Anker Soundcore Life Q35 Wireless Headphones Review

The Anker Soundcore Life Q35 look almost identical to the Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless. They have a simple design with a dark blue satin finish. Unlike the previous generation, their brand markings on the ear cups are now blue too, which doesn't stand out as much. They come in two color variants: 'Blue' and 'Pink'.

 The Anker Q35 are comfortable headphones. They clamp a little more than the Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless, but they shouldn't fit too tightly. They also feel light on the head. However, the headband's padding seems thin, and it may become uncomfortable if you're wearing them for long periods.

The Anker Soundcore Q35 have a good control scheme. There's a touch-sensitive surface on only the right ear cup, but most of the controls are physical buttons found on the underside of both cups. You can play or pause audio, adjust volume, and cycle through different ANC settings: 'ANC', 'Transparency', which allows you to hear what's going on around you without turning off your audio, and 'Normal', which is the off mode. You can also switch between 'Normal' and 'Transparency' mode by touching and holding the right cup for two seconds. You can hold the volume up or down for one second to skip the track forward or backward, respectively, or activate voice assistant by holding down the play button for two seconds. The buttons are clicky and are easy to use. There are voice prompts when changing ANC settings, but there aren't beeps for the other commands.

These headphones have mediocre breathability. They cover your entire ear and can trap in heat, which can make your ears feel warm. While you shouldn't sweat more if you're wearing them at your desk, they could become more uncomfortable during physical exercise.

The Anker Life Q35 are passably portable. They're a bit bulky, and while the ear cups can swivel to lay flat, they can still be hard to take with you. Luckily, they come with a hard case to help protect them, but it still takes up some room in your bag or backpack.

The Anker Soundcore Life Q35 come with a good case. It's more rounded than that of the Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless, but it otherwise hasn't changed too much. It has a zipper that fully closes and it has a small pouch inside to store the cables and airplane adapter. It should protect your headphones from minor water exposure and accidental drops.

The Anker Life Q35 have a good build quality. They're made of dense plastic and a silicone-like material with a metal plate in the headband, making them feel sturdy overall. They have faux leather padding on the headband and ear cups. Like the Anker Soundcore Space One Wireless, they feel like they should survive a few accidental drops or falls without taking too much damage. However, the headband padding can become thin with time. They also lack an IP rating for water resistance, although we don't currently test for this.

The Anker Q35 are fairly stable headphones. They should stay in place while working at your desk, but they can fall off with more intense head movements. Luckily, their wireless design eliminates the risk of an audio cable snagging on something and pulling them off your head. For a more stable pair of wireless headphones, check out the JBL Tune 760NC Wireless.

• Anker Soundcore Life Q35 headphones
• 1/8" TRS to TRRS audio cable
• USB-C to USB-A charging cable
• Airplane adapter
• Pouch for cables
• Hard case
• Manuals

The Anker Soundcore Life Q35 have a bass-heavy sound profile. They deliver extra thump, rumble, and boom, which is well-suited for genres like EDM and hip-hop. If you prefer a different sound, their companion app offers a graphic EQ and presets to customize their sound.

There is a noticeable difference in sound profile when using the ANC on and off. Although we tested these headphones with their ANC on, the audio sounds hollow and thin if you turn the ANC off. We ran a few frequency response passes with the ANC on and off to confirm this using a wired connection and Bluetooth. You can see our graph here, which shows a drop in bass with the ANC on regardless of whether you're using a wired or Bluetooth connection.

There have also been user reports of audio cutting out when using a wired connection. Over the course of a couple of hours using the headphones wired and with ANC on, we didn't experience anything unusual, and our unit performs as intended. However, this may be related to flaws in a particular product batch. If you've encountered either issue, please let us know in the forums below.

The Anker Soundcore Q35 have okay frequency response consistency. Their treble delivery can vary depending on fit, seal, and positioning, so you may need to adjust them on your head to get a more consistent listening experience each time you use them.

The Anker Soundcore Life Q35 have unremarkable bass accuracy. It's overemphasized across the range, so your mixes have intense thump, punch, and warmth. However, some users may find it sounds a bit boomy.

These headphones have outstanding mid accuracy. The range is fairly well-balanced and neutral, so vocals and lead instruments sound clear, present, and accurate.

The treble accuracy of the Anker Q35 is passable. The low-treble is underemphasized, which veils vocals and lead instruments. The mid-treble is also slightly underemphasized, so sibilants are a bit dull and lispy. That said, treble delivery can vary depending on fit, positioning, and seal, and our results represent the average response.

The Anker Life Q35 have satisfactory peaks and dips performance. A peak in the mid-bass adds punch to your mixes, while a dip in the high-bass reduces boom. A dip in the mid-mid in the left driver nudges vocals and lead instruments to the back of the mix, while two peaks in the high-mids make them sound honky and harsh. A dip in the low-treble veils the upper harmonics of vocals and lead instruments, while an uneven mid-treble makes sibilants alternatingly dull and piercing.

The Anker Soundcore Q35 have a good imaging performance. Most of the group delay response falls below the audibility threshold, although small bumps in the bass range could indicate a loose bass. However, the treble is transparent. Our unit's L/R drivers are also well-matched in amplitude and frequency response. There's a large phase mismatch, though, which suggests that there could be inaccuracies in the stereo image. That said, these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

The Anker Soundcore Life Q35 have a disappointing passive soundstage. It's perceived as wide and somewhat coming from out in front of you, rather than from inside your head, but it doesn't sound natural. Since they also have a closed-back design, they don't sound as open or spacious as open-back headphones.

The weighted harmonic distortion performance of the Anker Q35 is decent. There's a peak at high volumes in the high-bass range as well as a peak in the low-treble at more moderate volumes. However, this is minor and can be hard to hear with real-life content. Most frequencies otherwise fall within good limits, which results in fair and clear audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test the headphones. Our results are only valid when used in this configuration.

The Anker Q35 have a great noise isolation performance. We expected similar results to the Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless, but we had a lot of trouble getting consistent results. We needed to conduct several passes to get similar results, and changing the placement of the headphones on our dummy head created a difference with active noise cancelling (ANC) turned on. With ANC on and set to 'Transport' mode, they cut down a good amount of bass-range noise like bus or plane engine rumbles. They can also block out mid-range sounds like ambient chatter and high-pitched noise like the hum of an AC unit. If you're looking for even better noise isolation from an Anker product, check out the Anker Soundcore Space Q45 Wireless.

These headphones also have two additional ANC modes, but we don't currently test them. The manufacturer advertises 'Outdoor' mode to help cut down traffic and wind noise, while 'Indoor' mode is more focused on reducing mid and treble-range noise like office chatter and the hum of fans.

The Anker Q35 Wireless have an alright leakage performance. Their leakage is concentrated in the mid-range, so it sounds somewhat full. If you like to listen to your audio at high volumes, people around you in a moderately noisy environment may hear it.

These headphones have an integrated mic. They also come with a TRS to TRRS cable, which has a built-in microphone if you want to use the headphones wired.

The recording quality of the Anker Q35's integrated mic is good. Although it sounds a bit thin, your voice should still be heard clearly by whoever is on the other end of the line.

The mic's noise handling performance is decent. It can separate your voice from moderate ambient noise around you, so you should be heard somewhat clearly, even if you're talking on a busy street.

The battery performance of the Anker Soundcore Life Q35 is very good. They're advertised to last 40 hours with their ANC on, but we measured over 44. However, battery performance can vary depending on usage, so your results may vary. Luckily, if you run out of battery life, you can also use these headphones passively with their included TRS to TRRS cable.

The Anker Soundcore app is great. It has a graphic EQ and presets so that you can tweak its sound to your liking. You can also adjust their ANC between three different levels: 'Transport' mode, 'Outdoor' mode, and 'Indoor' mode. Just like the Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless, there are also sleep-related features available, like a timer or calming ambient sounds.

The Anker Soundcore Life Q35 have outstanding Bluetooth connectivity. You can pair them with up to two devices at a time, and they support NFC pairing. While their latency is a bit high on PC, it's lower on iOS and Android, which is nice if you like to stream videos. That said, some apps and devices compensate for latency differently, so your mileage may vary with real-life usage. These headphones also support AAC and LDAC codec, which allow you to stream high-quality audio. We don't currently test their performance in this regard, though.

The Anker Life Q35 come with a 1/8" TRS to 1/8" TRRS cable that you can use to passively listen to audio. It also has a built-in microphone so that you can take calls or chat with others. They also come with a USB-C to USB-A cable to charge the headphones and an airplane adapter.

The Anker Q35 can only be used via their analog cable with Xbox One and Xbox Series X consoles. However, they have full audio and mic compatibility using this connection.