and IPX7 waterproof rating, 40 hours of battery life fast charging with USB-C.

Battery Life

Since in reality the difference in sound quality between different decent quality headphones is barely noticeable to the average user and most designs are comfortable for the majority of people battery life is a deal breaker and this is where the Soundcore Life P2’s really stand out. From my experience the claimed 7 hours of battery life per earbud has been managed which is plenty of time to use earphones without a break. An impressive amount compared to 5 hours per earbud with the Airpods and 6 hours on the Galaxy Buds. In the charging case the earbuds charge quickly ready for further use. Furthermore the charging case contains a 700mAh battery providing 40 hours of playtime. Although I cannot confirm an exact number very this I have had to charge the case very infrequently. The large battery does come at a size cost, the case is larger than that of the Apple Airpods however is still small enough to comfortably fit in a pocket. According to Soundcores website 10 minutes of charging gives you up to one hour of playtime. The charging case is USB-C which is much preferred over Micro USB. However, while not expected at this price point, wireless charging would be a nice addition.

Comfort

I have used these earphones for multiple hours at a time and found them to be very comfortable due to their lightweight design and soft comfortable ear buds. The earbuds appear to stick out more than the Airpods however have a shorter stalk and are more discrete due to being black. The Life P2’s are also fairly secure in the ear however during exercise they slowly come loose and need re-adjusting. During most activities this happens at a slow enough rate it is not an issue but if you plan on going on a run or doing a lot of jumping then you may have an issue.

Sound Quality

The Soundcore Life P2’s use “Expertly-tuned sound via graphene drivers” which, particularly at this price point, provide a great listening experience with quite punchy bass. The use of Bluetooth 5.0 provides a very stable and reliable connection. At no point in 3 months of use have I had any connection issues. The range is also more than adequate for wireless headphones, unless you forget your phone when going a significant distance moving between rooms is no issue.

Phone Calls

Each earphone has two microphones, this allows for "beamforming noise reduction and cVc 8.0 technology for superior vocal enhancement and background-noise suppression”. Phone calls are clear but not noticeably better than holding the phone to your ear and using the inbuilt microphone. On my device I have an issue where my voice comes through extremely quiet when on phone calls making them unusable. Upon testing this on other devices it seems to be an issue with my phone and therefore I will give Soundcore the benefit of the doubt however it will be interesting to see if this is a common issue.

Button Controls

Each earphone has a singular button on the back. One press is used Play/Pause (Or answer/hang up the phone) and a double tap on the right earphone skips to the next song while a double tap on the left earphone goes back a song. A long press activates google assistant which works as you would expect. Unfortunately, no volume control is available. The lack of touchpads means the physical button is often uncomfortable to press, thankfully the stalk allows you to hold the earphone while pressing the button to stop you hurting your ear. These buttons work perfectly well so the lack of touch controls is not a deal breaker, particularly for the price.

The Verdict

Overall the Soundcore Life P2’s offer a range of feature, exceptional battery life and a pleasant experience. They defiantly perform as if they had a much higher price point than £45 ($59) and due to this I give a strong recommendation to anyone looking to get themselves true wireless headphones without splashing a lot of cash. If you would like to purchase the Anker Soundcore Life P2’s or learn more you can do with the links below:

Buy on amazon UK https://amzn.to/2Vl7IJ9

Buy on amazon US https://amzn.to/2VH7UBm

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