Everything you need: review of soundcore P40i TWS headphones by Anker

Usually, the price of certain gadgets can tell you something about them right away. For example, you can hardly expect high-quality sound and a lot of additional functionality from inexpensive headphones. But there are exceptions to the rule everywhere. We got our hands on Anker’s new soundcore P40i TWS headphones, which for 2,999 hryvnias offer a smart noise cancellation system, good sound with decent bass, 12 hours of battery life, induction charging, and can even adapt the charging case to support a smartphone. How it all feels in practice will be discussed in today’s review.

soundcore P40i specifications

Package contents

There are no surprises in the package: along with the headphones and the case, the user will receive a small charging cable (USB-A-to-USB-C) and a set of five ear cushion sizes. That is, in general, a relatively standard set. 

Design and usability

There are not so many variants of TWS headphones, but they do exist. The main difference between them is the “leg”, which some manufacturers (or models) try to get rid of, while others keep it. And the soundcore of P40i fits the second case. Of course, the moment is subjective, but this “leg” still adds a little extra confidence in fixation, and it does not interfere. And in general, this is a rather familiar shape of headphones, which is likely to suit most people.

The appearance of the model can be called relatively neutral. The case consists mainly of glossy plastic with small matte inserts. Logos, microphone slots, or magnets do not attract much attention, and the overall design remains simple and pleasant. Personally, I found them comfortable, which is much more important for headphones. However, the traditional advice is to try on the headphones in a store first, rather than ordering delivery right away.

The headphones are also IPx5 waterproof. This will allow you to wear them in light rain or during sports. The confident fit and minimal protrusion above the auricles will only help and not hinder your movements. During testing, I did not have to adjust the headphones often or adjust my position to a more comfortable one. So everything is really good with comfort.

The manufacturer offers four color options: black, white (which looks more like beige), navy blue, and magenta. The last two options were tested, each of which looks nice. Although, in my opinion, the darker options are still more practical.

Image: soundcore

Unlike the headphones, the cases have a matte finish. This is a practical solution, because this way they will retain a neater appearance for longer. But a much bigger advantage is their dimensions, which are approximately 57×57×29 mm. The lightweight and small case won’t take up much space, so taking the headphones for a walk, say, won’t cause much discomfort.

But a much more interesting feature of the case is the ability to install a smartphone on it. For this purpose, there is a small retractable support inside. This way, you don’t have to look for a stand for your smartphone while watching a video. The case easily handled the heavy iPhone 13 Pro Max, so it’s unlikely that any other smartphone will be a problem.

So the company did not miss the mark with the design. The soundcore P40i model turned out to be comfortable and practical, and the small case can be useful not only for transportation and charging. Perhaps the appearance of these headphones is not the most interesting, but it is hardly a matter of principle.

Management

Usually, touch controls on TWS headphones were found mainly in more or less flagship models. But now even affordable options can boast of it. And soundcore P40i is one of them, where each earbud has a touch zone on the top of the “leg”. The location is convenient, but you’ll have to get used to putting on and taking off the headphones by reaching below the sensors.

Each of the earbuds supports options for triple taps and long taps. And by default, one tap is left without an assigned function (actually, to prevent accidental triggering). But this can be customized in the proprietary application. And the total number of possible functions will not take long to figure out.

There are no unnecessary questions about the sensors either, they respond relatively well to taps. However, you will still have to adapt a little. On the other hand, the manufacturer did not leave the option to disable the sensors, so those users who do not need it will have to remove the corresponding functions from the tap. However, it’s basically impossible to disable or change the functions of the sensors during phone calls.

There is one button on the case that is barely noticeable. A short press on it only activates the battery status indication of the case, and by holding it down, you can reset the headphones to factory settings.

Connectivity and functionality

The soundcore P40i headphones use a Bluetooth 5.3 receiver for communication. And although the capabilities allow for more, the headphones do not support better codecs than the standard AAC and SBC (but this will be enough for most users). However, they did not forget about the support for simultaneous connection with two devices, which does not cause significant conflicts during playback, and you do not need to activate the function separately (just connect the headphones to, for example, a smartphone and a laptop).

When you first set up the app, you’ll be asked to take a short test to choose the ear pads. After playing a short melody, the headphones will determine whether the earbuds are correctly selected and offer to change them if the microphones “feel” that other options will be better. And it works.

Unfortunately, there are no proximity sensors. But there are six microphones that provide noise cancellation. It is called Smart Noise Cancelling. Transparency mode can let ambient sounds through, while Normal mode has virtually no effect on sound. But Noise Cancelling has a lot of options: Adaptive ANC (automatic noise detection), Manual Mode (5 levels of noise cancellation) with optional adaptation of sound for the ear canal, and Multi-Scene ANC (three scenarios of use – in transport, outdoors, or indoors). In addition, Transparency and NC have a windage adjustment option.

Next, you can customize the sound. Along with the manufacturer’s standard presets and the ability to customize the equalizer, there is also a proprietary HearID Sound function. It will allow you to take a short hearing test and then offer you to choose sound options (through A/B testing). In total, this will take a little more than five minutes, after which the app will save the settings.

But that’s not all. There are separate Immersive Experience options with modes for games and movies. The first one should reduce the delay and amplify the sounds of footsteps, and the second one should improve the sound of movies. Subjectively, in both cases, the changes are not worth returning to the app to activate the feature.

More useful is the Safe Volume tab, where you can limit the maximum volume level to protect your hearing. Fans of loud sound, and especially children, may find this functionality useful to avoid long-term damage to their ears.

There are also several organizational settings in the app, including headphone search (to play a loud signal if the earphone accidentally falls out of your ear) and a separate widget for quick access to ANC settings.

Sound

This isn’t the first time we’ve come across Anker headphones. And despite the relatively low price, the previous models sounded really good. Therefore, now there are certain expectations. The design of the soundcore P40i allows for 11mm drivers, and the manufacturer emphasizes BassUp, which should further interest fans of “bass-heavy” music genres.

But let’s start with the noise reduction system. It does not disappoint, although it cannot be called perfect either. Sometimes the microphones may not pick up some noises, and only in one headphone. But if you turn ANC off and on, the problem disappears. The variability of the settings seems unnecessary, because the difference in performance can be felt only with the music turned off, which, when paired with the ear cushions, additionally “blocks out” excess noise. Thus, the adaptive mode will be quite enough for most cases.

In turn, the Transparency mode will also be useful. It has two options, one of which is to work with voice, and the other is to let all sounds pass through the headphones. As practice has shown, there is almost no difference. Therefore, you should not rely on the Vocal mode. However, if you need to hear what’s going on around you, Transparency will do the trick. Although it may not help with high music volume levels.

And, in fact, the volume level of the headphones has a good margin. No matter how much I like and am used to loud music, even for me this maximum is too much. Not every TWS headphone has so much power, which is something to be praised for in P40i’s soundcore. And potential users should be warned that the function of limiting the maximum volume will not be superfluous.

As for the sound quality, the model did not disappoint here either. Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve perfect balance or detail. But given the overall set of functionality and price, we have no complaints. The headphones are able to play most genres, stereo is well felt, and the music is certainly enjoyable. Those who are not used to expensive armature headphones are unlikely to complain. Whether you’re making work calls, listening to podcasts, or watching movies, they’re just fine.

Moreover, the manufacturer did not lie about the good bass. With the appropriate mode, the sound volume increases significantly and the “bottom end” is added. Electronic music lovers will be satisfied. And most importantly, the bass does not interfere with the middle and top, so the music mostly gains rather than loses certain parts.

And in addition, the microphones can transmit the wearer’s voice quite well, which will help you answer a call, chat with colleagues in Zoom, and so on. They may not be as good as some external solutions, but as far as TWS headphone microphones go, they provide pretty decent quality.

Battery life

Another important thing for modern TWS headphones is battery life. Here, too, soundcore P40i did not disappoint. The manufacturer claims up to 12 hours of operation, but adds in the fine print that with ANC, the time is reduced to 10 hours. In practice, at the maximum volume level of music playback and with active noise reduction, the model can work continuously for up to nine hours, which is also a very good result. The case will extend the total operating time to 50-60 hours, depending on the noise reduction function.

The case itself will be fully charged via a wired connection in three hours. But there’s a nice bonus here too – support for induction charging. It will last an hour longer, but if you have a suitable charging station, it will significantly add to the comfort of use.