Anker Curve Review

8.5
8.5 score
[Editors rating (8.5)] = (WalkJogRun) score (8.5)/10


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Editor rating: 8.5 / 10
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We all know what people are looking for in today’s market when it comes to headphones and/or earbuds. People expect the best sound quality, long battery life, waterproof (or at the very least, water-resistant), a customizable fit for optimal comfort and security, convenient, and most importantly - wireless.

The Anker Curve earbuds feature premium sound quality that has Qualcomm aptX audio as well as CVC noise cancellation. There is even a built-in microphone to make it easy to answer phone calls on the run.

If the stock ear tips aren’t a comfortable, secure fit for your ears, don’t panic! There are extra ear tips included so that you can find the right fit, as well as additional “earwigs” which are the pieces that wrap around your ear to hold the bud in place.

Enjoy fourteen hours of phone calls or twelve and a half hours of audio playback before you need to stop and charge up. Enjoy a low-medium intensity workout without worrying about your sweat affecting your earbuds. The Anker Curve is water-resistant, but not waterproof.

Editor's Pros & Cons
Pros

Fantastic battery life

Water-resistant

Carrying pouch w/carabiner

Noise cancellation

Unbeatable price

Cons

NOT waterproof

Short lifespan for runners

Battery

Typically, when you’re shopping for wireless earbuds like the Anker Curve, you can expect to find a battery life between six and eight hours. It’s unheard of to get much more than that out of earbuds. The over-ear headphones are what you typically get more battery life out of.

However, the Anker Curve comes with a shocking battery life of up to fourteen hours! Now, what you actually get out of your full charge is completely dependant on what you use the headset for. If you’re using it solely for phone calls, you can squeeze all fourteen of those hours out of the battery. However, if you’re cranking up the music, you’ll only be able to reap twelve and a half of those hours before needing a charge.

If you’re on the go and don’t have time to wait an hour and a half for a full juice-up, you can settle for ten minutes and earn yourself an additional hour of playback. Keep in mind that the volume at which you have your earbuds playing, and the content of your audio will make battery life vary. If you think you need more battery life, try these.

Bluetooth

The Bluetooth version run on the Anker Curve is Bluetooth 4.1. This may not seem like much of a difference from the 4.0 version, but it is; for a few reasons. It is not a secret that Bluetooth and 4G have not gotten along well; meaning that their signals commonly interfere with one another and drain their battery life.

With Bluetooth 4.1, this interference is eliminated because it works to coordinate its signal with 4G right off the bat. This will leave no overlap between the two, and they will be able to perform at their best. This is important because most phones have 4G.

Instead of having a set timeout period that can’t be changed, 4.1 allows each device to better be able to manage their power by automatically turning on and off according to the set power plan. Because not all devices are treated the same anymore, the inconsistent connections of Bluetooth and the amount of power those inconsistencies cause will dramatically reduce.

With Bluetooth 4.1, you can cut out the middle man. Simply put, this means that instead of having to connect your smartwatch to your phone in order to retrieve information from your heart monitor, you will only have to connect your smartwatch to your heart monitor. This will save a lot of battery power and will also sync all of the results to the phone together.

Pairing

Pairing your Anker Curve earbuds to your compatible device isn’t as hard as it seems. First, you want to make sure that both your headset and your device are turned on and fully charged. Do not have your two devices any farther than three feet apart while they are trying to pair.

When you turn on your Anker Curve, it is already set to begin pairing mode when it turns on. There will be a rapidly flashing blue LED light to indicate that it is ready to pair. Once you see this, go to your Bluetooth settings in your compatible device, turn on Bluetooth, and search for nearby devices.

When you see “Anker SoundBuds Curve” on the list, choose it. When the pairing is successful, the blue LED on the earbuds will stay lit. If your device asks for your password, try “8888” or “0000”. For your information: your earbuds will always attempt a connection with that last device it was paired to. If that connection can’t be established, it will return to pairing mode and you will be able to pair a new device.

Water-resistant

If you’re a heavy duty runner and produce a lot of sweat or you run in the rain often, you will want to look elsewhere for waterproof headphones. The Anker Curve is water and sweat-resistant, but not waterproof. You can find waterproof headphones here.

The casing around the earbuds is covered in a hydrophobic nano-coating that will ensure rain and sweat don’t negatively affect your device. It can only hold off so much for so long, though, because it is only moisture-resistant. The nano-coating is a group of nanostructures that are applied on the surface of the earbuds that will make it hydrophobic, thus protecting the components underneath the casing.

Fit

The Anker Curve is a “hook” style earbud that wraps up and around your ear for a snug, comfortable fit. The ear hooks are extra soft to minimize skin irritation around the ear. If this isn’t the style for you, try some buds that just sit in your ear instead.

When you purchase the Anker Curve, you also receive memory foam and silicone tips, clips, and fins so that you can try any and all sizes and combinations until you find the ideal fit for you. When you find the right fit, they’ll stay comfortable all day and they’ll stay in as well; even during workouts.

Sound

Earbud driver units are typically between eight and fifteen millimeters in diameter. This is simply because they need to be able to fit in your ear, whereas headphones don’t. The driver unit on the Anker Curve is ten millimeters, which is closer to the small side. Some believe that a smaller driver means smaller sound, but this simply isn’t true. Anker just had to work a little harder to pack the same great sound into the tiny speakers.

The audio experience you receive from these earbuds is thanks to Qualcomm’s aptX audio. This technology makes sure that you’re getting the best sound quality possible from your device running on Bluetooth. Only products that have met the standards are allowed to use the aptX logo, so when you see it, you know it’s quality.

AptX is integrated into a wide array of products such as wireless soundbars, speakers, and headphones. This technology has been turning heads by improving audio quality in professional settings, broadcasts, and consumer applications for more than twenty-five years.

CVC Noise Cancellation

It doesn’t matter where you are, there is always a great possibility that background noise could put a damper on what you’re trying to listen to in your headphones. Sounds such as road noise, ambient noise, and people talking can make it difficult to fully experience the audio quality of the Anker Curve.

It can make music harder to hear fully, conversations much more difficult, and videos impossible to follow. CVC noise cancellation from Qualcomm brings cutting edge technology to the table by enhancing audio and suppressing more noise. If you need to be able to hear ambient noise because you’re going to frequent roads, try these.

Qualcomm claims that their CVC noise cancellation technology is the best in the market when it comes to providing quality Bluetooth products such as handsets, headsets, hands-free products, and car-phone devices.

Controls

To turn your Anker Curve on, press the play button for one second. A blue light will flash to signal that it has powered on. When you’re ready to turn it off, press the play button, and hold it for three seconds. A red light will flash once to signal that it has been powered down.

If the light is flashing red, the battery needs charged. If the light is holding a steady red light, it is charging. And when the light is a steady blue, it is fully charged. When listening to music, use the play button when you want to start and stop the music. When you’re in phone mode, use the play button to answer and end calls as well as putting a call on hold to answer another. You can also hold the button down for one second to reject a call.

When listening to music, use the “+” button to skip to the next track and the “-” button to skip backward a track. Hold the button down for one second for those commands. In order to increase and decrease the volume, press the “+” or “-” and instantly let go.

If you press and hold the play button while listening to music you will activate Siri or another compatible software that is voice controlled.

Convenience

There are a lot of reasons to love the Anker Curve. Not only do they deliver in all of the must-have areas for music lovers, but they come in first place for convenience as well. These earbuds have a neck strap, and what better accessory for a neck strap than a management clip for the strap? Oh, I know! A management clip and a shirt clip!

You won’t have to worry about losing your earbuds on the trail, even if they fall out of your ears. Even if they fall off of your neck. You have three layers of protection against losing these. The clip on your shirt could save the day. They may not be expensive earbuds, but they’re worth keeping around.

Speaking of keeping around, the Anker Curve comes with a carrying case for even more convenience. And, the carrying case comes with a metal carabineer to easily carry it with you on your belt loop or purse wherever you’re going.

Satisfaction Guarantee

The Anker Curve doesn’t just come with a low price. It comes with a thirty-day money-back guarantee. And this guarantee applies for any reason. If the product has not been damaged, and it has not surpassed the thirty-day cutoff, you may return it for a full refund. Once your item arrives at Anker’s warehouse, the process for your return will begin.

When you return an item: it must contain all of the accessories it came with and it must be in its original packaging. If your claim isn’t quality related, you are responsible for the cost of shipping and Anker will refund you the cost of the item. If your item doesn’t meet the above criteria, Anker may reject the return request.

There is also an eighteen-month warranty included when you purchase the Anker Curve earbuds.

Bottom Line

In your box, should you purchase these, you will receive your Anker SoundBuds Curve, an array of memory foam and silicone ear tips, earwigs, a management clip and shirt clip for your neck strap, a micro-USB cable, a polyurethane carrying case that includes a convenient metal carabineer.

The Bluetooth 4.1 connection will pair with your compatible device for up to thirty feet away. The battery life of the Anker Curve is above average for this type of headset. Typically, earbuds have a battery life of six to eight hours. These earbuds are water and sweat-resistant. Don’t confuse that with waterproof, though. They do have a tolerance threshold.

Experience top of the line sound with noise cancellation, and a personalized fit at a very affordable price. And, if you decide they’re not for you, you aren’t out anything. You can return it, no questions asked, within thirty days of purchase.