Advantages
- Comprehensive sleep tracking capabilities
- Can be used as a regular Bluetooth headset
- Smart switch function adjusts the sound when you go to sleep
- The built-in alarm clock has an intimate effect
Defect
- Substantial in-ear compression for side sleepers despite its small size
- No active noise cancellation (ANC)
- There is no GPS tracking for such small earphones
- The phone must be connected to the headset to access sleep data via the app
The wireless headphones market has become one of the most concentrated in the tech world, but not many brands have tried their hand at the niche segment. sleep wear devices.
Recently, Soundcore, Anker’s sound organization, launched its campaign with Sleep A10 headphone. Hope to stand out from the likes of Bose’s Sleep Buds II and 3 buds of QuietOnSoundcore designed what could be the smallest earbuds on the market, with the goal of an unobtrusive fit – even for the side sleeper.
While the buds don’t have active noise cancellation (ANC), opting for noise canceling instead, they do have features to help you get a good night’s sleep and collect the data you need for gradual improvement. . I put on my headphones to test, see if I can catch some Z in the city that never sleeps.
Specifications
|
Type |
In-ear, true-wireless |
|
Size |
1.69 x 1.04 inches; 2.08 ounces |
|
Connection |
Bluetooth 5.2 |
|
Noise canceling level |
4-point noise mask blocks sound up to 35 dB |
|
Microphone |
Not available |
|
Battery |
Playtime in sleep mode is 10 hours |
|
Drivers |
Single dynamic driver |
|
Reliability |
IPX4 |
|
Charger |
USB Charging Case-C |
|
Price |
Design and fit
Sleeping with something in your ear can be uncomfortable, especially if it’s bulky and intrusive.
Soundcore took that into consideration when designing the Sleep A10 headphones, and they’re the smallest I’ve come across – just a few centimeters longer than US nickel (see image below).
Made of lightweight plastic, the pebble-shaped buds are also almost weightless in the hand, which makes them ideal if they’re hanging over your ears for hours at night.
Unfortunately, the small scale won’t translate when the headset is in your ear. When I first put the Sleep A10 buds in my ears, they felt promising. The silicone ear tips – available in small, medium and large sizes – twist comfortably into the ear canal and serve as a physical sound barrier. When I lay on my back, the pressure and fit were similar to foam earplugs. However, when I flipped to the side, the small size really worked against the buds.
The Soundcore Sleep A10 buds are about the size of an American nickel and are lightweight. Christina Darby / ZDNET
When my ear was pressed against the pillow, the tiny tip was perfectly positioned to fit right into my ear canal. No matter how much I moved my head to rest, the bud stubbornly sucked deep into my ear. When I rolled out and lay back on my back, there was a squeezing sensation in my ears that caused me to wobble to get the earpads back in place. That’s more annoying than relaxing.
You can always remove the pad face down against your pillow – or not sleep on your side – to continue sleep tracking, but that’s clearly not the most optimal sleeping experience. And of course, while taking out the headphones on the side I was lying on felt more comfortable, the audio playback, even White noise or regular playlists, not as powerful.
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Earbuds hide and seek
There were a few nights when I went to bed listening to the soothing sound of rain water and woke up the next morning to no sound and no headphones. Whether I unconsciously take out the other earphone or it falls out in my sleep, I will spend 10 minutes the next morning looking for buds or buds under my bed sheets and pillows. It certainly didn’t help that they disguised themselves with my all-white bedding.
If you’re a sleeper and tosses, be warned that your day could begin with a treasure hunt for your A10 sleeping bud. But for these reasons, I would like to see GPS tracking or ping with the headset. The app doesn’t have those capabilities
Since these headphones are so small and fit my white bedding, I usually have to spend most of my waking routine looking for at least one lost earbud in my case at some point. some point in the night. Christina Darby / ZDNET
A big case for the little buds
For such small earphones, the charging case will be large – perhaps to support its promise to charge the earbuds seven times. It’s possible to fit a hockey puck-shaped container in the front of your overnight bag, but it also takes up more room on my nightstand than I’d like.
As with Liberty 4 . charging box which I checked out recently, the case slides out instead of flipping up like a pack of mints. The elastic back padding from the cover keeps your headphones from flying out if you drop them in the carrying case. It worked with Liberty 4 and it works here too.
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Sound quality
Over the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to test a variety of noise-cancelling headphones. Instead of ANC, the Sleep A10 buds use noise canceling, which plays a low-volume sound layer to mask ambient sounds. It took me a couple of nights to adjust from ANC to noise canceling, but even after a few listening, I still found myself needing to turn the volume all the way up to dilute the sound of nightlife in NYC. Thus, the once relaxing rain sounds more like a hailstorm.
Despite the noise-cancelling defect, the overall sound of these earbuds is quite impressive considering the extremely compact size. While the bass is heavy, the treble lacks fullness and sounds tinny during playback. While the app offers a custom equalizer option, I didn’t find it significantly stabilizing the treble, although it did help clarify even the mids.
The passive noise cancellation of the padded ear tips is more useful than Soundcore’s HearID ANC. Christina Darby / ZDNET
Vast sound library
Unlike competing sleeping buds – such as Bose Sleepbuds II – Sleep A10 earbuds let you listen to personal music or relaxing sounds by switching between Music mode and Sleep mode. The former lets you play your own sounds while you sleep.
Sleep mode limits you to the Soundcore app’s Sleep Music Library. To be fair, the library has 31 different preset sounds to choose from, including one that mimics your brainwave frequencies during a break.
I would like to know how much louder the sound from Soundcore’s Sleep Music Library requires to get the same immersive effect as other relaxation apps like Calm.
With some tweaking, the Sleep A10 headphones have the potential to become a bedtime essential. Christina Darby / ZDNET
Sleep tracking and tracking
Sleep tracking seems to be one of the biggest fads in wearable technology right now – and Soundcore has taken that trend to the next level by incorporating in-ear tracking instead of relying solely on cadence tracking. heart. Considering the $179.99 price tag, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Sleep A10’s stats comparable to mine. $399 Apple Watch Series 8.
Like Apple Watch Series 8The Soundcore app tracks your sleep quality and displays when you’re in deep or light sleep and how long you’re awake. Aside from one or two false positives indicating that I was in “light sleep” a few minutes longer than what my Apple Watch tracks, I can say that the headphones’ tracking stacks up. good.
Just make sure to enable “Smart Switch” on the app to let the buds fall asleep – even if you oversleep when not in the dedicated Sleep mode. When Smart Switch is on, the headset automatically switches from Music mode to Sleep mode as soon as it detects you’ve entered a deep sleep. The sleep tracking feature will also automatically adjust the volume once you’ve fallen asleep, although I often found the output to be too low whenever I woke up in the middle of the night.
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Sleep tracking for trends or tactics?
From my overall experience, Soundcore missed an opportunity with its sleep tracking data. Right now, it looks like Soundcore added the feature in the interest of keeping up with other fitness trackers, rather than setting it up yourself. the earbud sleep tracker to beat. Sticking to only tangible data, it would be much more helpful if Soundcore combined its catalog of relaxing sounds with some tips and tutorials.
The “Silent Hero” feature switches to…
Like competing earbuds for sleep, the Sleep A10 buds feature an in-ear alarm. If you have a roommate or bedmate and don’t want the early morning alarm to disturb their sleep, these buds, when worn, can ring at your set time. While I have a niche for myself, something about the alarm ringing directly in my ear makes for a more effective morning alarm.
With my headphones still on, I wake up with an alarm clock in my ear instead of the one on my nightstand. Christina Darby / ZDNET
Key point
Soundcore’s Sleep A10 The earbuds may have some creases, but they’re a refreshing addition to a rather scarce market. Given their small size, there’s always the chance that the headphones get too deep into your ears, but consider my single sample size carefully. Sleep tracking data provides insights into your productive and long rest but misses out on providing sleep solutions and next steps.
Right now, I’d say Soundcore’s Sleep A10 earbuds give more quantity than quality. But since this is a first generation product, I can expect something bigger in the near future.
Alternatives to consider
Besides the Soundcore Sleep A10 headphones, here are three other audio wearables with sleep-related functions that you should consider:
