Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro Review: Feature-Rich Earbuds

After a long three-year wait, Soundcore finally updated its flagship earbuds. The Liberty 4 Pro were officially aounced in October 2024, following the Liberty 3 Pro that launched in late 2021. As the new top-of-the-range model, these earbuds retain the wide array of features from the previous version—like spatial audio, multipoint Bluetooth, LDAC support, and a personalised hearing-test-based EQ—while also refining certain areas.The active noise reduction (ANR) is said to be three times more powerful than before, and now adjustable across multiple levels, just like ambient sound monitoring. There are also new design aspects such as a stem-style format and an “intelligent” case with its own display.

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Soundcore’s Liberty 4 Pro earbuds have been on sale since October 2024 at a price of €129. They come in four colours: Black, Shiny Blue, Shiny Black, and White.

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Earbud Desig

In a departure from the previous round, “water-droplet” shape, the Liberty 4 Pro now sport a more conventional in-ear design with stems. It’s reminiscent of the Apple AirPods Pro 2 rather than the older Sony WF-1000XM5 style. To add some flair, the rear of each stem features a shiny metal strip, and a subtle ring encircles the nozzle. The plastic shells feel sturdy, despite a slightly visible seam.Each earbud weighs 5.5 g and sits lightly in the ear canal without needing to be pushed in too far, making them rather unobtrusive during long listening sessions. This design minimises ear pressure, so they remain comfortable over extended periods. With an IPX5 rating, they can handle light rain or sweat during a run. Soundcore also provides five additional pairs of silicone eartips to accommodate different ear shapes.

Charging Case

Where many earbuds use a hinged lid, the Liberty 4 Pro case continues Soundcore’s sliding-lid tradition. Opening and closing the case with one hand is quick and smooth. The interior recess is deep enough so you can easily grip the stems.A major new feature is a small internal display on the lower section of the case. While it’s not as advanced as some external screens from competing brands, it still shows handy information, as discussed below.Though the case weighs a reasonable 51 g, it’s somewhat bulky (64 × 61 × 29 mm) and the plastic feels hollow. The overall impression is modern in concept but let down slightly by the somewhat budget feel of the materials.

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Earbud Controls

Control is provided through taps, pinches, and swipes on the stems. Swipes (particularly for volume control) can be a bit finicky, but otherwise the commands cover all basics: play/pause, track skipping, listening mode toggles, and voice assistant. Most controls can be customised on either earbud, though call pick-up, call ending, and the volume swipe gesture aren’t remappable.

Case Controls

The charging case has its own display that comes to life when you open it, immediately showing battery status for both the case and the earbuds. You can also adjust noise cancellation or ambient awareness via five available levels each.Within the app, you can add more commands for the display’s touch strip, such as toggling spatial audio, locating the earbuds, or remotely controlling your phone’s camera. While these extras are fun and convenient, they’ll require having the case handy or actively pulling it out to access them.

App

Soundcore’s companion app is both functional and user-friendly, offering numerous settings. It handles the usual features—multipoint pairing, in-ear detection, auto-off settings, and an equaliser—along with different sound profiles for podcasts, cinema, or music.Additionally, it provides hearing and calibration tests, volume-limiting options, and adaptive leakage compensation. While not all features are necessary for everyday listening, it’s great that they’re available, putting the app on par with offerings from Sony or Jabra in terms of depth.

Connectivity

Using Bluetooth 5.3, the Liberty 4 Pro support AAC and SBC codecs, plus LDAC and Google Fast Pair. According to Soundcore, LE Audio might be added via a future update, though no timeline has been given.Coection stability is excellent, but overall latency is on the high side. Our measurements show about 310 ms of delay in standard mode, dropping to around 250 ms with Game Mode enabled. This still isn’t ideal for mobile gaming, as audio-video synchronisation suffers considerably.

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Soundcore has always placed importance on acoustic design for its Pro range. Like their predecessor, the Liberty 4 Pro use a dual-driver configuration: a 10.5 mm driver for the low end and a 4.6 mm driver for the highs.Despite a more measured approach here than with some of the brand’s over-ear headphones, it would be a stretch to call the Liberty 4 Pro neutral. Still, they do have their strong points.Bass and Low MidsHeavily emphasised in the sub-bass range, they deliver a powerful, energetic sound. This means low mids are slightly sacrificed, allowing the bass tones—especially kicks—to dominate. Fans of a warm signature may initially enjoy this punchy profile, but it can quickly become overwhelming and fatiguing. Enabling the “Bass Reduction” mode and leaving noise cancellation on helps tame the low-end boom, improving clarity and reducing muddiness.HighsTo offset this big low-end, there’s a boost in the upper treble around 8 kHz, creating a bright, forward sound. However, the very highest frequencies are somewhat lacking, and the overall top end feels closed-in rather than open and airy. Cymbals and sibilant sounds miss out oatural sparkle.MidsVoices and midrange elements are reasonably well-presented—neither too recessed nor overly pushed. A small increase in upper mids detail could have further balanced the sound. On complex tracks, synthesizers and guitars can struggle to stand out when bass and treble are both emphasised.Spatial Audio ModeAlthough it aims to expand the soundstage, spatial audio here lacks finesse. The sense of immersion is undermined by overly veiled mids, and the head-tracking latency is noticeable, which can distract from the surround effect.

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Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)

Soundcore claims the Liberty 4 Pro provide three times more noise cancellation than their predecessor, equipped with six microphones and a barometric pressure sensor.In practice, they do a competent job. The earbuds effectively reduce bass-range noise—enough to muffle engine sounds or background rumble. They maintain decent performance through to the upper bass region, though above that point, the ANC struggles. Voices around you are quieter but still somewhat audible. High-frequency sounds remain partly discernible, though passive isolation helps reduce sharpness.There’s also a wind noise reduction setting, which successfully prevents loud gusts from creating unpleasant peaks. However, it introduces a faint hiss in the background. Additionally, an “Airplane” mode supposedly calibrates ANC based on cabin pressure, though we couldn’t fully put that to the test here.

Ambient Mode

In contrast to the decent noise cancellation, the ambient mode is underwhelming. High-frequency sounds are over-dampened, making speech sound uatural. Low frequencies are also underrepresented, so judging distances outdoors can be tricky.You can still catch important sounds for safety, but conversation quality is mediocre. It’s passable for quick chats, yet not ideal for longer discussions.Easy ChatThis feature lowers music volume as soon as you speak, useful for buying a loaf of bread or quickly chatting to someone. It works fine in quiet environments but struggles when surrounded by louder background noises, sometimes confusing your voice with others.

Hands-Free Calls

With six microphones, the Liberty 4 Pro pick up your voice clearly in quiet environments. Words are easy to understand, and calls sound natural. In more crownded areas, though, clarity can falter: sibilants become harsh, and your speech can break up slightly.Still, conversation remains manageable, albeit with a metallic or “robotic” tinge in extremely noisy spots (like a busy crossroads). Sudden, loud sounds can get suppressed, but at the cost of making your voice briefly sound muffled or echoey.

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Soundcore promises significant improvements over the previous generation, advertising up to 7.5 hours with ANC on and 10 hours without. Our own tests (at 50% volume using AAC) gave us around 6 hours 45 minutes with ANC enabled and about 9 hours without—solid performance, placing the Liberty 4 Pro among the better-lasting true wireless earbuds.The charging case provides just over three full charges. A quick 10-minute boost is enough for roughly 3.5 hours of playback, which is impressively fast.

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Comfortable, long-lasting, and brimming with features, the Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro make a strong case in the sub-€150 true wireless market. Their energetic sound signature is technically decent yet heavily coloured, which might polarise listeners—particularly those seeking a more neutral audio profile.