Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro review: Small earbuds, big sound

While Apple has continued to dominate the wireless earbud market with the AirPods and AirPods Pro, not everyone is a fan of the fit or style. Don't get me wrong — I love my AirPods Pro (others may prefer the regular AirPods), but I also like to have some color in my life, and white just doesn't cut it for everything. That's why I like to explore other options out there.

Though I normally opt for traditional headphone style, I prefer true wireless earbuds for the portability and convenience factor. When I saw that Anker had recently released the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro, I had to check them out due to the hype — they even have a gorgeous purple color!

Here's how the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro stacks up.

Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro: Price and availability

The Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro earbuds are available at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy, as well as direct from Soundcore's website. They come in four different colors: Dusk Purple, Fog Gray, Frost White, and Midnight Black. However, if you purchase at Best Buy, it only sells the white and black colors. If you want the purple or gray colors, you can find them on Amazon and Soundcore's site.

The retail price for the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro is $170. You can find them on sale occasionally, so keep an eye out.

Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro: Stylish and customizable sound

Unlike Apple's own AirPods lineup, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro are in-ear earbuds without a stem. They fall more in line with other competing buds with a bean-like shape, but they also differentiate themselves by having rubber "wings" that affect how they fit in the ears. Anker also provides four different sizes of ear tips and wings, so if the default medium size does not work for you, there should be an included size that does.

The charging case that the Liberty 3 Pros come with is shaped like a large pill. The backside has the USB-C charging port, although you can also use any Qi-compatible wireless charger — and a button to reset the earbuds. Instead of flipping it open like most cases, the top slides open. Small LED lights on the inside of the case will pulsate to show you that the buds are charging, and there are three LED indicators on the exterior that light up when charging the case. There are also some magnetic contacts inside, which makes aligning the earbuds to charge easier. However, with the design of the case and the earbuds, getting them out is a bit of a hassle, which I'll get to in a bit.

To get the most out of the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pros, you'll want to make sure to grab the Soundcore app. With this free companion app, you'll be able to update the earbud firmware, adjust EQ and Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) levels, and even switch up the touch controls. The app itself is easy to use, allowing you to customize the listening experience with your Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro earbuds.

The Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro features a dual-driver composition that makes your audio sound great. One driver is dedicated to bass and mids, while the other is a smaller dynamic driver that places emphasis on smoothing out highs. The end result is something that isn't too bass-heavy, but you still get a good amount of it without being overwhelmed, and vocals are crisp and clear. For voice calls though, the Liberty 3 Pros are about average — not amazing, but not bad either.

One of the standout features of the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro is the ANC and Transparency mode. You can switch between Normal, ANC, and Transparency mode in the app or on the earbuds themselves with the touch-sensitive controls (default is touch-and-hold for two seconds). I found the ANC on the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro to be quite impressive — the sound of a distant motorcycle was immediately blocked out once I enabled ANC, and I cannot even hear the heater that I use in my office, even though it's right next to me. Once I enable Transparency and let ambient noise come through, the difference is very clear. Although I feel that the ANC on AirPods Pro slightly edges out the Liberty 3 Pros, it's still very good for the price point.

The touch controls are decent enough, though I feel that the touch sensitivity can be a little much. By default, single-tap is disabled, and that's because it's too easy to accidentally trigger with the slightest touch. As I mentioned earlier, you can use the app to adjust any of the controls to your liking: single tap, double-tap, touch-and-hold for two seconds, and a triple tap. It does require a bit of practice to get all of the controls and actions down, but I didn't find it too bad aside from the single tap.

Now, with everything taken into consideration, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pros will last around eight hours on a single charge. However, the total playtime will vary depending on if you have ANC on or off, of course. The charging case will provide another 24 hours of playtime if it's fully charged, so you can get a total of 32 hours. You can also charge the case (wirelessly or wired) without the earbuds in it, so it's always topped off.

Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pros also have multipoint connection capabilities. This means you can have the Liberty 3 Pros connected to two devices at a time, and switching back and forth between them is a breeze. I have them connected to my iPhone 13 Pro and iMac, and no issues switching between the two.

Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro: The fit takes some getting used to

Though it took me a bit of time to adjust to the fit, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pros do have a weird shape due to the wing. While Anker does include multiple sizes of tips and wings, not everyone is going to like how these fit and feel. I mean, once you get used to them, they are quite comfortable, but they are a bit different than other earbuds.

Speaking of the shape, it is a little annoying and tedious to get them out of the charging case. Putting them back in the case is awkward in itself since you need to turn them around to get them in. But they practically lay flat in the charging case, making it hard to extract if you have bigger fingers. I have smaller fingers and honestly still have trouble — it's easier for me to just push them out. It's not my favorite design when it comes to the earbuds and charging case.

Lastly, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pros still cost a decent amount of pocket change. They're only about $10 less than the latest AirPods 3, but $79 less than AirPods Pro. There are definitely more affordable true wireless earbuds out there, and some even have ANC too. Still, I found the Liberty 3 Pros to sound very clear, and are worth the cost if you don't want to get AirPods Pro.

Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro: Competition

The biggest competitors to the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro are, as I just mentioned, AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro. The Liberty 3 Pros are slightly cheaper than the regular AirPods, and have silicone ear tips (fitting better for some), ANC and Transparency, multiple color options, and they sound pretty darn good for the price. I can't attest to the sound quality of AirPods 3, but our writer, Luke Filipowicz, says they sound better than the previous generation in his AirPods 3 review. But still, if you don't like how the regular AirPods fit (due to lacking silicone tips), then the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro may be a better choice.

The next most obvious competitor are AirPods Pro. If you're looking at just the Liberty 3 Pro and AirPods Pro, then the Liberty 3 Pro will be better just because they're $79 less for the same main features. However, as good as the Liberty 3 Pros are at multipoint connection, if you want a seamless Apple experience with all of your Apple devices, then AirPods Pro are the way to go. They even have slightly better ANC than the Liberty 3 Pro, though it's very close, in my opinion.

Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro: Should you buy it?

• You want good sound quality with ANC and Transparency
• You want something that costs less than AirPods and AirPods Pro
• You prefer colorful earbuds

• You want seamless pairing experiences with Apple devices
• You prefer on-ear headphones or don't like in-ear earbuds
• You are on a budget

If you're in the market for some wireless earbuds that sound good with ANC and Transparency, have a comfortable fit, and last all day, then the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro are your buds. They also come in four different colors and the price is less than Apple's AirPods Pro, which is their main competitor. While the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro does not have the same seamless Apple device integration as AirPods, they do have multipoint connectivity capabilities, so you can use them with two devices at once.

Of course, due to the unique shape and design of the Liberty 3 Pros, they may not fit some people. That's mostly because of the rubberized wing, which takes some time to get adjusted to. Also, not everything will fit everyone — that's just a fact of life. But if they do fit, they end up feeling very comfortable, even for longer periods of use. And while the charging case is cool with the sliding top, since the earbuds lay flat inside, it can be a little cumbersome to get out at times, especially if you're in a hurry.

Lastly, even though the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pros sound impressive and have plenty of noteworthy features, it's still a little up there in price. Still, if you can get them, they're worth the cost in terms of quality. These are one of my top three audio products that I use, aside from my AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, so I think they're pretty darn good.

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