The Anker SoundCore Life P3 Truly Wireless are the next generation of the Anker SoundCore Life P2 Truly Wireless. They have a more comfortable fit than their predecessor, and they also come with some new features like Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and compatibility with the Anker Soundcore app. Using the app, you can cycle between either 'ANC', 'Ambient', and 'Normal' modes, and you can also set the ANC to either 'Indoor', 'Outdoor', or 'Transport' mode. They have a bass-heavy sound profile out-of-the-box, and you can also use the graphic EQ and presets in the app to help customize their sound.
Our Verdict
The Anker Life P3 are decent for neutral sound. Out-of-the-box, they have a bass-heavy sound profile that adds thump and rumble to your audio, which can be a bit overwhelming for listeners who prefer a more neutral sound. That said, the rest of the range is quite balanced, so vocals and lead instruments reproduce clearly. You can even use the graphic EQ and presets in the Anker Soundcore app to customize their sound.
- Graphic EQ and presets.
- Terrible passive soundstage due to in-ear design.
The Anker Life P3 are very good for commute and travel. Thanks to their adjustable ANC feature, they can block out the bass-heavy rumble of bus and plane engines and higher frequency sounds like chatter from other passengers. They have a comfortable fit suitable for long days on the go, and their portable design fits easily into your pockets. They only last a little over five hours with the ANC on, but their case offers some extra charges.
- Amazing noise isolation.
- Comfortable fit.
- 5.7-hour continuous battery life.
The Anker Life P3 are great for sports and fitness. They have a stable fit in your ears, so they shouldn't fall out during your workouts. They're also comfortable and breathable, meaning that you shouldn't sweat more than usual while wearing them. While their touch-sensitive controls are easy to use mid-workout, unfortunately, they have a limited control scheme, so you may need to use your phone to adjust their volume or skip to a previous track. Luckily, you can remap controls to your liking using their companion app.
- Comfortable fit.
- Stable enough for workouts.
- Limited control scheme out of the box.
The Anker Life P3 are satisfactory for office use. They're comfortable enough to wear during long days at work, and their ANC feature can help block out ambient sounds like coworkers chatting around you as well as the hum of nearby computer equipment. While they only last for over five hours off a single charge, you can recharge them using their portable case that holds around four extra charges. Unfortunately, their microphone performance isn't very impressive, so they may not be ideal for making calls at the office.
- Amazing noise isolation.
- Comfortable fit.
- 5.7-hour continuous battery life.
- Mic makes voice sound thin and unnatural.
The Anker Life P3 are compatible with Bluetooth-enabled PCs. However, their latency is likely too high to be suitable for gaming.
The Anker Life P3 are wireless-only, so they aren't suitable for wired gaming.
The Anker Life P3 are fair for phone calls. They have an integrated microphone that offers a mediocre recording quality, so your voice sounds thin and unnatural to whoever's on the other end of the line. That said, they should still be able to understand you, as long as you're calling from a quiet environment. On the upside, their ANC feature can help block out distracting background noises so you can focus on your call.
- Amazing noise isolation.
- Mic makes voice sound thin and unnatural.
Changelog
- Updated Jun 14, 2024: This review's Battery section now compares these earbuds to the Anker Soundcore P40i True Wireless.
- Updated Sep 20, 2023: Added a comparison to the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC Truly Wireless in the Bluetooth box.
- Updated Mar 07, 2023: We've added a comparison between these headphones and the EarFun Air Pro 3 in Bluetooth.
- Updated Dec 23, 2022: We've added a comparison between these headphones and the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 True Wireless in Bluetooth.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Anker SoundCore Life P3 come in 'Black', 'Navy Blue', 'Sky Blue', 'Oat White', and 'Coral Red'. We tested the 'Black' variant, but we expect all color variants to perform similarly. You can see the label for the model we tested here.
If you come across another version, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Anker SoundCore Life P3 are the next generation of the Anker SoundCore Life P2 Truly Wireless. These headphones are compatible with the Anker Soundcore app, which gives you access to many customization features, including a unique adjustable ANC feature, button remapping, and a graphic EQ and presets. They don't sit as deep in your ears as their predecessor, so they have a more comfortable fit.
See our recommendations for the best wireless in-ears and earbuds, the best wireless earbuds under $100, and the best noise cancelling earbuds.
The Anker SoundCore Life P3 Truly Wireless are slightly better than the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro Truly Wireless. The Life P3 are more comfortable, and they have a longer continuous battery life. Also, their microphone has a better recording quality.
The Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC Truly Wireless are slightly better earbuds than the Anker SoundCore Life P3 Truly Wireless. The Liberty 4 NC have a longer battery life and support 3D Surround Sound, a virtual soundstage feature available in the Anker Soundcore app. That said, both earbuds have the same level of customizability via the app, including a graphic EQ and presets, as well as onboard control configuration.
The Anker SoundCore Life P3 Truly Wireless and Anker Soundcore P40i are both earbuds with a solid ANC system. The P3 deliver more consistent audio and leak less audio into the room. Meanwhile, both earbuds share similar in-app features like EQ and virtual surround sound, as well as an IPX5 rating against water splashes. One upside of the P40i is their continuous battery life, which is over nine hours compared to the P3's 5.7 hours of battery.
The Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless have a slight edge over the Anker SoundCore Life P3 Truly Wireless. While both headphones are comfortable and well-built, the Space A40 have a longer continuous battery life and support multi-device pairing. However, for phone calls, you might prefer the Life P3, which captures your voice more accurately.
Test Results
The Anker Life P3 are sleek, simple, truly wireless in-ears. They have a similar design to the Anker SoundCore Life P2 Truly Wireless, but they're made of glossy plastic instead of matte plastic. There's a small Anker logo on their touch-sensitive controls. You can also choose between several different color variants depending on your preferences.
The Anker Life P3 are comfortable. They don't go as deep in your ear as the Anker SoundCore Life P2 Truly Wireless, which is nice. They're lightweight, and they come with several different ear tip sizes to help you get the best possible fit.
Update 11/02/2021: We originally reported that the app didn't offer button mapping. However, you can add 'Single Tap' controls, which allow you to remap controls like volume, track skipping, and play and pause. You can also adjust the 'Double Tap' and 'Hold' controls. We have updated our review to reflect these changes.
These headphones have good touch-sensitive controls that are very easy to use. To prevent accidental touches when replacing the buds, a single tap doesn't register any commands out of the box. The controls feel responsive, and there are audible beeps when you register the commands. You can even turn the beeps off in the Anker Soundcore app if you prefer. That said, the controls are a bit tricky to use at first. Also, there isn't a way to turn them off unless you put them in the case. On the upside, you can remap the controls in their companion app to better suit your needs.
On the left earbud:
- Double press: Skip to the next track.
On the right earbud:
- Double press: Plays and pauses audio.
On either earbud:
- Double press: Answers a call. When you're on a call, answers a second incoming call and puts the current call on hold.
- Press and hold for two seconds: Cycles between noise cancelling and normal mode. When you're on a call, ends or rejects a call as well as well as switches between a call on hold and an active call.
Mono mode:
- Double press: Plays and pauses audio. Also answers a call.
- Press and hold for two seconds: Ends or rejects a call. Also activates Siri or another voice assistant.
The Anker Life P3 are quite breathable. Like most in-ears, they don't trap any heat inside your ear. You shouldn't notice a temperature difference when wearing them, so they're a solid choice to wear while working out.
Like most truly wireless in-ears, they're incredibly portable. They can easily fit into your pocket thanks to their small, lightweight design. Their carrying case helps protect them on the go, and it should also fit easily into your bag.
The case is good. It's mostly made of plastic. There are three LED indicator lights in the front that show the battery level. There's also a reset/pairing button located inside the case.
The Anker Life P3 have a good build quality. They're mostly made of glossy plastic and feel just as well-built as the Wyze Buds Pro Truly Wireless and the Jabra Elite 3 True Wireless. The manufacturer says that they're rated IPX5 for water resistance, though we don't currently test for this. Overall, they feel pretty solid and durable, though the ear tips seem like they could rip since they're quite thin. Also, the case lid doesn't feel very sturdy, and it's a bit wobbly.
The Anker Life P3 have good stability. They should stay in your ears during workouts, even though they don't come with stability fins.
The Anker Life P3 have a bass-heavy default sound profile. You feel the thump and rumble in bass-heavy music genres like EDM and hip-hop, and vocals and lead instruments still reproduce quite accurately. Overall, these headphones are suitable for listening to most types of audio content. There's even a graphic EQ and presets in the Anker Soundcore app to help you adjust their sound.
The Anker SoundCore Life P3 have incredible frequency response consistency. Regardless of their fit, seal, and positioning on your head, audio reproduction is consistent each time you wear these in-ears.
The Anker SoundCore Life P3 have very good bass accuracy. The overemphasized low-bass helps you feel the deep thump and rumble in bass-heavy genres like EDM. The rest of the range is mostly balanced, so there's punch and warmth to your audio.
The Anker Life P3 have amazing mid accuracy. The entire range is quite balanced and neutral, so vocals and lead instruments are clear, accurate, and detailed. The slight dip in the mid-mids may nudge them towards the back of the mix, however.
The treble accuracy is decent. There's a dip across the low-treble and mid-treble that can slightly hurt the comprehensibility of vocals and lead instruments, and also make sibilants a bit dark and dull.
The Anker SoundCore Life P3 have good peaks and dips performance. There's a dip in the high-bass that can reduce the warmth in your audio. Also, the slight dip in the mid-mids nudges vocals and lead instruments towards the back of the mix, while the peak in the high-mid and low-treble can make those same instruments harsh or honky at times. Sibilants like S and T sounds are alternately piercing and dull due to the uneven mid-treble.
The Anker SoundCore Life P3 have a fantastic imaging performance. Weighted group delay falls below the audibility threshold, resulting in tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. Also, the L/R drivers of our test unit are well-matched in phase, amplitude, and frequency response. As a result, objects like voices accurately localize within the stereo image. These results are only valid for our unit, however, so your real-world experience can vary.
Like most in-ear headphones, they have a terrible passive soundstage performance. They don't interact with the outer ear, which is one of the key components in creating a large, speaker-like soundstage. Also, their soundstage doesn't seem as open as those of open-back headphones.
The Anker SoundCore Life P3 have a very good weighted harmonic distortion performance. Whether you're listening at a moderate volume level or a louder volume level, most frequencies fall within good limits. Audio reproduction is clean and pure.
These are the settings we used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when using these settings.
The Anker SoundCore Life P3 have an amazing noise isolation performance. They're able to block out slightly more background noise than the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro Truly Wireless. With their ANC on and set to 'Transport' mode, they can reduce lots of background noises, including the bass-heavy rumble of bus and plane engines as well as ambient chatter from people around you. You can also adjust the ANC level between 'Transport', 'Indoor', and 'Outdoor' depending on where you're located, which is handy. That said, if you're looking for an even better noise isolation performance from this brand, it's worth checking out the Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless instead.
The Anker SoundCore Life P3 have an incredible leakage performance. They don't leak much audio, and escaping noise is largely in the treble range, so it sounds thin. You can crank up the volume without really bothering those around you.
The mic's recording quality is okay. Your voice sounds thin and a bit unnatural, but it should still be understandable to whoever's on the other end of the line.
The mic's noise handling performance is okay. It can struggle to separate your voice from background noises, even if you're calling from a moderately noisy location like a busy street. However, you should be heard clearly if you call from quieter places.
The Anker Life P3 have an acceptable battery performance. While they're advertised to last for six hours off of a single charge with the ANC on, they lasted for a little less than that during our tests. With the ANC off, the battery life is expected to be around seven hours. Unfortunately, unlike the EarFun Air Pro 2 True Wireless, they don't have an auto-off feature to help conserve battery life. The case also has around four extra charges. That said, battery life can vary depending on usage, so your real-world experience may vary. If you want a greater battery life, including the case's charges, the Anker Soundcore P40i True Wireless buds last significantly longer and include an auto-off timer.
Update 11/02/2021: We originally reported that the app didn't offer button mapping. However, you can add 'Single Tap' controls, which allow you to remap controls like volume, track skipping, and play and pause. You can also adjust the 'Double Tap' and 'Hold' controls. We have updated our review to reflect these changes.
The Anker Soundcore app is great. You can remap the controls to better suit your needs and adjust the ANC feature between 'ANC', 'Ambient', and 'Normal' modes. 'Normal' turns off the ANC, while 'Ambient' mode lets in some ambient sound for when you want to stay aware of your surroundings. When on 'ANC' mode, you can adjust the ANC level between 'Transport', 'Indoor', and 'Outdoor', which is handy. The 'Transport' function targets low-end frequencies like engine and road noises. The 'Indoor' mode reduces voices and mid-frequency noise, while the 'Outdoor' mode reduces ambient sounds typically found in cities. There's a graphic EQ to help you customize its sound, as well as a Gaming Mode feature to reduce latency.
The Anker Life P3 have satisfactory Bluetooth connectivity. Unlike the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 True Wireless or EarFun Air Pro 3 True Wireless, they don't support multi-device pairing, so you won't be able to connect them to more than one device at a time. Out of the box, their latency with PCs and iOS and Android devices is likely too high to be suitable for gaming. That said, you can use the Anker Soundcore app to turn on Gaming Mode, which slightly reduces latency with PCs to 149ms, 101ms with iOS devices, and 104ms with Android devices, which is more suitable for gaming. That said, some apps compensate for latency differently. If you're looking for earbuds with lower default latency, consider the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC Truly Wireless.
You can't use these truly wireless headphones wired. They come with a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging their case.
These headphones are compatible with Bluetooth-enabled PCs. That said, their latency may be too high to be suitable for gaming.
The Anker Life P3 comes with a charging case that holds around four extra charges. It also supports wireless Qi charging, or you can charge it using the included USB-C to USB-A cable.