Soundcore has released the Liberty 5, the latest generation of its midrange wireless earbuds. They’re priced at $130 — $20 less than the Liberty 4 — however, the new model lacks its predecessor’s heart rate tracking sensors and head-tracked spatial audio. Still, Soundcore says it has made significant improvements in areas like ANC, bass response, and battery life. They come in white, black, pink, and blue, and you can order them starting today from Amazon or soundcore.com.
Keen observers will note that the Liberty 5 are the same price as Soundcore’s current flagship, the Liberty 4 Pro. Or at least, they were. Soundcore has adjusted the price of the Liberty 4 Pro upward by $20, to $150, a possible sign that Soundcore has had to include a tariff-related premiums. In Canada, by contrast, the Liberty 5 is priced at $140 CAD (about $101).
The design of the Liberty 5 is very close to the Liberty 4 Pro. Both earbuds use a stem-style design with force-sensors that allow for an AirPods Pro-like squeeze-to-click gesture. The Liberty 5 don’t have the 4 Pro’s swipe gesture for volume control, and their charging case lacks the 4 Pro’s built-in OLED screen.
Soundcore says ANC on the Liberty 5 is it’s best yet, allowing it to cancel background voices up to twice as effectively as its previous models. They use a new 9.2mm wool-paper driver (instead of the Liberty 4’s dual drivers), which is augmented by a set of “bass-enhancing tubes” which purportedly amplify low frequencies. The Liberty 5 may lack head-tracked spatial audio, but they offer three optional Dolby Audio modes (Music, Podcast, and Movie), which Soundcore describes as “immersive.”
Battery life looks like another highlight, with a claimed 12 hours per charge (ANC off) and 8 hours when it’s turned on. Total life with the wirelessly-charging case is up to 48 hours.
The Liberty 5 borrows a trick from the 4 Pro: you can set up the single-click gesture to trigger your smartphone’s camera shutter (as long as the camera app is in the foreground).
The remaining specs are what we’ve come to expect from Soundcore and include:
- Hi-res audio with LDAC (Android only)
- Bluetooth 5.4
- Multipoint
- Google Fast Pair
- Soundcore HearID 4.0 (with hearing test)
- EQ customization / ANC modes selection/activation
- IP55 dust and water resistance
- Wear sensors
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this article said that the Liberty 5 and Liberty 4 Pro had the same price.
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