Anker Soundcore Space A40 Review: Budget ANC That Mostly Works

The Anker Soundcore Space A40 are budget earbuds sold on a promise that budget earbuds usually cannot keep: proper active noise cancelling. Independent testing found that promise broadly kept, with two specific limitations worth knowing before you buy — one in how the cancelling behaves, and one in how the buds fit.

The cancelling works by picking up surrounding noise through built-in microphones and generating opposing sound waves that cancel it at the ear. In testing it did that job decently.

The limitation is specific and worth understanding: high frequencies got through without much resistance. Low, droning noise is what this kind of system handles best, and that is what the Space A40 removes. Sharper sounds — voices nearby, keyboard clatter, higher-pitched machinery — come through far more. If your reason for buying is blocking out an open-plan office or a chatty commute rather than engine and road noise, temper your expectations.

A transparency mode is included for deliberately letting your surroundings back in.

Anker also fits an adaptive noise-cancelling mode. It uses the same principle, but the buds are meant to judge the surrounding noise level and set the cancelling intensity automatically — gentler in a quiet office, stronger on a packed underground train. The main benefit is meant to be battery life.

Testing found the detection worked only moderately well, and the example given is damning in its simplicity: whether walking down a carpeted office corridor or past a major building site with a jackhammer and moving lorries, the buds settled on a "medium" level of reduction for both.

In other words, the automation is not reading the room. You are better off setting the level yourself, which the app allows.

This is where the Space A40 genuinely excel, and it is the most persuasive reason to buy them.

On a full charge with noise cancelling switched on, the earbuds ran for just over eight hours. For buds this small that is a strong result on its own.

The fast charging is better still. Ten minutes of charging returned almost four hours of listening — a figure the test called an absolute top result, and the kind of thing that matters far more in daily use than a headline total.

The charging case is described as good but somewhat large, and Anker states it holds enough power for a further 40 hours. The manufacturer's own retail listing quotes 50 hours of total playback and noise reduction of up to 98%; both are manufacturer claims rather than tested figures. The case charges either over USB-C or wirelessly on a Qi pad, which is unusual at this price.

The overall verdict on sound was positive: pleasant, and free of colouration — meaning it does not artificially tint what you are listening to.

The detail is more mixed, and it is worth being precise about it:

• Bass is decent in general but lacks power in the deepest notes.
• Mids are somewhat quiet.
• Detail is not brought out especially well — fine texture in a recording tends to sit back rather than stand out.
• Voices are clear, which is the strength.
• Treble is clean and pleasant, but comes across partly dull.

Read together, that describes a safe, easy-listening tuning rather than an exciting or revealing one. For podcasts, calls and casual listening it is well judged. If you listen closely to music and want detail and impact, this is where the low price shows.

The Space A40 are small buds that stay in the ear only by their silicone tips — there is no wing or fin to brace them. Anker supplies five tip sizes, which is generous and improves the odds of a good seal for different ears.

At 4.8 grams per earbud they are genuinely light and discreet. But testing found the housing slightly too thick, and it pressed uncomfortably in the ear — a problem noted as one Samsung had already solved on the visually similar Galaxy Buds2 Pro when moving on from its predecessor. If you have smaller ears, this is the thing to check first.

Appearance is not a strength either: the buds were described as looking rather cheap and visually unappealing. They come in black, white or blue.

They carry an IPX4 rating, so sweaty exercise is generally fine and they are safe from splashes — but they are not for swimming or submersion. Anker's own Soundcore Sport X10 was suggested for that use.

Control is by tap commands on the side of each bud: skipping between tracks, starting and pausing playback, and raising the volume. A long press cycles between noise cancelling and transparency.

The Soundcore app, on both Android and iOS, is more comprehensive than the price suggests. It reports the battery level of the earbuds, helps you choose the right tips, and can help locate buds you have mislaid. It also allows adjustment of both the sound and the noise cancelling, lets you reassign the controls, reduces wind noise, and offers a gaming mode that minimises the delay between picture and sound.

That app was singled out as rounding out the overall package, and it is a fair part of the value here.

Buy them if you want noise cancelling on a budget and your priority is battery life and convenience. Eight hours on a charge, nearly four hours from a ten-minute top-up, wireless case charging and a genuinely capable app add up to a lot for the money.

Look elsewhere if you need to block out speech and higher-pitched noise rather than low rumble, if you have small ears and cannot try them first, or if you listen critically to music and want detail and deep bass.

The conclusion reached in testing is a fair summary: good, especially for the price. The looks are unremarkable and the sound is pleasant but has room for improvement, while the noise cancelling does a decent job and the battery life is first class.

Truthful Reviews has not tested these earbuds. The findings above — the eight-hour battery result, the ten-minute fast-charge result, the adaptive-mode behaviour and the sound assessment — are published results from an independent German technology publication on our approved source list, which tested this exact model. That source URL is stored as this page's editorial provenance. The source grades on a scale we do not convert into stars, so this review is published without a score.

They were available new on Amazon UK when we checked on 3 August 2026, sold by AnkerDirect UK, Anker's own official storefront, and dispatched by Amazon. The current verified price is shown in the buying panel above. A cheaper listing exists for the same earbuds but it is a refurbished unit, which we do not link. At current new prices the value argument above is considerably stronger than at launch.

Check the price on Amazon UK or search Amazon US.