TL;DR: Weird-looking but brilliant. Secure fit, warm and punchy sound, shockingly good ANC for open earbuds, insane app features, and a price that makes Apple look greedy. If you want AirPods vibes without AirPods money, this is it.

I didn’t expect to like the Soundcore Liberty Buds this much. That’s the honest truth. I’ve tested so many so-called “AirPods alternatives” over the years that my brain now auto-filters the phrase as marketing fluff. Most of them chase the look, miss the feel, botch the sound, and then quietly disappear into the tech drawer of forgotten gadgets. But after a few weeks living with the Soundcore Liberty Buds, I found myself reaching for them even when my more expensive earbuds were sitting right there, fully charged, silently judging me.

These are half-in-ear true wireless earbuds priced between $50 and $100, positioned directly as an alternative to Apple’s newest open-fit ANC earbuds. And yes, they are very clearly gunning for the crown currently worn by the Apple-made AirPods 4 ANC. The difference is that Soundcore isn’t trying to out-Apple Apple. Instead, they went full mad scientist and built something that looks odd, feels unconventional, and ends up working far better than it has any right to.

The first thing you notice is the shape. These don’t just sit in your ears like polite little stems. They anchor themselves. The detachable ear fins are the star of the show here, turning what’s normally a loose, faith-based fit into something surprisingly secure. The ritual is oddly satisfying. You place the earbuds in, rotate them slightly, and tuck the fin behind your ear. Suddenly the earbuds feel locked in, like they signed a lease.

It’s not the most invisible look, and you definitely feel them in your ears more than something like the AirPods. But comfort-wise, they strike a smart balance. I wore them through long work sessions, grocery runs, and even a few chaotic workouts where most half-in-ear earbuds would’ve bailed immediately. These stayed put. No constant readjusting. No panic grab when bending over. For runners or gym-goers who hate rubber tips but still want stability, this design is quietly brilliant.

Battery life lands right where you want it to. About six hours with ANC on, closer to seven without, and the charging case squeezes out several full recharges. What really impressed me was the quick top-up. Ten minutes in the case can get you hours of listening, which saved me more than once before calls. The case itself is chunkier than Apple’s or the minimalist competition, but it slides into a pocket easily and feels solid. The sliding lid with the LED battery indicator is one of those small UX touches Soundcore keeps nailing lately.

Once paired, the Liberty Buds feel surprisingly premium in day-to-day use. Bluetooth stability is rock solid, and multipoint works exactly how it should. I bounced between my phone and laptop without the usual dance of disconnecting and reconnecting. The Soundcore app deserves its own slow clap moment. It’s packed, borderline ridiculous in scope, yet somehow still intuitive.

Beyond the expected stuff like EQ presets, ANC toggles, spatial audio, and control customization, Soundcore went fully unhinged in the best way. Live translation straight into your ears. Custom ambient soundscapes with dozens of effects you can mix like a sleep-deprived DJ. It feels like someone at Soundcore dared the software team to add everything they could think of, and instead of collapsing under its own weight, it actually works.

Touch controls are responsive and forgiving, even with the slightly horizontal fit. I never found myself rage-tapping like I do on some cheaper earbuds. My only gripe is that Game Mode lives exclusively in the app, which feels like a missed opportunity, especially since latency performance actually improves noticeably when it’s on.

Call quality is another area where these quietly flex. My voice comes through clean and natural, without that compressed, underwater tone cheaper earbuds often produce. Background noise reduction handles everyday chaos well. Wind is still a problem, as it is for basically every earbud ever made, but conversations remain intelligible even outdoors. There’s no onboard mute gesture, which feels odd in 2026, but not a dealbreaker.

For video watching, lip-sync is flawless on both Android and iPhone. Gaming is decent rather than spectacular. Casual games sound fine, but in something hectic like Call of Duty Mobile, positional audio lacks precision. Acceptable, not competitive.

Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room: active noise cancelling. Half-in-ear earbuds aren’t supposed to do good ANC. Physics says no. Soundcore said “what if though?” and somehow made it work. Don’t expect silence. You’ll still hear the world. But the Liberty Buds take the edge off in a way that actually reduces mental fatigue. Office hums soften. Mall noise dulls. Traffic becomes less aggressive. Snoring? Still there, just slightly less offensive.

What makes this impressive is the context. Compared to the AirPods 4 ANC, which cost more than double, the gap is shockingly small. Against pricier rivals like the Huawei FreeBuds 6 or the Sennheiser Accentum Open, the Liberty Buds punch far above their price class. This is the first affordable half-in-ear pair where ANC feels genuinely useful rather than a checkbox.

Sound quality is where these earbuds fully won me over. At low volumes, they’re polite and clean, almost background-friendly to a fault. But push the volume past a third, and the Liberty Buds wake up. Bass comes in strong, especially for an open-fit design. It’s punchy, warm, and satisfying without becoming bloated. Electronic tracks get energy, hip-hop hits with authority, and even acoustic music benefits from the added body in drums and lower strings.

Midrange tuning leans warm, giving male vocals and guitars a pleasant richness. Vocals sound natural across the board, and instruments like piano and violin get enough breathing room to shine. Treble is where Soundcore deserves real credit. For years, their earbuds struggled with harshness or metallic edges. That’s gone here. The highs are lively but controlled, detailed without stabbing your ears. Compared to the AirPods 4 ANC or FreeBuds 6, the Liberty Buds sound more relaxed and balanced, especially over long listening sessions.

Dynamics hold up surprisingly well too. Even busy tracks don’t collapse into mush, and bass retains its impact without drowning everything else. Spatial Audio exists, but it’s mostly a volume and width trick rather than a true surround experience. Thankfully, the EQ options are deep enough that you can tailor the sound to your taste, whether you want more thump or a cleaner, brighter profile.

After weeks of use, the Soundcore Liberty Buds feel less like a budget compromise and more like a clever rethinking of what affordable earbuds can be. They’re not perfect. They look unconventional, skip wireless charging, and won’t replace proper in-ear ANC monsters. But taken as a whole package, they’re shockingly complete.

Verdict

The Soundcore Liberty Buds are the rare budget earbuds that don’t feel like they’re apologizing for their price. With secure comfort, genuinely usable ANC for a half-in-ear design, excellent sound tuning, and one of the most feature-rich companion apps around, they stand as the best cheap AirPods 4 ANC alternative you can buy right now. Soundcore didn’t just undercut Apple on price. They challenged the category itself and came out swinging.