To mark World Sleep Day 2024, Anker‘s Soundcore has announced a new and improved set of sleep earbuds. The Sleep A20 true wireless earbuds are on their way, and come with a slew of improvements over their predecessor (2022’s Sleep A10 earbuds). The brand promises vastly improved noise isolation, longer battery life, and some new features that you don’t tend to find in the best earbuds, such as an alarm and sleep tracking via a companion app.
From the outside, the A20s look similar to the A10s, with an ergonomic, side sleeper-friendly design. Inside, though, are new proprietary ‘Twin-Seal’ eartips that Soundcore says are three times more effective at blocking sound than traditional eartips.
Although it’s not active noise cancellation, Soundcore says the seal is so effective it’ll even block sounds of “sawing wood, chopping logs or grinding gravel” on the other side of the bed. If your partner happens not to be into nocturnal DIY, the A20s will also take care of more typical late-night disturbances, such as snoring or passing traffic.
If you’re concerned, as you might well be, that such effective sound blocking might mean you miss your morning alarm, Soundcore has remedied that by adding an alarm function – also beneficial for couples operating on different sleep schedules, and who need a wakeup call that won’t disturb a happily snoozing bedmate.
If you don’t want to sleep in complete silence, the A20s have an in-built library of ambient sounds and white noise that can be accessed while the buds are in their battery-efficient ‘sleep mode’. Alternatively, you can connect to Bluetooth to listen to your favorite sleep podcast, audiobook or Spotify playlist via your phone. Battery life has also been improved compared to the first-gen buds, with up to 14 hours playtime in Sleep mode or up to 10 hours when using Bluetooth.
Like the A10s, the A20s have a far more compact design than one of the best wireless earbuds. They’ll tuck neatly into the wearer’s ear without protruding outwards, making them suitable for side sleepers. To amp up comfort levels further, Soundcore has added a soft silicone covering on all the parts that come into contact with the ear. If one does drop out in the night, a new ‘find my earbuds’ tone means you won’t need to spend the morning hunting through your bedsheets trying to locate it; hopefully also making it less likely it’ll inadvertently end up in the washing machine.
One final intriguing new addition is automatic sleep monitoring, accessible via the Soundcore app (available for iOS and Android). We’re interested to see exactly what will be included, and whether this in-ear solution can compete with what today’s best sleep trackers can offer.
Souncore Sleep A20 earbuds will be available for pre-purchase via a Kickstarter, and are scheduled to go on sale on Amazon and at Soundcore from mid-to-late May, with a cost of USD $149.99 / GBP £119.99 / EUR €149.99.