Style

The Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC have a somewhat premium look. They have a similar shape and design to the Anker Soundcore Life Dot 2 Truly Wireless, but with a few differences. Their monochrome color scheme features a bit of extra flashiness in the form of a chrome-finish ring that encircles their brand logo, but they do protrude slightly from your ears.

Comfort

The Anker Life A2 NC are comfortable headphones. They have a couple of different ear tip and stability wing sizes to help you find a suitable fit. They don't enter your ear too deeply, and using their touch-sensitive control scheme doesn't force them any further into your ears. However, their shallower fit does mean that they stick out further than some other truly wireless in-ears.

controls

The Anker Life A2 NC's control scheme is mediocre. You can tap the left bud twice to skip media forward or to answer an incoming call. A double-tap on the right bud pauses and plays music. Holding either bud for two seconds switches between noise cancelling and ambient sound modes. Their companion app also allows you to remap some of their controls, though you can't access all of their functions at the same time. It can take some time to get used to their control scheme, and finding the touch-sensitive surface on the buds isn't especially intuitive at first. Thankfully, they do provide some form of feedback with audible chimes that go off when switching between ANC and ambient modes, though you won't hear anything when pausing or playing music or skipping tracks out-of-the-box. Thankfully, you can enable audio cues for control inputs via their companion app.

Breathability

The Anker Life A2 NC are exceptionally breathable. They trap very little heat in your ears, and you shouldn't sweat more than usual while wearing them.

Portability

The Anker Life A2 NC are exceptionally portable. The buds themselves are small enough to be carried around in a pocket or a pouch, and their charging case is notably flatter and more compact than that of the Anker Soundcore Life Dot 2 Truly Wireless.

Case

The Anker Life A2 NC have a good carrying case. It's made of reasonably sturdy-feeling plastic with a silicone cover for its USB-C charging port. There's also a trio of LED lights positioned on a glossy-finish strip on the edges of the case that provide a rough estimate of the remaining battery.

Build Quality

The Anker Life A2 NC are well-built. The buds and case are made of dense plastic that feels like it should endure a couple of drops and bumps. The buds themselves are rated IPX5 for water resistance, though we don't currently test for that. There are no obvious weak points in their construction except for their silicone ear tips and stability fins, which feel like they could tear easily.

Stability

The Anker Life A2 NC are very stable. Once you achieve a consistent fit with the included selection of ear tips and stability fins, they shouldn't fall out of your ears, even with vigorous head motions.

Battery

The Anker Life A2 NC have decent battery performance. Their near 11-hour single-charge battery life comfortably exceeds the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro Truly Wireless' approximately three and a half hour battery life. They also last longer than their advertised claim of seven hours, though it's worth mentioning that real-world battery life can vary drastically depending on usage patterns. Their case supplies roughly four additional charges, and you can use one bud while the other charges in its cradle, though you do lose access to some onboard controls in this configuration. Unfortunately, they aren't equipped with any power-saving measures like a standby mode or auto-off timer to conserve power when not in use.

App Support

The Anker Life A2 NC are compatible with the Anker Soundcore companion app. It features a graphic EQ and 20 different presets to let you adjust their sound profile. You can also swap between three different ANC presets, enable audio cues for various controls, or remap their control scheme. The app lets you check each of the buds' charge status.

Bluetooth

The Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC have satisfactory Bluetooth connectivity. They support Bluetooth 5.0, but not NFC or multi-device pairing, so you can't stream music from your phone while remaining connected to your computer. Their latency on PCs is also likely too high for them to be suitable for gaming. They perform slightly better on mobile Android and iOS devices, though some latency is still noticeable while watching videos online. With that in mind, it's worth noting that apps and devices compensate for latency differently, so your real-world experience could vary.

Wired

These in-ears are wireless-only. They come with a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging their case.

Base/Dock

The Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC have a charging case that supplies roughly four additional charges. It features a trio of LED indicator lights to provide a rough estimate of its remaining battery life but has no inputs aside from its USB-C charging port. It can only be charged via a USB-C cable and doesn't support wireless charging.