Soundcore Life P2 - Lack of compromise at a price where you would expect it

I have had Airpods, Airpods Pro and Powerbeats Pro. I returned all of them:

  • Airpods: Would not stay in during workouts, battery life depreciates quickly after a year.
  • Airpods Pro: Looked weird; the stem of the earphone wouldn’t hug the face - Also: workouts were inconsistent
  • Powerbeats Pro: Bulky case, uncomfortable after 3+ hour use, not very loud

For £160 - £250, these sacrifices could not justify the price.

P2 True Wireless addresses all of these criticisms at a quarter of the price. I will be keeping these.

Sound quality - on par with AirPods - slightly more bassy. EQ adjustments can be used to reduce bass and can get VERY loud

Noise Cancellation - Very good passive noise cancellation; wind is not an issue outdoors which cannot be said for Powerbeats Pro passive noise cancellation, weaker than AirPods Pro ANC

Battery life - better than AirPods, on par with Powerbeats Pro i.e. went a week without charging case - reported battery life is accurate

Bluetooth - relatively quick and never experienced sync issues - switching between products is not as convenient as AirPods - sometimes would require disconnecting manually before connecting to a different product

Fit - can cause pressure when initially trying them on but I managed to find a pair of provided buds that allowed me to put in buds without pressure issues - good range of bud fits. Did not fall out once during workouts.

Case - USB-C which is very helpful, easy to remove and put back buds into the case. Small, can be slippery, but very pocketable

Appearance - nice sleek matte finish, stem length is about the same of the AirPods - does not point out too far out or too far down. Bronze logo is subjective - does not look bad in person but not in love with it either

Quality of Life - Switching between devices is not as seamless as Apple’s H1 chip, however it does have a battery icon alongside the iPhone’s battery on the top right (which Apple’s earphones do not do) - Press for Siri works - Removing an earphone does not pause music, pressing the button requires holding the earphone at the same time so it does not dig into your ear - They turn on after removing them from the case without needing to press buttons

General steps to get them to connect after initial setup if the device last used is the same one you are trying to use again:

  1. Open case
  2. Put earphones in

So no buttons required or going into settings (if its the same device as the last one used on them).

Summary:

Pros

  • Bassy sound complemented nicely with passive noise cancellation
  • Quick, secure connection
  • Secure but unobtrusive fit
  • Battery indicator on iPhone
  • Price

Limitations

  • Switching between devices not as convenient as Apple H1 chip devices (Airpods 2, Airpods Pro, Powerbeats Pro)
  • Pressing the button can be fiddly if you do not want it to dig into your ear

Disclaimer: I did receive the product for free to review with no constraints on what I could or could not say (through the testing club: an open raffle draw).

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Excellent job with the review and pics :slight_smile:

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Nice honest review! Thanks for sharing

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Great review and first post @Eugen :+1:t2:
Glad you enjoyed the buds as so many others do.

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Good job.:wink:

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Thanks your nice review!
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Excellent job with the review and photos. :clap:t2:

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