Our Take
Anker is shipping a first-party AI audio chip in consumer earbuds, but the company hasn't published independent benchmarks to substantiate the claimed 100% ANC improvement over the Liberty 4 Pro.
Why it matters
On-device AI audio processing in earbuds is becoming table stakes for premium models; Anker's move signals the segment is moving beyond cloud-dependent voice features. The Thus chip is a vertically integrated play that cuts the margin dependency on Qualcomm and ARM designs.
Do this week
If you sell audio products in the $150–$250 band: request independent ANC and voice-clarity benchmark data from Anker before committing to shelf space, so you can compare directly to Liberty 4 Pro and competing flagships (Sony, Apple).
Anker ships earbuds with its own AI audio chip
Anker announced the Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max earbuds, the first products to ship with the Thus AI audio chip the company unveiled last month. The standard Liberty 5 Pro starts at $169.99 and carries a smaller version of the charging case touchscreen (0.96 inches) that appeared on the 2024 Liberty Pro. The Max variant ($229.99) swaps the small LCD for a 1.78-inch AMOLED display and adds meeting-recording capability tied to the charging case.
The Thus chip handles noise reduction, voice clarity during calls, and voice command processing. Anker claims ANC is 100 percent more effective than the Liberty 4 Pro (company-reported), with faster response to 20 built-in voice commands. The trade-off is measurable: listening time drops to 6.5 hours with ANC enabled, versus up to 28 hours total with the case (per Anker's spec sheet).
The Max model's headline feature is transcription and note-taking. The charging case records conversations; recordings are processed by the Soundcore app on the user's phone, which generates transcripts and flags action items with speaker identification (company-reported). Both models support IP55 dust and water resistance and Apple's Find My network.
On-device audio processing is now table stakes
Anker's move to a proprietary audio AI chip reflects a wider shift in premium audio. Rather than relying on Qualcomm's Snapdragon Sound or ARM-licensed DSP blocks, Anker is building its own silicon stack. This matters for three reasons.
First, it reduces latency and power draw by processing audio locally instead of routing to the cloud. Second, it gives Anker direct control over IP and unit economics; the Thus chip is less expensive to manufacture at scale than licensing third-party audio AI. Third, it signals that 2025 will see audio brands competing on AI audio quality, not just fit and comfort.
The meeting-transcription feature on the Max model is a play for enterprise adoption. Recording and transcribing calls without a paired phone removes friction for field workers and remote teams, positioning Soundcore as a competitor to call-recording tools like Otter or Grain.
Verify the ANC claim before you buy
Anker's 100 percent ANC improvement over the Liberty 4 Pro is substantial if true, but it is not independently benchmarked. The company has published no third-party testing or peer-reviewed results. Consumer Reviews or professional audio labs (RTings, Crinacle, etc.) have not yet released comparative data.
If you are considering the Liberty 5 Pro for workplace use or plan to recommend it, request Anker's raw ANC measurement data (FFT plots, noise cancellation curves at specific frequencies) and wait for independent review. Battery life reduction is real (6.5 hours vs. the implied higher runtime of the Liberty 4 Pro); confirm whether that trade is acceptable for your use case before committing.