Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 Wireless Earbuds Review (2026)

Why you should trust this review

I cover audio gear at The Tested Hub, and earbuds only reveal their true character after months in your ears rather than minutes in a store. I bought these Liberty 4 myself and Anker did not provide a sample, so nothing here is shaped by a review unit I had to return. They became my everyday commute buds and stayed that way for eight months.

That length matters because the things that separate good budget buds from forgettable ones, battery that holds, ANC that stays useful, fit that does not fatigue, only show over time. I used them the way most buyers will, for daily travel and general listening, and I kept the obvious premium alternative in mind throughout as the benchmark these are built to undercut on price while matching on substance.

How we evaluated

My earbud routine focuses on sound quality, ANC effectiveness, battery against the rating, comfort over long wear, and the extra features that justify a purchase. I judged the ANC on the real commute noise it is meant to handle, and I assessed sound across genres to see whether the tuning held up beyond a quick bass demo. For the hi res angle I used LDAC on a compatible phone to check whether the codec made an audible difference.

I tracked battery life across charge cycles to confirm whether the rated 9 and 28 hour figures held in practice, wore the buds for long stretches to test comfort and seal, and tried the in ear heart rate monitoring during workouts to see whether it was a real feature or a checkbox. Eight months of this kind of daily use is what stands behind the conclusions here.

Sound quality: hi res that earns its name

The standout is the sound. With LDAC on a compatible phone, the Liberty 4 deliver detailed, spacious audio that genuinely lives up to the hi res label, with clarity that is rare in this price bracket. The tuning is enjoyable across genres rather than just bass heavy, so vocals stay clear and instruments keep their separation instead of collapsing into a wall of low end. For anyone who cares about how their music actually sounds, this is the headline reason to choose them.

The LDAC support is the practical key to that quality, and it is a real advantage for Android owners who can take advantage of the higher bitrate codec. On a standard codec the buds still sound very good, but the hi res mode is where they pull ahead of the AAC only premium competition. iPhone owners will not get LDAC since the platform does not support it, but the underlying driver quality means they still get an excellent listen.

ANC: effective, just shy of the very best

The active noise cancellation does its job well. It noticeably reduces ambient noise, taking the edge off the constant rumble of a commute so music does not have to fight the environment. For daily travel and a noisy office, it is more than enough, and over eight months it remained a feature I relied on rather than one I forgot about. Several listening modes let you adjust how much of the outside world you let in.

The honest comparison is that the ANC sits a small step behind the very best premium buds. Against the flagship AirPods style competitor, you can detect a little more residual noise in the toughest conditions. But the gap is far narrower than the price difference, and for the everyday job the ANC is doing here, it is genuinely competitive rather than a token effort.

Battery and the heart rate sensor

Battery life is a clear strength. The buds get around 9 hours on a charge with another 28 hours from the case, which easily covers full days and meant I charged the case roughly once a week on normal use. That is a real edge over the premium competitor, which gives less time on the buds themselves. For anyone who hates topping up constantly, the runtime here is a strong selling point that held up across eight months.

The in ear heart rate monitoring is the unusual extra at this price. Built into the buds, it tracks heart rate during workouts, which is a feature you normally pay a lot more for. It is a genuine bonus for anyone who works out with their buds in and wants fitness data without strapping on a separate device. It is not a replacement for a dedicated fitness wearable, but at this price the inclusion is impressive and it worked reliably in my testing.

Comfort, build, and the trade-offs

Comfort over long sessions was good once I found the right ear tips, which is the one fit caveat: the stock tips do not suit every ear, so be ready to swap sizes to get a proper seal. With the right tips in, the buds stayed secure and comfortable through long listening and workouts, helped by the IPX4 sweat resistance. The build feels solid, and Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint made switching between devices painless.

The trade offs are the predictable ones at this price. The case is bulkier than the slim premium case, so it makes a bigger bump in a pocket, and the ANC sits just behind the flagship as noted. Neither is a dealbreaker, and both are exactly the kind of compromise you accept to get hi res sound, long battery, and a heart rate sensor for roughly half the price of the premium alternative.

Who should buy the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4?

Buy them if you want most of the premium earbud experience at a budget price, especially as an Android owner who can use LDAC for hi res audio. They are the right pick if you value long battery life, effective ANC, and the bonus of in ear heart rate tracking for workouts. For the value focused buyer who still cares about sound, they cover the vast majority of what the expensive options offer.

Skip them if you need the absolute best ANC available or want the slimmest possible case, where the premium competitor still leads. Skip them too if you are deep in the Apple ecosystem and value seamless integration enough to pay for it. For most people, though, the feature set here at this price is genuinely hard to beat.

The verdict

The Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 are a standout budget pick that earns the comparison to the premium buds. Over eight months the hi res LDAC sound impressed, the ANC handled daily noise well, the battery comfortably covered full days, and the in ear heart rate sensor added real value you rarely see at this price. The bulkier case, the slightly second tier ANC, and the need to swap ear tips are easy compromises for what you get. If you want flagship style features without the flagship price, these are an easy recommendation.