Soundcore announces 2 earbuds that lean into AI for better call quality and smart feature performance

Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro and Pro Max earbuds: First impressions, price, where to buy | Mashable

Meet the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max and 5 Pro. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable

Table of Contents Soundcore announced two new pairs of earbuds during its Anker Day event on May 21: the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max. The earbuds are the first Soundcore products to feature the new THUS AI chip, designed to boost the performance of the earbuds' microphone for call quality, voice activation, and smart features like live translation and AI note-taking. Spoiler alert: the mic performance is no joke on these earbuds. SEE ALSO: The 11 best wireless earbuds we've ever tested Both the Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max are available as of May 21. I've spent a few days trying out both pairs of earbuds — below you'll find my first impressions, the specs, price, and everything else you need to know about Soundcore's latest audio release. You May Also Like

Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro: Specs and priceThe Liberty 5 Pro is available for $169.99 and comes with the following feature set:

The Liberty 5 Pro come with a small on-case display. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable Battery: 6.5 hours with ANC (28 hours with charging case), 12 hours without ANC (50 hours with charging case)Active noise cancellation: Yes, adaptive and five levels of manually adjustable ANCMicrophones: 8 microphones, plus two bone conduction sensors Connection: Bluetooth 6.1Multipoint: Yes, up to three devices simultaneouslyIP rating: IP55Ear tips: Five sizes, from XXS to LEar fins: Three sizesColors: Blue, white, black, and pinkSoundcore Liberty 5 Pro: First impressionsI haven't had the chance to test the full range of the Liberty 5 Pro features just yet, but as Soundcore emphasizes the "whisper clear" calls these buds are capable of, I made sure to get in some testing of the microphone, along with the usual suspects of the sound quality (rich and well-varied, from my initial listens) and active noise cancellation.Mic quality is superb Call quality may seem like a weird feature to brag about, but if you've used earbuds with a crappy microphone, you know how annoying it can be to have to disconnect your earbuds every time you need to take a call. My first test for these earbuds was an informal one. While FaceTiming a friend and wearing these earbuds, another friend in the room with me leaned into the frame of my phone's camera to say hello. My friend on the other end of the call happened to be looking away — she had no clue the other person in the room with me had spoken at all. Meanwhile, she could hear me without any issue. Whisper clear indeed. I've also been able to hold full conversations with ease while other people are watching TV and chatting in the same room, while the person on the other side of the call has been none the wiser. All this to say, the early results are very promising. So is it really just a matter of matching up a full set of microphones with an AI chip? Not exactly. Soundcore goes the extra mile, adding two bone conduction sensors to detect vibrations in your skull and ensure that only your voice is picked up, even in noisier environments. The noise cancellation is no joke either I nearly jumped out of my skin when someone approached me to say good morning while I was listening to music on these earbuds at about 40 percent volume. Apparently, they'd been trying to get my attention for a good 30 seconds. So that's another informal test, passed. On a more technical note, these earbuds have eight microphones that work together with the THUS chip to provide the best possible noise cancellation. The result is impressive, especially considering their $169.99 price point. While I look forward to testing them out and about in the world more, as far as my home office (and simply existing in a house where seven other people live), these earbuds are more than getting the job done so far. Comfortable and stableThe ear fin/ear tip combo on these earbuds reminds me a lot of the Bose QuietComfort earbuds series. Whenever I'm positively comparing the wear of earbuds to the QC series, that's a very, very good thing, considering the Bose buds are the most comfortable I've tested. Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. Loading... Sign Me Up

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SEE ALSO: Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds 2 are one of the best noise-cancelling earbuds available, but not a must-upgrade While I haven't yet put these through the extended hours of wear needed to see if they deserve the same accolades, I can say that so far, I've experienced no fatigue wearing them in one to two-hour bursts. At the same time, they feel plenty secure and provide a great seal for boosting passive ANC. A unique charging case design

No need for a companion app to adjust the earbuds' settings. Credit: Soundcore The charging case for the Liberty 5 Pro features a 0.96-inch mini touchscreen, where you can access settings such as ANC adjustments, equalizer presets, spatial audio, and Bluetooth pairing. Essentially, it reduces the need for a companion app to adjust every feature that isn't playback or volume. Despite the small screen, this was a surprisingly convenient way to use the earbuds — especially when pairing them to new devices. Though it doesn't feel fragile, I am curious to see how this case holds up once I throw it in a bag and take the earbuds on the go.

Opens in a new window Credit: Soundcore Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro $169.99 at Amazon, Soundcore, Best Buy   Shop Now

Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max: Specs and priceThe Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max is available for $229.99, with the following feature set:

The Liberty 5 Pro Max comes with a larger display on the case and the ability to record meetings for AI note-taking. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable Battery: 6.5 hours with ANC (28 hours with charging case), 12 hours without ANC (50 hours with charging case)Active noise cancellation: Yes, adaptive and five levels of manually adjustable ANCMicrophones: 8 microphones, plus two bone conduction sensors Connection: Bluetooth 6.1Multipoint: Yes, up to three devices simultaneouslyIP rating: IP55Ear tips: Five sizes, from XXS to LEar fins: Three sizesColors: Titanium-gold and blackSoundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max: First impressionsThe Liberty 5 Pro Max earbuds have many of the same features as the 5 Pro, including the same tech for powering noise cancellation, sound quality, and the microphones. They also feature the same earbud shape. There is one notable difference, though, which we'll get into below: The mic impresses on the Pro Max buds, too The Pro Max earbuds use the same 10-sensor matrix (the microphones and bone conduction sensors) as the 5 Pro earbuds, so it's no surprise that, in combination with the AI chipset, these earbuds also sounded incredible on calls and did a reliable job at blocking out background noise. Living in a house with seven other people means that if I'm not at my desk (and even then), there's at least a 50 percent chance that I'll take a call while someone else is having a conversation around me. For the times that's happe