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The Mini 3's nine-band EQ is far more effective for adjusting higher frequencies than the lower ones that the speaker can barely muster, which isn’t surprising. I tested the Soundcore Mini 3 with the EQ set to the Soundcore Signature setting, which is the default. And yet, the Anker Soundcore Life P2 buds manage to stand out from the crowd. They have a comfortable, fuss-free design, good sound, decent call quality, and endurance to spare. They can’t offer the highest grade of sound reproduction, but what they do produce does bely their price point and is certainly good enough for the average listener.
The carrying case is light too, and charges with the superior USB-C standard – a nice touch that we don’t always get at this price point. It houses a large battery which, with combined charging and usage on the go, enables up to 40 hours of use away from the charger. While using the buds for a standard commute across one week, we found that we never needed to recharge the case itself, having more than enough juice to top-up the buds every couple of days. You can play your own music via Bluetooth, aux cable, or an SD card, and there’s a microphone, so you can take hands-free calls too. The only problem? There’s no screen on this thing, so you have absolutely no idea which station you’re listening to. Finding the right channel if you want to listen to Radio 4 or BBC1 isn’t easy.I was flat-out surprised when comparing the Soundcore Mini to the much larger UE Roll 2. The Anker may have a smaller sound field and lower max volume, but tonally it doesn’t sound too far off. However, the Anker Soundcore Mini is still a brilliant budget buy. An FM radio is an ingenious, and unexpected, extra. It’s the sound that matters most, though, and we think most of you will be very impressed with what Anker has teased out of a speaker this small. Verdict
There are a handful of products out there that have delivered surprising value for their size, like the UE Wonderboom, or the Bose Soundlink Mini. However, most of the time, downgrading size also means compromising on everything from sound quality to performance. The downside is that the painted aluminium is likely to scratch easily, but if that really bothers you, all you need to do is take better care of it. The Mini is not water-resistant either. Anker does make a version with IPX7 resistance, the Soundcore Mini 2. However, it’s twice the price so loses some of the value edge. You don’t get the same Soundcore App that you might access with more expensive Anker models – but that’s to be expected. The downside is that you can’t adjust the EQ because of this. Finding a connection and keeping it is notoriously difficult, to the point where we gave up and used the aux input a few times.It's a fast charger also, doesn't take long at all to charge & my Wife & I listen to podcasts every night, or shall I say, we fall asleep with this on & it's still going in the morning.. However, plug in a microUSB cable to act as an antenna, long-press the “play” button on the front and the Soundcore Mini starts scanning for stations. You then long-press the volume up/down buttons to change stations. There’s a microphone embedded for hands-free calling, and a built-in FM radio, just to catch you off guard. At its heart, the Anker Soundcore Mini is the definition of a pleasant surprise. Despite a ridiculously low price tag, it comes with access to both Bluetooth connectivity and aux input, as well as the option to play your music via MicroSD.
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