The Anker Soundcore Life Q20 are an upgraded version of the Anker SoundCore Life 2 Wireless. These budget-friendly headphones have a few moderate upgrades, including a more comfortable fit and an improved ANC feature. That said, given their price point, it's not much of a surprise that they don't come with as many features as more premium models on the market, so you won't find many sound customization options or a companion app.
Our Verdict
The Anker Life Q20 are adequate for neutral sound. While their mid-range is very well-balanced, their treble range has several peaks, and their bass range is over-emphasized. There aren't many sound customization features on hand to switch up its sound, aside from a BassUp tool to add more rumble in the bass.
- Good imaging performance.
- Over-emphasized bass range.
The Anker Life Q20 are decent headphones for commuting or travel. They're quite comfortable, and they come with a basic pouch to give them light protection when tossing them into a bag. While their ANC helps block out your chatty seatmate on a plane, it won't help to block out the rumble of the engine. On the bright side, their long battery life can last even the longest of travel days, and you can use them passively if the battery runs dry.
- Good noise isolation.
- Comfortable fit.
- Struggles to block out bass-heavy noises like bus and plane engines.
- Pouch doesn't protect against drops or bumps.
The Anker Life Q20 are decent headphones for sports. Like most closed-back over-ear headphones, they'll likely cause your ears to heat up and sweat more than usual, but they're decently stable and can withstand a light jog or run without falling off. Their Bluetooth connectivity means you don't have to worry about a cable getting snagged and pulling the headphones off, which is good.
- Comfortable fit.
- Stable enough for light exercise.
- Not stable enough for intense exercise.
- Not very portable.
The Anker Life Q20 are decent headphones for use in the office. Their comfortable and lightweight design means you can wear them for long periods without causing fatigue or discomfort. Their ANC does an excellent job at blocking out chatty coworkers, and their battery can easily last you a few full work days.
- Good noise isolation.
- Comfortable fit.
- No multi-device pairing.
- Pouch doesn't protect against drops or bumps.
You can only use the Anker Life Q20 wirelessly over Bluetooth, meaning they aren't compatible with the PS4 or Xbox One. While you can connect them to a Bluetooth-compatible PC, their latency will likely be too high for competitive gaming.
While you can use the Anker Life Q20 wired for gaming, their microphone won't work, so you'll only get audio through the headphones. This means they likely aren't a good choice for multiplayer games.
- Comfortable fit.
- No microphone compatibility.
The Anker Life Q20 are okay headphones for phone calls. Their microphone performance is decent, though your voice sounds quite thin, and it's hard for the person on the other end of the line to hear you in even moderately noisy environments.
- Decent microphone recording quality.
- Struggles to block out bass-heavy noises like bus and plane engines.
Changelog
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Updated Sep 18, 2025:
We've added a mention of the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 2024 in the Battery section of the review.
- Updated Jun 12, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.6 , which updates how we measure latency. We've updated and renamed the following test groups: Wired Connection, Bluetooth Connection, and Wireless Connection (Dongle). We've also added new codec latency measurements and provided an audio sample of recorded latency.
- Updated Sep 07, 2023: Minor text updates for clarity. No changes in test results.
- Updated May 03, 2023: We've added a note to Test Settings to indicate that we tested the headphones' sound with the 'BassUp' feature turned off.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
These headphones are available in Black, Blue, and Silver color variants. We tested the Black version and expect the other variants to perform similarly.
If you come across another version of these headphones, let us know in the forums so we can update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Anker Soundcore Life Q20 are the upgraded version of the Anker SoundCore Life 2 Wireless. They're almost the exact same headphones but are slightly smaller and have slightly improved ANC and battery life, as well as even more emphasized bass and treble ranges. They're a decent overall pair of budget headphones for the price and have one of the better ANC features available at this price point.
See our recommendations for the best headphones, the best noise cancelling headphones under $100, and the best wireless headphones.
The Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless are the next generation of the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless and are slightly better than their predecessor. The Q30 come with a hard case. They have an improved noise isolation performance and longer-lasting battery life. They're also compatible with the Anker Soundcore app, which allows you to customize their sound profile with a graphic EQ and presets. However, the Q20 are more stable on your head.
The Anker Soundcore Life Q20 2024 offer small but meaningful upgrades over the original Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless. While the sound profile is largely unchanged and both headphones are comfortable and well-built, the 2024 refresh boasts a much longer continuous battery life and companion app compatibility, meaning there's greater scope for adjusting parameters like the EQ and presets. The new version also features Bluetooth multi-device pairing, which is great if you own multiple devices and don't feel like constantly pairing and unpairing.
If you want active noise cancelling (ANC), the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless are better than the JBL Tune 520BT in that regard. While the JBL fit on-ears and can only passively isolate, they have other features missing from the Anker headphones, such as multi-device pairing with lower latency and a comprehensive app that includes an equalizer. Their battery also lasts about twice as long. On the other hand, the Anker headphones have a better mic, support both Bluetooth and wired listening, and are more comfortable. Still, you can't change the very bassy sound profile on the Anker, which can be a dealbreaker. However, depending on your needs, the Anker's ANC can outweigh the upsides of the JBL headphones.
If you're a basshead, the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless are better than the Sony WH-CH520 Wireless. They have a very bassy tuning whether you activate the 'BassUp' function or not. The headphones are more comfortable, and their active noise cancelling (ANC) makes them more commute-friendly, alongside their folding design. They can connect via analog or Bluetooth. The Sony cans offer the flexibility of their companion app's EQ settings, virtual surround sound, and multi-pairing. They work wirelessly only, and their battery lasts nearly twice as long. They fit on-ears instead of over-ears and do a poor job of blocking environmental noise. The Anker headphones are the better pick if you prioritize noise cancelling above EQ, multi-pairing, and battery life.
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