Don't be surprised if Anker's new headphones end up being a value star

Anker's Soundcore lineup has been a sleeper hit in the last couple of years, culminating in the excellent Space One Pro headphones from late 2023, which have gone on to find something of a cult following. They're super impressive for their price, and almost certainly made rival headphone-makers sweat a little.

Now, at MWC in Barcelona, Anker is adding a new pair to the range, in the form of the Soundcore Space 2, which again comes at an extremely competitive price and promises some major sonic upgrades.

So, what makes me think they'll likely be a brilliant value proposition? Well, firstly, they've got some impressive sound capabilities, with Hi-Res certification both in wired and wireless modes, along with LDAC support for crisp and lossless listening. Its 40mm drivers should sound fairly excellent.

Secondly, its featureset looks great for the price; battery life comes in at 50 hours on a charge with ANC on, or 70 with it turned off, which is double what some much bigger brands manage in their flagships. A five-minute charge will give you four hours of listening, too, for those fast-chargers among us.

The Space 2 also apparently has newly-enhanced noise-cancelling that apparently shines with low-frequency sounds (like the rumble of a commercial jet). I'll have to test that myself to see how it goes, but I'm more confident in how the headphones will feel when worn.

The best part of the Space One Pro's offering was how ludicrously comfortable it was, and since the design of the Space 2 looks pretty similar, I'm hoping that makes it comparably lovely to wear for hours at a time. Anker's talk of slow-rebound memory foam makes me hopeful on that side of things.

The headphones will cost £129.99 in the UK, $129.99 in the US, and €129.99 in the EU, and they'll be available from 21 April, apparently, in three colours: white, black and a tasteful minty green. I'll aim to have them tested and reviewed as soon as possible, too, to see if they're the value star I think they might be.