With the increase in demand for wireless sports headphones, heart rate sensors have found their way into the audio peripherals to let enthusiasts track their heart rate through the earpiece. Combining the features typical of smartwatches, these smart earbuds are meant to do more than just set you up in the rhythm and exercise tempo.
Realizing that earbuds are the first choice of athletes who desire music benefits during workouts or while walking/running; Anker has exploded into the market with Soundcore Liberty 4 earbuds, a desirable pair of budget wireless earbuds touting a built-in heart rate monitor. The pleasing Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 delivers effective audio output via dual dynamic drivers in each earpiece. Offered in stem form factor, the Liberty 4 comes in a black finish with translucent ear tips revealing gold accents on the inside.
Designer: Anker
The heart rate sensor is embedded into the right earbud and is intended to continuously monitor the user’s heart rate. It can even be customized to only monitor the heartbeats during the workout or any physical activity in case you don’t want the earbuds gauging your heart rate to rock, rap or country music. The Anker with Soundcore Liberty 4 earbuds are not just about the heart rate monitor, the earbuds are pretty capable music gadgets in their own right. The buds come with spatial audio support and can sync with the Anker’s Wellness app to customize EQ settings. The Bluetooth 5.3-compatible earbuds also support AC, LDAC, and SBC codecs but it lacks AptX support.
Supporting active noise cancellation, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 earbuds allow AirPods-like control on the buds themselves. You can press on the stem once to control playback; twice to switch between ANC and transparency mode or to take incoming calls. A triple press on the left earpiece shifts the track backward while a similar interaction with the right earpiece skips the track forward to the next song.
For the love of music, the Liberty 4 offer roughly nine hours of playback on a single charge with the time extending to 19 hours with the charging case. Interestingly, with ANC enabled, the number drops collectively by four odd hours. Priced at $149, Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 earbuds aren’t there to compete with the Apple AirPods or the Bose QuietComfort series, but if you want a pair of capable budget earbuds, the Liberty 4 is a good choice.
