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Anker’s New Sleep Buds Effectively Block Out Snoring Sounds

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Anker’s new Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds have achieved what the A20 model aimed for but didn’t quite manage: effectively masking snoring. This is thanks to their Active Noise Cancellation feature, along with a microphone in the charging case that adapts the masking audio to block out snoring sounds.

When I first read about these features and saw the slightly smaller design, making them potentially more comfortable for side sleepers, my initial thought was, “I absolutely need this!” But after a month of nightly use, I’ve adjusted my expectations, particularly since my sleep partner doesn’t typically snore.

$230

The Good

Masks light to moderate snoring
Good for side sleepers
Smaller than last generation

The Bad

ANC kills the small batteries
More expensive than predecessors
Unresponsive touch controls

To give some context, I’m not a great sleeper. I rely on podcasts to calm my mind, using earbuds—usually Apple’s AirPods Pro—to avoid bothering my wife when I drift off. I often wake up several times nightly, from once to as many as five times, and have to rewind and restart the podcast. Moreover, I need to swap earbuds when I roll over, as AirPods are uncomfortable to sleep on. It’s not ideal, but it’s my long-standing bedtime practice.

Anker mentions the A30 buds offer 9 hours of battery life per charge with active noise cancellation (and up to 45 hours with the charging case) if mainly used for white noise or sounds like rain stored on the earbuds. For listeners who prefer this, the A30s will last the night.

However, if you’re primarily streaming Bluetooth audio, the battery lasts closer to 6.5 hours per charge. This means I often woke up before dawn needing to restart a podcast on completely drained earbuds, especially after indulging in some doomscrolling. The passive A20 earbuds didn’t have this issue.

No wireless charging, these are USB-C only.

The buds can emit a stream of beeps if lost.

Next to my trusty AirPods Pro.

The buds really are small making them good for side sleepers.

The A30s are more comfortable for side sleeping compared to the A20s. I have to position my pillow carefully to ensure neither the pressure is uncomfortable nor the sound muffled. Fortunately, I haven’t experienced any discomfort. Side sleeping with AirPods or other common earbuds isn’t feasible, so this is a significant advantage for Anker.

To test the adaptive snore masking, I took advantage of Alexa’s ability to play snoring sounds on my original Amazon Echo speaker placed about a meter from my head. With the Soundcore charging case nearby, I tested the A30 buds with ANC turned on, with local snore-masking audio, and with podcasts streamed over Bluetooth. I did the testing with the Echo at volume levels of 3 (akin to my wife after too many glasses of wine), 6 (time to seek relationship counseling), and 9 (divorce!).

At volume level 3, the A30 sleep buds blocked the snoring 100 percent, or 90 percent with just ANC enabled and no masking sounds or podcast playing. It was so good that I had to remove the buds to make sure the snoring sound effects were still playing from the speaker. The buds with masking audio did a reasonable job at level 6, blocking about 70 percent of the sound — but I was able to clearly hear the repetitive drone next to me. At volume level 9, well, you can’t expect miracles.

Anker’s bedtime buds also offer a sleep tracking feature that gives a general sense of how well you slept, but with far too much confidence, enthusiasm, and specificity. For example, on one particularly restless night — I felt like shit after waking up 4 or 5 times over an eight-hour span, including a stretch from 4am to 5:15am where I listened to a podcast from beginning to end. Yet Anker congratulated me on an 87 sleep score, with a “Wow, you slept like a baby! Start your day in the best shape possible!” It also said I spent 29 percent of the night “prone,” even though I never sleep on my stomach.

The buds can supposedly detect when you fall asleep. However, I wonder if this is just a timer — they repeatedly shut off after about an hour of continuous use when watching a movie, for example.

I also found the touch controls to be unreliable. The buds respond to single or double taps to switch from Bluetooth to local modes, skip tracks, adjust volume, etc. Yet they fail frequently enough that I never expect them to register on the first attempt. And battery life is such that when the taps don’t register after a few tries, I just assume the buds have gone dead, only to launch the app and see they’re not. This isn’t what you want to deal with when trying to fall back asleep.

The buds can also be set to playback a wide variety of white noise and other audio soundscapes, with enough bubbling brooks and loon calls to make a spa operator swoon. The “AI Brainwave Audio” feature promises restful sleep by delivering different frequencies to each ear, which supposedly “helps sync your brainwaves with calming patterns to promote relaxation and restful sleep.” I found it pointless, but that bullet point sure looks like gee-whiz tech to investors and wellness nerds. I’m envious of you if these features can calm you and help you fall asleep, as Anker claims.

The Soundcore app offers personalization features like sleep reminders and alarms. I didn’t find them compelling enough to use or supplant what’s already available in iOS.
The case doesn’t offer wireless charging; it’s USB-C only.
Volume for local mode audio can’t be controlled from the phone’s volume buttons, only via the Soundcore app (or the tap controls on the buds if configured).
The sound emitted from the Find Device feature is loud enough to help find a bud lost in the sheets or under the bed.
The buds now include a microphone for making calls.

If, like me, you’re a side sleeper who likes to fall asleep listening to white noise or podcasts, then you can save a few bucks with the excellent Soundcore Sleep A20 buds, which can still be purchased for $179.99. Paying a $50 premium for the $229.90 Soundcore Sleep A30 buds will be easy to justify if they help restore sanity to anyone partnered up with a light to moderate snorer, assuming those tiny batteries last through the night.

All photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

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