Anker’s new earbuds are the first with its AI chip that boosts noise reduction

Anker has announced a new version of its Soundcore Liberty Pro earbuds: the new Liberty 5 Pro. These are the company’s first earbuds featuring the Thus AI audio chip Anker announced last month, here being used to bolster noise reduction capabilities and help ensure the user’s voice can be clearly heard during calls, even in noisy environments. They’re the first new Soundcore Liberty Pro earbuds since the 2024 version that launched with a charging case screen. Joining the Liberty 5 Pro are a new Max version that add AI-powered note-taking capabilities through their charging case.

The Liberty 5 Pro are available starting today for $169.99 in blue, white, black, and pink color options. They carry forward the charging case LCD touchscreen functionality of their predecessor, but it’s now located on the outside for easier access and is a bit larger at 0.96 inches. The touchscreen can be used to adjust ANC levels or turn on transparency mode.

[Image: The Liberty 5 Pro are available in black, blue, pink, and white color options. https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/ankerliberty1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all]

The addition of the Thus chip does result in a small hit to battery life with up to 6.5 hours of listening with ANC turned on that can be boosted to up to 28 hours in total when paired with the charging case. However, the AI chip delivers improvements elsewhere including, Anker claims, with ANC that’s 100 percent more effective than the Liberty 4 Pro, improved voice clarity during calls by reducing background noise around you, and faster responses to 20 built-in voice commands. You can adjust volume, control playback, and change ANC modes by just asking.

[Image: The Liberty 5 Pro Max are available in black and titanium-gold color options. https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/ankerliberty3.jpg?quality=90&strip=all]

The Liberty 5 Pro Max are also now available, but for $229.99 in black or titanium-gold finishes. They feature the same battery life, IP55 dust and water resistance rating, and support for Apple’s Find My network as the Liberty 5 Pro, but with a much larger 1.78-inch AMOLED display on top of the charging case. The screen can be used to adjust settings and control playback of what you’re listening to, while the charging case can be used to record conversations and meetings. The recordings are shared to and processed by the Soundcore app on your smartphone that generates transcripts and highlights action items with each speaker identified.