RATING: Soundcore Life Q35
Our editorial rating is based on product testing.
- Comfortable cushion pads
- High-quality audio, great bass
- Equalizer and ambient sounds in the app
- Awesome noise reduction
- Wearing detection sensor
- Not the cleanest sound during calls
The Soundcore brand isn’t among the cheapest, but their products still come at affordable prices and have truly high quality. Proof of that is the on-ear headphones Soundcore Life Q35, which offer quality wireless playback with LHDC 4.0 support, wearing detection, and comfortable cushion pads.
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Of course, they also include active noise cancellation with optional modes or an equalizer in the app. So you can tailor playback depending on whether you’re listening to a podcast or more demanding bass-heavy music.
Best value in the official store
We got the headphones from the official Soundcore store, with which we also collaborate. Here, you can even find them for a better price than on the AliExpress marketplace, where this seller also operates. The official store ships products from European warehouses, so you won’t have to pay extra VAT or any customs fees—and the package is delivered very quickly as well.
Soundcore Life Q35
TIPExpress delivery from a European warehouse without customs duty and VAT.
This product will be delivered to you express from a local warehouse in Europe. Delivery from EU warehouses usually takes 2–10 days and is handled by a courier. When delivered, you don’t pay any extra fees—no customs duty or VAT.
TIPExpress delivery from a European warehouse without customs duty and VAT.
This product will be delivered to you express from a local warehouse in Europe. Delivery from EU warehouses usually takes 2–10 days and is handled by a courier. When delivered, you don’t pay any extra fees—no customs duty or VAT.
Quality packaging with a protective case
Soundcore Life Q35 headphones are shipped in a nicely printed box, in which you’ll find a protective case with a suede-like material. Right away, it’s obvious that high-quality materials were used. The case has a zipper, and once you unbox it, inside you’ll find the folded headphones themselves, along with a black pouch.
It includes a 3.5 mm audio jack cable with a control element, a USB-C charging cable, and an adapter for the audio jack. All accessories are also notably high-quality, which is something Anker is known for.
Design-wise completely the same as the predecessor
For this review, we received the dark blue version of the Soundcore Life Q35, and in terms of design—i.e., the physical build—it’s an identical model to the older Soundcore Life Q30. The main improvements are therefore in the internals and sound quality, but more on that later. The only difference we noticed is that the cushion pads are a bit smaller, and compared to the previous generation, they seemed a bit softer. Still, they remain very comfortable to wear.
The controls are still physical buttons. On the right earcup you’ll find a USB-C port, and on the left one there’s a 3.5 mm audio port. A new feature on the Soundcore Life Q35 is also touch controls, where you can turn off the noise cancelling mode by pressing and holding. This should come in handy when you need to hear someone’s speech or the surrounding ambient noise for a moment. Another new function that the predecessor didn’t have is wearing detection—when you take the headphones off or fold them, playback stops.
Naturally, you can also adjust the length of the extension, so people with bigger heads can comfortably fit them as well. On the top side, there’s also a softer material, which makes wearing them a bit more comfortable and prevents your head from feeling any pressure. Overall, we get a really great impression of the total headset quality considering the price.
Great sound, brutal bass
Since we’ve already used the previous Life Q30 generation, we already knew something about the sound quality of Soundcore headphones. Unless you’re an extremely demanding user, you probably won’t notice the difference—for example—between the luxury 300-euro Sony WH-1000XM4 and the Soundcore Life Q35. The headphones deliver a balanced sound in terms of both bass and treble, and at least in our opinion, compared to the more expensive Sony model, they even boast slightly more punchy bass.
If you "blast" the volume to the maximum level, you’ll even be able to feel the bass vibrating in your head. You’ll definitely enjoy hip-hop genres or electronic music like we do.
High sound quality is mainly helped by the Hi-Res Wireless certification, which means high-quality transmission via Bluetooth technology. The codec used is LHDC 4.0, which is a competitor to the maybe better-known aptX from Qualcomm. The previous generation relied on Hi-Res certification only via cable. The sound drivers (speakers) have a 40 mm diameter, and it’s exactly them that take care of delivering the best possible bass.
With noise reduction, nothing will distract you anymore.
Soundcore Life Q35 stand out with very high-quality noise reduction. When you use the main noise cancellation mode (“Noise Cancellation”), you’ll hardly hear anything at all from the surrounding noise—so also when music is playing. Great for when you need full focus, which we were happy to use in the editorial office too.
Even 3 expanded noise reduction modes are available in the app under Noise Cancellation. You can choose from Transport, Indoor, and Outdoor. The headphones will then dampen the surrounding noise and frequencies that you don’t need to hear in that specific environment.
Another mode is the so-called “Transparency mode” (transparent), which is useful, for example, on public transport or when you need to pick up sounds and conversations around you. In that case, unlike with noise cancellation, the microphones send the sounds from your surroundings.
The last normal mode is kind of a middle ground between full noise cancellation and the transparent mode. So no sound frequencies are suppressed, and the headphones work normally in that mode.
EQ in the app, two devices at once
A good feature is also the EQ, which works—but only through the mobile app. Thanks to the two devices connected at the same time function, it won’t be a problem if you mainly use them with your computer or a Windows tablet. The app offers 22 EQ modes, which is really plenty, and our favorites were the original one (Soundcore Signature) or the Bass Booster mode. So there’s something for everyone.
The app also lets you update the firmware wirelessly if the manufacturer is currently offering the latest OTA update. We used that option, but we didn’t notice any major change. This option is only available in case of a serious functional error that could occur after purchase.
Sleep timer and ambient sounds
Next, in the app you can also set a shutdown timer, in case you want to fall asleep with them – although this is probably not a fully comfortable device to sleep with.
A truly great feature that really impressed us is playing ambient sounds for easier falling asleep. You’ll find it on the same screen as the timer, and you can choose from various pleasant sounds, such as birds, wind, and water, and set their sound intensity. The awesome part is that you can combine them and then play exactly what feels most comfortable to you. Sleep with the Soundcore Life Q35 won’t be a problem at all.
The app looks great, modern, and it’s 100% functional. The latest handy feature we noticed is the widget (mini app), which you can put on the home screen of your Android smartphone. From there, you can quickly control the noise reduction mode with quick access.
Microphone quality during calls
Surely, plenty of readers are also interested in call quality with these headphones. The Soundcore Life Q35 uses AI to reduce background noise, and during a phone call people should hear you crystal clear. We tested the microphone with a standard call, and the person on the other end, unfortunately, didn’t hear us crystal clear. The sound wasn’t the best quality, and there was noticeable noise. So the microphone was a letdown for us.
NFC pairing and charging via USB-C
Besides the usual Bluetooth connection, you can also connect the headphones using NFC technology. Just hold your smartphone up to the headphones and it will connect right away. Charging works via USB-C, and you’ll get enough power for 4 hours of listening in just 5 minutes! So yes—truly very fast charging.
According to the manufacturer, battery life is 40 hours in a noise-reduction mode and up to 60 hours in normal mode. We didn’t really test the battery life ourselves, because with numbers this high it’s, in our opinion, unnecessary. With frequent use, the headphones last us for several days, and we charge them about once a week. Of course, it also depends on the volume level.
Final verdict: Soundcore Life Q35
So, in the end we can rate the Soundcore Life Q35 as a really well-made, premium headset with high-quality Hi-Fi wireless sound, excellent noise reduction, and build quality that makes it comfortable to wear even for several hours, plus a great app with an equalizer. In its price category, it will be very hard to find a suitable competitor.
Soundcore Life Q35
TIPExpress delivery from a European warehouse without customs duty and VAT.
This product will be delivered to you express from a local warehouse in Europe. Delivery from EU warehouses usually takes 2–10 days and is handled by a courier. When delivered, you don’t pay any extra fees—no customs duty or VAT.
TIPExpress delivery from a European warehouse without customs duty and VAT.
This product will be delivered to you express from a local warehouse in Europe. Delivery from EU warehouses usually takes 2–10 days and is handled by a courier. When delivered, you don’t pay any extra fees—no customs duty or VAT.
As we mentioned at the start of the review, you can get the best deal from the official Soundcore store, where they ship it directly from an EU warehouse—which means delivery in just a few business days without having to pay even a single extra cent. You also get an 18-month warranty and arguably better customer support than at other Chinese stores.
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