Anker Soundbuds Curve Review

The Anker SoundBuds Curves are not a bad alternative to the Beats PowerBeats and they are a fraction of the price.

Design

This is one of my favorite styles of earbuds, as the hook around the ear really helps keep the earbuds secure while running, and also allows me to pop them out slightly so I can hear the traffic around me. The design is similar to the Beats PowerBeats2 (or PowerBeats3) earbuds, except the remote is on the right side instead of the left.

Although the remote control is a little bulky, the included collar clip helps keep it stable during running so it’s not whacking me in the face.

Sound Quality

When these earbuds are sealed to your ear canal, they provide a good bass response without sounding muddy or drowning out the mids and highs. In fact, I would say that the sound quality is on par with my Beats PowerBeats 2. Unfortunately, when these are sealed to my ear canal, I can hear a “thud thud thud” every time my foot hits the ground. The PowerBeats have more of an “open air” design and do not exhibit this issue.

When I run near traffic, I tend to pop them out of my ear slightly so I can hear more of what is going on around me. In this situation, the bass definitely becomes less prominent, but I can still hear my music.

Features

The inline remote control allows you to easily manage your music, phone calls and volume. A single press on the middle button will play and pause the music or answer an incoming phone call. Holding down the middle button for 1 second will invoke Siri or Google Assistant. Holding it down longer will power the headphones on and off. Pressing the + and - buttons will increase and decrease the volume respectively while holding them down for 1 second will skip forward or rewind the track.

The Anker SoundBuds Curve also feature a water-resistant shell to help prevent sweat from entering the internals, but even if it does, the internal hydrophobic nano-coating provides a second line of defense against sweat. Only time will tell, but so far the SoundBuds Curve are holding up well against my sweaty workouts.

Battery Life

The SoundBuds Curve can last up to 12 hours on a single charge. If you forget to charge the SoundBuds before your run, you’ll be happy to know that a 10 minute charge can yield 1 hour of playback time. The SoundBuds can be recharged with a standard Micro USB cable and USB wall charger (such as your phone’s charger).