Anker is launching a new pair of athletic wireless earbuds under its Soundcore brand that have a unique hook design to fit snugly around your ears.
They’re called the Sport X10 earbuds and were, the company says, made with comfort in mind. In a statement, Anker claims people complained how athletic earbuds have a “bulky design” and would often fall out during a sweaty workout. Anker’s solution was to add ear hooks that can rotate 210 degrees so people can adjust the buds until they find that sweet spot.
To combat sweat, the Sport X10 has a water resistance rating of IPX7 which means they can be submerged up to a meter (around three feet) underwater. The devices also sport Soundcore’s SweatGuard tech to protect “against the corrosive properties of sweat.” Anker is so confident about the X10’s water resistance it claims you can rinse the earbuds under a faucet after a tough workout and they will still work.
Battery and sound
Aside from the sweat protection and hooks, the Sport X10 buds have fairly long battery life and an assortment of features for optimal audio. On a single charge, they can last up to eight hours or 32 hours when used alongside the charging case. Anker also added a Fast Charging feature to allow “two hours of playback” after a 10-minute charge.
Under the hood, the Sport X10 has 10mm dynamic drivers with Soundcore’s BassUp feature that adjusts a song’s bass level in real-time. You can also control the earbuds’ sound by connecting them to the Soundcore app (available on iOS and Android) and selecting one of 22 EQ presets. For people who want even more control, the app has a 9-band custom EQ setting for tweaking the finer details.
Other notable features include a six-microphone system for making calls and hybrid noise cancellation to block out ambient noise. On a windy day, you can turn on Wind Noise Reduction in the app to further improve call quality. Conversely, the earbuds have a Transparency mode so you can hear the outside world and pay attention to what’s going on.
And the last key feature for the Sport X10 earbuds is Stereo Mode for controlling songs. For example, pressing the right-side earbud twice plays or pauses a song while pressing the left bud twice skips a track.
While not as impressive as the Sony WF-1000XM4 Wireless Earbuds, the Sport X10 is still a decent package. The earbuds are available in the US ($79) , Europe (€99), UK (£89), and Canada ($119 CAD). You can get the pair in either Black or Oat White on Soundcore’s website or Amazon. A red model is planned to release around late July to early August; no exact date given.
If you’re in the market for a pair of good athletic headphones, TechRadar has a list of the best ones for 2002.
