Soundcore by Anker Life A1 True Wireless Earbuds, Powerful Customized Sound, 40H Playtime, Wireless Charging, USB-C Fast Charge, IPX7 Waterproof, Button Control, Bluetooth Earbuds, Commute, Sports

Excellent Value for the Price
I bought these to replace my Bose Sport earbuds. While I wanted something that would give me great audio, I didn’t want to spend what I paid for those previous earbuds; these Soundcore Life A1do not disappoint, in fact, they are exceeding my expectations.Bluetooth Pairing: Open the case, go to bluetooth settings on the device and select the Life A1 buds. Done. Literally took me less than 15 seconds. Once my devices were paired, as soon as I take a bud out of its case it’s already connecting to the last device I used, and by the time I have it popped in my ear, it’s ready to go.Comfort and Fit: These buds come with several sizes of plugs, and three sizes of wings. After a little trial and error to get the right fit for my ears, these are so comfortable, I forget I have them in after a while. They are lightweight, they don’t pinch anywhere, and I can easily wear these for an entire day at my desk without any discomfort whatsoever.Controls: Like many earbuds these days, you can control several common functions by pressing the earbuds (play/pause, volume up/down, answer/reject calls, Siri, etc.). One thing that surprised me is that these are actual buttons, and not just a touch-control like some other buds have.Build Quality and Design: Both the case and the earbuds are light, but at the same time, feel like they are made to last. Nothing feels “cheap” or “flimsy”. The case has a solid magnetic closure design, there is no play in the hinges of the case lid. The buds themselves are riding that fine line between lightweight and feeling substantial enough to feel like a quality earbud.Battery Life and Charging: I can easily go all day long with these buds. I used them continuously for 9 hours on one single charge. The case and the buds themselves charge quickly. And as an added bonus, not only can you charge the case via the USB-C charging port, you can also use a wireless charger. The App: There is a Soundcore app you can download that offers some additional options. It allows you to customize the button controls although your only options of functions to assign to button presses are volume, play/pause, next/previous, Siri, or no action. The app also offers equalizer settings, but you are limited to their 21 presets; 20 equalizer configuration presets and a “Soundcore Signature BassUp”. While these presets will most definitely do the trick, I was slightly disappointed there was no option for a custom EQ preset the user can make on their own.Overall, I am incredibly impressed by the value, less than $40 for all of this? And to be honest, these sound at least as good as my previous Bose earbuds.

Some improvements over the Dot 2s, but also steps back.
I have been a long time Anker fan. I have found their products to be a reasonable quality and at an agreeable price. My family has had a dozen or so of their headphone products over the years. We have seervals of their BT speakers and many chargers. I myself have had 3 pairs of Anker Life Dot 2s and about as many Soundbud Curves before that. I use them a lot and end up using them up, but find them a to have been a good choice.I needed to replace my aging set of Life Dot 2s and found them discontinued, The Life A1 seemingly replacing them at a $10 price increase. Upon opening the case I found what looks to be the Life Dot 2 with some tweaks. I was initially a mix of confused and happy. I liked the Dot 2s but knew they had some issues. But I recognized I paid more the the A1s than my past Dot 2s.Asfor the changes, the case is smaller, which is nice. It could have less charge capacity. It sits in the pocket better so if capacity was impacted it seems to be a decent trade. They certainly also found some space with some adjustments to how the units sit in the case. I think I like the Life A1 case a bit better.The ear anchor wings seems a bit more robust. Life Dot 2s biggest issue was the ear anchors wings. They were comfortable, but they stretched out quickly and were normally in need of replacement before the units were toast. The A1 has wings that seem on initial inspection to be more robust and so far (about a month in) they are much improved. Worth noting is that their robustness is a bit harder on my ears when I wear them for extending periods, but that is just a trade off.From the outside the actual bud that holds the electronics is unchanged. This seemingly includes the action button in each device. To me this could be seen as a bad thing. The buttons age poorly. They stretch out and eventually fail. About half of my past Dot 2 units ended their life with the button that used to be flat and flush ending up floppy and separating from the body of the bud. It is a sad fate for a product that looks so good when fresh from the box.So on 2 usability aspects the A1 could be seen as improved. The buttons are the same. What knocks them down in my eyes is that A1s don’t tell me if they are low on battery they just die. I listen to lots of podcasts. I tend to do this with a single bud (which Anker products do super well at). My Dot 2s would tell me if they were low on battery and I’d have time to switch to the other, with no interruption. These simply die. That seems like a step backwards.So with the increase in price and the units losing the low battery feature I can’t say I like these total as much as the Dot 2s. The noise cancellation is fine, but I probably would have liked a Dot 3 model with the improved wings and new charger but the old low batt warning perhaps with a $5 increase in price instead of $10. For $10 I want that battery warning and perhaps some work on the poorly aging button.I know my gripes are those of a long time user and noise cancellation probably moves more units than “Now with Better Aging Buttons!!!!” Given the stage to write up a review about this unit, that is what this is, my feelings about a “product improved” version of a set of buds that I already know well.Anker makes great stuff. I keep coming back because I am used to getting a high quality item as a good price. I think the A1 is still that and can recommend them. I think Anker has made such great products that they need to be careful with changes. I don’t regret my purchase of the A1s, I just wish I didn’t see one of my favorite Dot 2 features leave.

I’ve had loads of earphones & headphones over the years. I work professionally in the audio world so use everything from custom in ears to high end open and closed back headphones, so feel somewhat qualified to give an opinion.Fit:Can’t complain here. Various size tips and wings to achieve the correct fit. The tips being the part that go into your ear canal, the wings fit over the body of the earphone and help hold it in the concha of the ear. They are made of a soft to touch silicone. I’ve always preferred foam ear tips for comfort and fit, but they gather dirt, breakdown more quickly and are difficult to clean. For a pair of daily earphones the silicone is a more sensible choice.I’ve only had them in an hour so can’t comment on long term comfort. Keep in mind you will want to spend 5 or 10 minutes trying different combos of tips and wing to find a good fit and seal. Creating a good seal between the tip and the ear canal will absolutely transform the bass level and overall volume. The body/wing part are more for comfort and to ensure they stay in place.Sound:I was pleasantly surprised at this price point. Not overally toppy, good bass, plenty of volume (make sure your phone/device is sending full level, and then control the level of the earphones themselves). I think there’s about 18 “clicks” of volume settings on the headphones. For music I have it set at around 9 (half way).A little bit of distortion with SUPER strong bass but nothing bad. Stereo image is decent. I can’t really see it getting better at this price.There are 3 EQ settings. The soundcore signature, bass booster & acoustic. It doesn’t tell you what you’re on, so you kind of have to figure it out. Clicking from bass booster to acoustic is the most obvious so you know the next setting will be back at soundcore signature. I’d say the soundcore signature sits somewhere between acoustic and bass booster sound wise.Isolation is pretty good for a pair of earphones without active cancellation. Plenty of isolation for me. I don’t like to be completely detached from my surroundings so although i’ve given it 3 stars from a isolation performance perspective, for me personally it’s a 5!Features:I turned them on, my phone found them and connected straight away. They magnet into the charging case and light up to show you’ve seated them properly. Take them out of the case and they reconnect if left on. Front of the case shows the battery left (temporarily) when putting them away. Wireless charging by putting the case on a wireless charging pad works well.Value for money:High scores on this. I was getting ready to spend 100+ on a pair, but as it’s really only for commutes and general listening I decided to have a punt on these. No regrets so far!

Llevo casi 2 años usando estos auriculares, por promedio entre 1 y 3 horas cada día. Lo uso para ejercitar (Correr, levantar pesas, etc.) y son muy buenos para ello, para escuchar música en el autobús, tren, metro, etc. y para ver vídeos ocasionalmente, y tienen una calidad que esperarías del precio que pagas por ellos.Tienen un volumen bastante alto y son muy cómodos, ofreciendo 3 siliconas diferentes para que elijas el que te vaya mejor (Recomiendo ponerse los auriculares dejando la punta de silicona arriba y entonces ajustarlo hacia abajo, para la gente que tiene esa parte de la oreja más pequeña).El tiempo de vida también es muy bueno, y parece que cumple con lo que dice (Con volumen medio).Los únicos problemas que he tenido son:1) Me he duchado con agua caliente llevando los auriculares, y la silicona se vuelve un poco flojo/suelto, de manera que ya no se agarra tan bien al auricular en sí (También le pasa lo mismo después de mucho tiempo de uso).2) Realmente no sabes qué perfil de sonido estás utilizando, ya que solo puedes ir ciclando entre ellos y tratar de averiguar cuál es.3) La funda de los auriculares es un tanto grueso, de manera que si llevas pantalones apretados, va a ser muy incómodo llevarlo. Si llevas pantalones más sueltos o algún bolso/mochila, entonces no hay ningún problema.4) La batería restante de la funda no es del todo preciso: Tiene 3 luces, y después de gastar un 60% de la batería, pasa de 3 a 2 luces, y un 20~30% pasa de 2 a 1 luz, cuando entiendo que debería ser 33% cada luz. Aún así, con todo el uso que le doy, solo tengo que caragarlos una vez cada 2 semanas.5) Sí que tiene un tiempo de retraso de unos 0,5 segundos, que notarás cuando veas vídeos o juegues algún videojuego, pero es de esperar con cualquier producto de este precio. Decir, pero, que en algunos casos es mejorable cambiando el codec de tu dispositivo.En general, muy contento con el producto.