Anker is best known for its well-received power banks and mobile charging accessories, but the Chinese company has also been busy building its subsidiary Soundcore brand, under which it offers home audio products like smart Bluetooth speakers and wireless earphones.

Anker says its ethos of making quality electronic devices at an affordable price also extends to its audio accessory lineup, so I gave the company's new Soundcore Life 2 noise-canceling headphones a spin to test out this claim.

Anker Soundcore Life 2 2
The latest addition to Anker's headset range costs $80 and replaces the company's first attempt at over-ear active noise-canceling (ANC) headphones, last year's Space NC cans. As with that pair, Anker is aiming to corner the sub-$100 noise-canceling market, so direct comparisons with premium ANC headphones offered by the likes of Bose and Sony wouldn't be fair. So how do they stack up on their own?

Design

The foldable Life 2's come in a sturdy compact travel case that has a pouch for the included 3.5mm gold-plated stereo auxiliary cable and a black USB-A to micro-USB charging cable. There's no classic airline adapter with these cans though, in case that makes a difference to you.

Anker Soundcore Life 2 3
Weighing 263 grams, the Life 2's feel slightly lighter than more expensive headphones of similar size, but the steel headband and polycarbonate hinges feel robust enough to take a decent amount of strain, and maybe even a drop or two. That's all the more impressive when you consider the chassis houses a battery that can power up to 30 hours of wireless use with ANC on.

Anker Soundcore Life 2 5
The inset Anker Soundcore branding appears on the headband and ear cup, but it avoids being lurid by taking the same color tone as the rest of the headset. The adjustable headband also affords plenty of margin for ampler heads, and combined with the memory foam protein leather earcups, the fit is plush and the cushioning sits just right, even after a couple of hours' wear.

Anker Soundcore Life 2 6
On the left earcup rim you'll find a power button and separate noise-canceling activation switch, so unlike some headphones you don't have to have the ANC on for the cans to process an audio signal. Over on the right earcup meanwhile are the play/pause and volume controls.

Performance and Features

There's an encouraging sense of familiarity as you begin to use the tactile buttons to pair the cans to your Bluetooth device of choice, adjust output volume and play/pause tracks. Anker has chosen to do away with the gestural controls of its earlier Soundcore Space NC's, and the decision to do so feels reassuring from the off.

Anker Soundcore Life 2 1
Apart from the fact that gestural interfaces seem to divide headphone users, the touch/swipe setup for controlling volume and skipping tracks on the Space NC's just wasn't as responsive as can be found on more expensive cans like the Sony MDR-1000X, and it's the kind of feature that isn't worth the hassle unless you can get it spot on.

Sound-wise, the Life 2's aren't going to set your ears alight, and the output from the 40mm drivers certainly won't satisfy hardened audiophiles, but it does a creditable job of separating out most instruments as they hover around the mid- to high-range, and both indie and electronic music enjoy a wide soundstage with a good amount of detail.

Anker Soundcore Life 2 4
There's an impressive bass response in general that remains crisp at higher volumes, but if you just want to enjoy heavy unapologetic beats then a quick double-click of the play button enables "BassUp" mode, although distortion soon makes its entrance here as you ramp up the decibels.

As for the active noise-canceling feature, the Life 2's happily reduce the sort of low-level ambient drone you'd expect from a jet engine or nearby traffic, but they're not so hot at attenuating the sound of office chatter or heavy-handed key tapping. There's no adaptive filtering either, so the cans don't correct for changes in ambient levels as you move around.

Anker Soundcore Life 2

On the plus side, the low hiss characteristic of noise-canceling systems is extremely non-intrusive on the Life 2's and is unlikely to impede enjoyment of even quiet music. In addition, you can continue to benefit from the comforts of moderate ANC for up to 60 hours by plugging in the auxiliary cable, and when the battery does finally run out, you can continue to listen comfortably in wired mode as the passive noise-canceling still provides a semblance of insularity.

On a related note, the Life 2's built-in microphone makes use of Qualcomm's clear Voice capture (cVc) noise reduction algorithms, which meant that when I took a call through the headphones the sound of the voice on the line wasn't so jarring.

Bottom Line

They may not reach the performance heights of Sony's MDR-XXXX range or Bose QuietComfort 3's, but neither do Anker's Bluetooth headphones ask as much of your wallet. The Soundcore Life 2's are a solid option for music listeners looking for a first step into the world of active noise-cancellation – they also sound good, sit comfortably, and offer smashing battery life for such a lightweight headset.

Pros

  • Comfortable to wear for long periods
  • Excellent battery life
  • Decent sound output
  • Solid construction and controls

Cons

  • Middle-of-the-road ANC
  • Non-replaceable battery
  • No companion app

How to Buy

The Anker Soundcore Life 2 headphones cost $79.99 and are available to order on Amazon.

anker soundcore life 2
Note: Anker supplied the Soundcore Life 2 headphones to MacRumors for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received.

Tag: Anker

Top Rated Comments

strategicthinke Avatar
84 months ago
Thanks, Apple, for forcing the market to go towards Bluetooth headphones. Amazing. Affordability was surely coming as soon as such substantial player decided to go all for it!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bartvk Avatar
84 months ago
micro-USB charging cable
Hell no.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jettredmont Avatar
84 months ago
I have last year’s Space model and am generally very happy with it. The gesture controls aren’t terrible, but I would have preferred physical buttons. The ANC isn’t great, but it does help some.

Alas, I spend time every night trying to plug that damned micro-USB abomination in, and am just not signing up for that again. Were these USB-C, I would be buying a second pair to keep at the office. As is, I’ll just wait another year or perhaps get one of the top-tier models.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dantastic Avatar
84 months ago
Brace for the "No USB C, No buy" comments.......
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
84 months ago
Good on them! No one with any sense would look to $80 ANC Bluetooth cans to provide audiophile quality sound, but that’s not the point. They are pulling the price of the tech down, and I’m all for that.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...