We’ve reviewed a few Anker Soundcore products over the years and have been generally pleased with the results. I ended up using the Soundcore Space Q45 Headphones long after my initial review back in 2022, as they were some of my favourite headphones at that point in time.
While I much prefer over-ear headphones for daily use, I tend to use earbuds now and then, depending on the situation.
Right now, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro earbuds are that option.
Thanks to some solid ANC, decent sound, even better microphone quality and a nifty case that allows me to adjust settings on the fly, I can forgive its average battery life.
Design
Available in four colours: Midnight Black, Pearl White, Rose Gold and Pearl Blue, we had the pleasure of trying the latter. Either way, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro earbuds are a relatively compact package, even if the taller design of the earbuds themselves extends to the charging case itself.
That being said, I prefer the flatter design of something like this, as opposed to a rounded, bulkier charging case that never fits in the pocket as nicely.
An awesome feature, however, is the touch screen on the front of the charging case. While we’ll touch on its presence and performance a little later, it’s placebmenbt feels minimal and sleek, all while remaining large enough to read and interact with.
The buds themselves are also somewhat unique, with fins popping out at the top of each bud, pressing against the top of the ear for stability. While they look more like flat buds as opposed to something with a more traditional stem, the bottom of the earbud does hang out of the bottom of the ear.
That being said, the customisable top fins and earbud tips mean it doesn’t have to fit as awkwardly as it sounds. I did find the standard medium-sized tips pre-installed were on the larger side, though, which is worth noting.
In the box, you’ll find a small USB-A to USB-C charging cable, four sets of ear tips ranging from XXS to L, and two sets of top fins, one smaller and one larger than the ones that come pre-installed.
I appreciate the inclusion of a charging cable, but like most products and most of my reviews lately, I would love to see the inclusion of a USB-C to USB-C cable, for the sake of convenience, as I struggle to find a USB-A adapter in my house these days.
Overall, the sleek charging case and talker design of the buds are complemented by a somewhat comfortable fit, once you find the right eartips and fins.
Performance
Anker’s big play here is the inclusion of HearID 5.0, along with both personalised EQ settings and an AI Audio Enhancer, all of which help automatically tune audio settings on the fly from both the content playing and surrounding settings.
For the most part, the mids are strong, while the highs tend to get a little lost at times. That being said, the bass here is impressive. It’s not necessarily overpowering by default, but it has the power to deliver, depending on your genre of choice, a real feat for earbuds in general. But I feel like the overall soundstage is strong and, complemented by Dolby Atmos, delivers quality audio for most content.
Adaptive ANC 4.0 is now powered by 150x more AI computing power than previous iterations. While that feels impossible to explain in real-world situations, I will say that this ANC is great for the price of the earbuds at A$269.99. There is better ANC out there, but I’ve also heard much worse.
Aside from Normal and Adaptive ANC modes, a Transparency mode can also help if you need to keep an ear out around the house; virtually essential when I’m listening out for my two-month-old son asleep in the next room as I write this review.
The charging case includes a touch screen up front that allows you to change and adjust a bunch of settings, including ANC modes and EQ presets. You can even use the case to find each of your earbuds if they’re missing, and even use the case as a remote for your camera, which is a random yet nifty feature.
It’s super responsive and easy to navigate, and even if you choose not to use it much, it will still give you the battery life for the charging case and each of the buds.
The general microphone quality is something I rarely see promoted to this degree, with Anker even stating that these have been “certified by Guinness World Records in April 2026 as the ‘Highest speech quality score (G-MOS) for TWS earbuds (objective test).”
But with 8 microphones on board here, the results are admittedly fantastic. Voices sound crystal clear on most phone calls, and they also do a great job at blocking out background noise like wind or chattering voices.
The only real downside here is the overall battery life. The Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro earbuds provide 28 total listening hours from the charging case, with 6.5 hours of listening time from the buds themselves with ANC on.
This isn’t terrible, but for their price and specs, it’s far from the best in class. If you’re using these for a commute, short walk or workout, you’ll be fine, but if you’ll be using them for work throughout the day, you might need to recharge them at some point.
Thankfully, fast charging will give you 4 hours of playback from just a 5-minute charge.
Software
The software for most earbuds is rarely essential, and only as important as your need to customise the overall experience is. The Soundcore companion app is somewhat negated here by the touch screen on the charging case, but it is here if you’re looking for some additional options.
Here you can customise ANC and EQ settings to your liking, and customise earbud controls. It’s all on one page and easy enough to mess around with, but again, I must give credit to the screen on the charging case, as I mainly deferred to that when out and about.
Verdict & Value
The Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro earbuds come together in a package that provides decent audio and ANC, bolstered by fantastic microphone quality.
While the battery life lets them down in parts, these are still an incredible pair of earbuds.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Decent audio and ANC; Fantastic microphone quality; Charging case screen works great
Lowlights: Average battery life
Manufacturer: Anker
Price: A$269.99
Available: Now available via the official Soundcore website.
Review based on unit provided by Anker.
