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R**R
Impressed! Serves Its Purpose Well: Delightfully Clear Sounds with No Connectivity Issues
I just got mine.There seem to be really mixed reviews, so I thought I'd clear up a few things.Use: Primarily used for music & podcasts ("what's a phone call?") from my laptop & phone.1) SoundI see why there's so much contention over the high/low balance. The sound is pretty balanced, imho. If you're used to "fun" earphones that emphasize the bass, these are sort of disappointing. It's THERE; it's just not booming and in your head. The highs aren't shrill and awful though (using classical, string, and acoustic music as my tests). Podcasts are crisp and clear. Serves its purpose well.2) VolumeThe volume does tend to run pretty low. Neither here nor there, but as a reference, I usually set my headphones & earphones at 10-30% volume on my macbook (depending on the set). With these, they're set at 50-60%. Still lots of room to turn it up, but I tend to run my audio quieter than others. I can imagine others running their music at 70-80% with these easily. On my pixel 2, volume is set at around 40-50%. Note: It's not a fit issue for me, as physical isolation is great. I have the AC & fan going and typing right now...I can hear none of that through my music.3) Fit I usually use the "medium" set of ear tips with other earphones. There are actually 4 total sizes of tips. The ones that come default on the earphones are actually second largest. After a lot of (slightly annoying) trial & error, I'm using one down from the default. I usually hate & don't need earwings, but adding them really helped the bass with these earphones. These aren't heavy to me at all. I have another (much older) pair of wired bluetooth earphones, and those were obnoxiously, hilariously heavy. These are totally manageable. They stay in even when I move around the house & move around the house. Sneezed violently multiple times in rapid succession (allergies), and the seal didn't even break.I do sort of wish they could go deeper, both for sound & security, but they're perfectly fine as-is.4) Sound Isolation (Transparency?)The paper manual that comes with the earphones does mention the sound isolation (see attached image).I couldn't get mine to work though; it just skips to the next track (the one-second hold funtion). I ran a quick search in the Amazon reviews, and Anker responded to the issue in another review:"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding caused by the information on our manual and we have corrected it now."I guess that means it's NOT an actual function for the Liberty Lites :(5) PairingSo easy on my macbook & pixel 2. Auto cuts off when I put them back in my case. Auto connects when I take them out. Magic! I wish all of my devices paired this easily!I'm fairly happy with these. $65 (after coupon) is totally worth it for comfortable, wireless earphones that don't suffer from connectivity issues.
E**P
Works. Most of the time. 3.5/5, not 3.
So I have two units of these products have written about both in case people want to read about them. First unit had some defects, second was better but still not 100%.Verdict (because this review is very long and somewhat thorough)One of the big selling points for any device is that it is rated to last as long as it is advertised, and in this case, it does not. Second, the problem of the auto-on still persists, but much less with this second unit. I would still recommend this device, but keep the score as is at 3.5/5 as lemon units do exist and consumers certainly should know the problems they may run into isn't the experience that Anker wishes to provide.Initial review of Unit 1 on 08/16/2018Follow-up from Anker on 08/28/2018Review of Unit 2: 09/10/2018*******************************************************Unit 1 review for 4 weeks.************************************************Equipment: Using Essential Phone on Android 9.0(no custom rom), with AW watch always connected.These are my first truly wireless earbuds and I have to say that they are more secure than I would have thought, but they are not without its problems. I have used them pretty much every day since I received them.Looks.They are visible to other people when you wear them and not as tiny as they appear to be in the photos. This is neither a good or bad thing, but I just wanted to point that out. The case is like a pod that fits well in my points, though a bulge does appear be present every time I leave it in my front pocket. Yeah, it can get kind of weird and shapely if you're wearing shorts. I would recommend putting them in your back pocket or a book bag.Feel.They're comfortable to wear. They get uncomfortable after an hour or so, but this is not uncommon for most earbuds I have used. I usually walk with them and run with them. Running, I feel like I need to adjust every 10 or so minutes to ensure they don't fall. It could be an irrational fear, but I'd rather not risk it. I don't use the ear tips, but for walking, I don't feel that they are necessary. If I leave them on while I am changing my shirt, the grazing of the neck hole would loosen them, which has on occasion caused them to fall out. The case itself is plastic that feels solid and smooth on the outside and very glossy on the inside and scratches very easily. I'd trust it to keep it secure, but I definitely would not risk crushing it or throwing it around.Battery.As advertised. I am getting 3 hours of continuous music stream on a single charge, and likely an additional 9 hours of additional charge time. I have charged twice without charging the case, and that left me with one blinking light on the case, which seems pretty accurate. Kudos for that accuracy.Features.I like that they automatically connect after initial setup. I like that I can use one ear bud without worrying about the other (when left is paired standalone). I like the sound quality as it doesn't feel distorted in any manner or too bold (but, I am not an audiophile or sound professional). The Bluetooth range is very good for the scenarios to which I have used them (which include street walking, and gyms where Bluetooth SNR is quite saturated). Most of all, the features for voice commands and skipping songs are very nice.These features are great... when they work properly.This all being said. Here are some problems I have ran into:-I've had issues where removal of the earbuds from the case does not automatically turn them on, nor does it automatically connect them to my device. A manual button press was necessary to turn them on, but after removing them and placing them in the case and taking them out again, they automatically connected. I have cleaned the connectors, but it still happens like 5% of the time.- I’ve also had instances where placing the earbud inside the case does not automatically turn them off or disconnect. On rare occasions, this has made my music channel through the ear bud instead of the device itself or the car Bluetooth when I am in the car. Again, I have cleaned the connectors, but it still happens.-Sometimes, there is an out of sync between left and right, which causes the left to be a few milliseconds off. This would create some sort of echoing effect. I'm not a fan, but it’s tolerable and sometimes self-corrects.- There were some rare instances where the music would switch from this clear stereo to something akin to an EQ change or mono tone music. I'm not sure what that was.-There have been times where there is so much sound skips or lags on the left bud that it becomes unbearable to use (and the distance between the device and the earbuds is within 4 feet). A Bluetooth turn off and on or placing the earbuds in the case and taking them out solved this. This was very rare, but has only happened once or twice.-There have been instances where the buttons for control do not work. Again, a simple on and off on the earbud or Bluetooth solved this.-I had an issue where the volume control on the device is maxed, but still is barely audible on the earbuds. This happened once or twice and with all music tracks or podcast. Again, a simple on and off on the earbud or Bluetooth solved this.-There are some times where the device is connected to the earbuds and music would come out of the device, but the controls would still work to stop/start music. This happened once in the library, and a few times in the gym. That was embarrassing. I found that this issue occurs only if the media is still playing when Bluetooth is connecting to ear buds. The only remedy to this is to just disable music before you connect.-When using voice commands, they don't always register properly. What I mean by that is the command is stated, but nothing follows, not a confirmation alarm or non-confirmation. This is a very common problem that I have run into. Rarely will this feature work.Upon further usage and tested on an LG G5 on 7.1.1. I had perfect usage of the voice commands, so it is more likely an Android Version issue or app issue more than the ear buds themselves. No points lost, but my daily driver is my Essential, so that kind of sucks.-The standalone left or right earbud requires some toggling with to get it to work standalone. The instructions say nothing, the online site says two taps. I finally got mine to pair, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't with two taps. It was three.For $70 (with coupon), they are certainly cheaper than current high end truly wireless earbuds, but I wouldn't say that they are perfect. I would recommend these to people who are ok with these problems that can be solved or worked around with a simple disconnect reconnect, but not so much for people who want that "automagic, just works" experience.One thing I personally didn't like as a personal preference is that it still uses micro usb. It's 2018. This is not a killer, just a preference. No points lost.Update 08/28/2018Anker reached out to me within days regarding the issues and sent me a second product to try out within days. I have received them and will be testing out which features have been corrected or not.As for support: Currently, it is top notch. I have received responses within the following business days, which simply wonderful and even when I myself have state that these problems are tolerable as an experience. Thanks for that.*******************************************************Unit 2 review for 2 weeks.************************************************Considering that my initial review already talks about the product, I will only point out differences in features/bugs.Battery test was done several times because my second unit had a shorter battery than expected. A full charge on both earbuds and case was set as the initial parameter and drained down through normal usage of Youtube, Google Play Music, and Soundcloud, and phone calls in my home environment with little or no excessive SNR. Both earbuds were used, and after the first one died, a second one was used in standalone mode. After, it was charged for 1 hour and 30 minutes to ensure full charge or when case died. Here are the results.Prerecharge2:32 Right Bud+ Left1:02 Left aloneCharge 12:30 Right Bud+ Left1:00 Left aloneCharge 22:27 Right Bud+ Left1:06 Left aloneCharge 32:30 Right Bud+ Left1:00 Left aloneCharge 41:23 Right Bud+ Left0:22 Left aloneMy total time listening using both was 11 hours and 22 minutes and 4 hours and 22 minutes on left AFTER the right bud dies.I wanted to check whether the right bud was actually using more power because it had to be the master bud for this test and after a single run on the right bud. The results was 3 hours 16 minutes. Left was not tested, but is anticipated to be higher than 3:16 as it was able to hold a total runtime of 3:30 average when used as slave with right bud.So the average time is not as expected by an hour on each charge.As for problems, there are still issues of auto-on, where the buds do not turn on when removed from case. This happens maybe 1/10 times, usually after it is completely dead and charged to full, or from cold boot. This only occurs to right bud though, left has no problem. It is better than unit 1 however.Battery indicator from the phone telling me how much battery life is left is also problematic as 40% usually means 20min from a full charge, and 60% could be from anywhere between 1-2 hours. What I'm trying to say is that the battery life is not linear to the battery status stated in bluetooth settings, though it's hard to say if this is a phone issue or earbud issue reporting incorrect battery life.As of the September update by Essential, Google Assistant works perfectly, but has a 2-3 second delay post button press.The first time I put it into the case, the right did not disconnect. This never happened again after, which is an improvement from Unit 1.
