Soundcore’s new earbuds promise much better sound than rival open-ears

As much as we love ANC headphones and the best earbuds, they're not always the best option for everyday use. They can reduce your situational awareness, which is not great if you're biking or running on public roads. And while transparency mode can address that, it means keeping your ANC on and draining the battery accordingly.

That's one of the reasons open-ear earbuds are becoming quite a big deal, with high-profile launches such as Bose's brilliant Ultra Open Earbuds.

Soundcore, Anker's audio brand, has new open-ear buds too, which are more affordable and may sound punchier than rivals.

The C40i earbuds are based around a 12 x 17 titanium coated "racetrack" driver, and they've been redesigned to address one of the criticisms of the previous C30i buds: the fit wasn't always ideal, and that affected the sound.

Soundcore C40i open earbuds: key features and price

The C40i in-ears have a new clip design that should both improve comfort and keep the earbuds where they need to be. According to Soundcore, the drivers are positioned in a way that's unique among earbuds: there's a 20-degree directional acoustic port that's been made to direct the music into your ear while minimising leakage.

Battery life is a respectable seven hours from the buds alone, and that increases to 21 hours via the charging case. The buds have fast charging support so a 10-minute dock will give you an extra two hours of listening time.

The Soundcore C40i pair are launching in the US first with a price tag of $99.99. They'll also be coming to the UK and EU in November 2024, with a recommended retail price of £99.99 / €99.99. However you can expect to pay even less than that: Soundcore regularly runs promotions that cut the price of its audio kit.