Call Quality King! Anker soundcore AeroClip 2 Review

THE SCORECARD

Anker soundcore AeroClip 2

• Comfort

  9.5/10

  The looser clamping force and wire with more give make them feel lighter on my ears.

• Security of the fit

  9/10

  They remain secure for casual use, weight training and running, although the lighter clamp may not suit thinner ears.

• IP rating

  10/10

  The IP57 dust-resistant and waterproof rating is a solid upgrade over the AeroClip’s IPX4 rating.

• Case and battery life

  8.5/10

  Battery life is unchanged, but the smaller, thinner case adds wireless charging.

• Controls

  9.5/10

  The physical button is more reliable and adds more control options than the older tap system.

• Connectivity

  10/10

  Bluetooth 6.0, Google Fast Pair, mono mode and extremely fast multipoint takeover make this a standout category.

• Call quality

  9.25/10

  They take my first spot for open-ear call quality and are among the best I have tested.

• Customization and extra features

  8/10

  HearID, an eight-band EQ and spatial audio are useful, but spatial audio made little difference to my ears.

• Sound quality below 60% volume

  8.25/10

  The stock tuning lacks bass, although the HearID sound test makes bass and treble noticeably better.

• Sound quality above 60% volume

  9/10

  The sound gains bass presence and clarity at higher volumes, with the AeroClip distortion issue fixed.

The Pros and Cons

Are the AeroClip 2 comfortable and secure?

I scored comfort at 9.5 out of 10. At a glance, they are almost identical to the AeroClip, but the wire is a little smaller and the clamping force is looser. That gives them a lighter feel and puts them among the best open-ear buds for comfort to my ears.

For side sleeping, I still rate them as good. The wire does not stick far out from the ear, so it should not press into a pillow too much. Fit security gets a 9 out of 10. They should be fine for everyday use, running and weight training, and the matte finish grips better with sweat. The missing gel grips are the reason for the lower score than the AeroClip, and people with small or thin ears may still have problems with the lighter clamp.

What changed with the case, controls and connectivity?

The case and battery score is 8.5 out of 10. You get 8 hours in the buds and 32 hours in total with the case. A 10-minute charge gives 4 hours of playback. The battery figures are identical to the AeroClip, but the new case is smaller, thinner and now supports wireless charging. You do need to put each bud in its correct side of the case.

Controls are a major improvement. I scored them 9.5 out of 10 because soundcore has moved to a physical button on top of the bud. You get single, double and triple presses plus a long hold. There is a sleep mode that plays white noise, call microphone muting, and the option to power off both earbuds without the case. Wear detection is the one feature missing here.

Connectivity earns a 10 out of 10. The AeroClip 2 add Bluetooth 6.0, Google Fast Pair, mono mode and a low-latency gaming mode. Their takeover multipoint is especially impressive: press play on another device and the switch happens in about half a second. You can also change it to manual switching if you do not want takeover.

How good is AeroClip 2 call quality?

Call quality is the big standout. The AeroClip 2 score 9.25 out of 10 and take first place in my open-ear call-quality ranking. They are not just the best open-ear buds for calls in my testing, they are some of the best I have tested overall.

I ran quiet-room, simulated crowd-noise and simulated windy-city tests. The six-mic setup, including four MEMS mics and what I believe are two bone-conduction mics, does some heavy lifting. Soundcore says the Anker AI chip can block 100 decibels of noise, while my noisy test is at 85 decibels. Either way, the result is clearly ahead of the AeroClip and Huawei FreeClip 2 for calls.

Does the AeroClip 2 sound better than the AeroClip?

At below 60% volume, I scored sound quality at 8.25 out of 10. The stock tuning is a little light on bass and the treble falls back compared with the AeroClip. HearID 5.0 is the fix I would use. It gives richer, fuller bass, more crispness in the treble and slightly more forward vocals. I could not get the eight-band EQ to sound as good as the HearID test, even with the bass boosted fully.

Above 60% volume, the score rises to 9 out of 10. Bass has more impact, vocals are clear and well separated, and the treble becomes more precise without becoming harsh. On some songs, I still heard a little sibilance and mid-bass could become overpowering with my HearID result.

The important behind-the-scenes improvement is that the subtle background distortion I heard on bass-heavy tracks with the AeroClip is gone. The older model still has slightly richer bass, but the AeroClip 2 has slightly better overall clarity. They sound very decent, but I was hoping for even a minor overall sound upgrade.

Why the AeroClip 2 drops from first to fourth

Before I change the weight of important categories, the AeroClip 2 finish first with 91 out of 100. After I customize the scoring, they drop to fourth with 89.4 out of 100. That is still almost a four-point improvement over the AeroClip.

Soundcore has fixed the AeroClip’s weak controls and added worthwhile upgrades in comfort, waterproofing, multipoint, gaming latency and call quality. If sound quality had received more attention, these would be an easy number one. As it is, the Shokz OpenDots 2, OpenDots Air and Huawei FreeClip 2 have the edge for sound, while the AeroClip 2 are far ahead for call quality.