Anker has made a name for itself in various markets for affordable consumer electronics. Under the Soundcore name, the company is now attempting a coup in the audio industry with premium features at a fraction of the cost of the competition. The Anker Soundcore Life Q35 is the company’s latest flagship over-ear headphones.
Anker clearly puts function over form with the Anker Soundcore Life Q35, focusing on travel and portability. These headphones rotate and fold in the included hard-shell protective case, which also includes a pocket for the USB-C charging cable, 3.5mm cable, and airplane adapter.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]The Anker Soundcore Life Q35 is made of a plastic construction and is not sweat or water resistant. While it doesn’t feel like it’s about to fall apart, the headset isn’t nearly as durable as one with a metal construction. Don’t expect it to last forever if you’re lugging it around in your backpack every day.
The memory foam ear cushions aren’t as thick as other headphones we’ve tested, and combined with a strong clamping force, they can make wearing the Life Q35 uncomfortable over time. The ear cushions aren’t particularly breathable, which leads to warm ears, even in an office environment. On a hot summer day, don’t wear them for too long.
With a variety of noise-cancelling modes and features, the Anker Soundcore Life Q35 can adapt to almost any environment. A single button on the back of the left ear cup toggles between passive isolation, active noise cancellation (ANC) and transparency modes. When ANC is not engaged, most high-frequency noise above 1 kHz is blocked by the tight seal and clamping force of the headphones.
The Life Q35 uses Bluetooth 5.0 with support for SBC, AAC, and LDAC, Sony’s lossless Bluetooth codec that theoretically allows up to 990kbps and 24-bit/96kHz Hi-Res playback. However, this is not the case for LDAC in our tests. Any device running Android 8.0 or later supports LDAC, although you can manually switch to SBC or AAC in your Android phone’s developer settings.
Battery life on these headphones is really good. Anker claims the battery lasts 40 hours per charge, but in our battery test with music playing at 75 dB(SPL) and ANC enabled, the headphones lasted 52 hours and 21 minutes. The headphones also support fast charging, which Anker claims can achieve a 4-hour charge in just 5 minutes.