Anker’s new earbuds have the best call quality I’ve ever heard

A noteworthy advance is shaping the AI sector: Tech TechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All Tech Reviews ReviewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All Reviews Headphone Reviews Headphone ReviewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

FollowSee All Headphone ReviewsAnker’s new earbuds have the best call quality I’ve ever heardSoundcore earbuds have outperformed their price for years, but now with vastly improved call quality, the Liberty 5 Pro set the bar. If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Technical Details

by John Higgins John HigginsSenior Reviewer, TVs & AudioPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All by John HigginsMay 21, 2026, 11:00 PM UTC If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

The Liberty 5 Pro series are Soundcore’s most ambitious earbuds yet. John Higgins John HigginsPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All by John Higgins is a senior reviewer covering TVs and audio.

He has over 20 years experience in AV, and has previously been on staff at Digital Trends and Reviewed. Soundcore, Anker’s audio brand, has mostly lived in the budget-to-midrange world, but with its new Liberty 5 Pro earbuds, it’s aiming at the big guys. The two new earbuds — the Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max — use Anker’s new Thus chip, which has more processing power than previous Soundcore earbuds to try and compete with the chips found in Apple, Sony, and Bose products.

Industry Implications

And that extra processing power gives the Liberty 5 Pro the best in-call noise canceling I’ve heard in any earbuds. Previously, the highest-priced Soundcore earbuds (not counting the sleep buds) were the Liberty 4 Pro at $150, but the Liberty 5 Pro are $170 and the Liberty 5 Pro Max are $230. That’s reaching into AirPods Pro 3 territory.

Price differences within a product line usually mean different earbud designs, like the open-ear AirPods 4 with ANC versus the sealed AirPods Pro 3. But the Liberty 5 Pro and 5 Pro Max earbuds are exactly the same. They have the same chip, 9.

2mm drivers, microphone array, ANC performance, sound profile, battery life, IP55 rating, and overall features. The only difference is the case. 8Verge ScoreSoundcore Liberty 5 Pro$ 170$ 170The GoodIncredible call qualityGreat ANCUseful case screenThe BadDefault sound profile needs tweaking$170 at Amazon$170 at Anker$170 at B&H PhotoHow we rate and review productsThe 5 Pro case has an angled 0.

This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.