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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless vs Anker SoundCore Liberty Air Truly Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple AirPods (1st generation)
Anker Soundcore Liberty Air
Tested using Methodology v1.3.1
Updated Jan 15, 2024 03:46 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.4
Updated Jan 15, 2024 09:06 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
TypeEarbuds
EnclosureOpen-Back
Noise CancellingNo
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeIn-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
Noise CancellingNo
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Variants
- AirPods (1st generation) (White)
- SoundCore Liberty Air (Black)
- SoundCore Liberty Air (White)
Our Verdict
Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless
Anker SoundCore Liberty Air Truly Wireless
The Anker Soundcore Liberty Air are better headphones than the Apple AirPods (1st generation). The Anker are more versatile, thanks to their closed-back design that helps isolate more noise, which is useful for commuting and using at the office. The Anker sound quality is also more accurate and follows our curve better. Thanks to the different tip sizes, they are also very stable in-ears for sports. On the other hand, the Apple feel better made, have a better battery life, and are more comfortable for most people. The Apple are also more open-sounding due to their open-back design and have noticeably lower latency.
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White
AirPods (1st generation)
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SoundCore Liberty Air
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AirPods (1st generation)
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SoundCore Liberty Air
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AirPods (1st generation)
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AirPods (1st generation)
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AirPods (1st generation)
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Finding storeMain Differences forMixed Usage
Mixed Usage
Threshold
Mixed Usage
6.4
7.1
Noise Isolation
1.3
8.0
Comfort
8.0
7.0
Leakage
7.3
9.7
Bass Accuracy
6.0
8.7
Battery
7.1
5.9
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Earbuds
In-ear
Enclosure
Open-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
8.0
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.02 lbs
0.02 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs
0 lbs
Controls
4.7
4.9
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
N/A
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Subpar
Good
Feedback
Subpar
Mediocre
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
No
No
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
N/A
No
Noise Cancelling Control
N/A
No
Talk-Through
N/A
No
Additional Controls
Voice enabled controls
No
Breathability
9.6
9.2
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
0.4 °C
0.8 °C
Portability
9.6
9.5
Portability Picture
L
1.72"
1.6"
W
1"
1"
H
0.6"
0.9"
Volume
1.03 in³
1.4 in³
Transmitter Required
N/A
No
Case
8.5
7.5
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
2.06"
2.4"
W
1.69"
1.9"
H
0.74"
1.2"
Volume
2.58 in³
5.5 in³
Build Quality
8.0
7.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
6.5
7.5
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
-7.73 dB
1.8 dB
Treble Amount
0.61 dB
-1.77 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
6.4
9.1
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.8 dB
0.19 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Raw FR L
Raw FR L
Raw FR R
Raw FR R
Bass Accuracy
6.0
8.7
Std. Err.
5.27 dB
1.81 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
64.42 Hz
10 Hz
Low-Bass
-10.94 dB
1.5 dB
Mid-Bass
-0.79 dB
2.72 dB
High-Bass
1.62 dB
1.15 dB
Mid Accuracy
7.9
8.8
Std. Err.
2.78 dB
1.57 dB
Low-Mid
1.7 dB
1.34 dB
Mid-Mid
0.55 dB
-1.79 dB
High-Mid
3.62 dB
-0.05 dB
Treble Accuracy
7.2
7.8
Treble
Treble
Std. Err.
4.18 dB
2.88 dB
Low-Treble
4.46 dB
-1.47 dB
Mid-Treble
4.26 dB
-1.87 dB
High-Treble
0.57 dB
-6.4 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.3
8.4
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.83 dB
1.04 dB
Dips
1.13 dB
0.95 dB
Imaging
8.4
9.1
Phase Response
Weighted Group Delay
0.31
0.16
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.04
0.53
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.5
1.25
Weighted Phase Mismatch
5.76
1.53
Passive Soundstage
2.6
0.5
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
N/A
Openness
9.7
2.0
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.4
0.3
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
Speaker Modeling
No
Room Ambience
No
Head Tracking
No
Virtual Surround
No App
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.9
7.4
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.177
0.328
WHD @ 100
0.128
0.192
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Power
On
Connection
Bluetooth 4.0
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
EQ
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Silicone (small)
Microphone
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation
1.3
8.0
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-2.64 dB
-23.29 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
-0.01 dB
-11.28 dB
Mid
1.1 dB
-22.9 dB
Treble
-8.72 dB
-36.8 dB
Leakage
7.3
9.7
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
37.73 dB
22.81 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
N/A
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.2
5.9
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
354.04 Hz
386.08 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.83 dB
2.93 dB
HFE
3,368.2 Hz
2,597.24 Hz
Weighted THD
31.268
5.291
Gain
28.6 dB
45.4 dB
Noise Handling
6.2
6.7
Speech + Pink Noise
Speech + Subway Noise
SpNR
14.85 dB
18.82 dB
Active Features
Battery
7.1
5.9
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
4.8 hrs
4 hrs
Additional Charges
5
3.0
Total Battery Life
27 hrs
16 hrs
Charge Time
0.5 hrs
1.3 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Yes
Standby mode
Audio While Charging
Yes
No
Passive Playback
No
No
Charging Port
Lightning
micro-USB
App Support
5.5
0.0
App Picture
App Name
N/A
No App
iOS
Yes
No
Android
No
No
macOS
N/A
No
Windows
N/A
No
Equalizer
No
No
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
N/A
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
Yes
No
Surround Sound
N/A
Surround Support
No
Connectivity
Bluetooth
6.9
6.6
Bluetooth Version
4.2 + W1 chip
5.0
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
NFC Pairing
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
91 ft
167 ft
PC Latency (SBC)
168 ms
295 ms
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
N/A
iOS Latency
251 ms
Android Latency
239 ms
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
0.0
0.0
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
N/A
Wired
0.0
0.0
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
N/A
No
USB Audio
N/A
No
Detachable
N/A
No
Length
N/A
N/A
Connection
N/A
No Wired Option
Wired Latency
N/A
Analog/USB Audio Latency
N/A
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC/PS4 Analog
No
No
PC/PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox One Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
2.2
2.2
Type
Charging Case
Charging Case
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
Yes
Yes
Power Supply
Lightning
USB
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White
AirPods (1st generation)
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SoundCore Liberty Air
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AirPods (1st generation)
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SoundCore Liberty Air
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AirPods (1st generation)
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AirPods (1st generation)
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Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless
Anker SoundCore Liberty Air Truly Wireless
Comments
Apple AirPods (1st generation) vs Anker Soundcore Liberty Air: Main Discussion
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