Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 VS OnePlus Buds 4

In terms of design, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 and the OnePlus Buds 4 are nearly identical on paper. Both are true wireless, in-ear earbuds with no cables, no neckband, no wingtips, and no gimmicks like RGB lighting or UV sterilization. They share the same IP55 ingress protection rating, meaning both can handle sweat and light rain with equal confidence — solid for workouts and commutes, though neither is suitable for submersion.

The one measurable difference lies in weight: the OnePlus Buds 4 come in at 9.46 g per earbud versus 10 g for the Liberty 5. That roughly half-gram gap is unlikely to be perceptible during casual listening, but over extended wear sessions, marginally lighter earbuds can reduce fatigue — a small but real consideration for users who wear them for hours at a stretch.

Overall, the two products are essentially tied on design. The shared IP55 rating and identical form factor mean neither has a structural or durability advantage. The OnePlus Buds 4 hold a technically lighter profile, but the difference is so slim it will not be a deciding factor for the vast majority of users.

Both earbuds share a strong foundation: ANC, passive noise reduction, and an identical upper frequency ceiling of 40000 Hz, extending well into the ultrasonic range. Where they diverge meaningfully is in driver size and low-frequency reach. The OnePlus Buds 4 use a larger 11 mm driver compared to the Liberty 5's 9.2 mm unit, and extend down to 15 Hz versus 20 Hz. A bigger driver generally moves more air, which can translate to more impactful bass and better dynamic range — and the lower floor of 15 Hz reinforces that sub-bass advantage, even if frequencies below 20 Hz are felt more than heard.

Impedance tells another part of the story. At 18 Ohms, the OnePlus Buds 4 are easier to drive than the Liberty 5's 32 Ohms, meaning they will reach higher volumes with less power from the source device — a practical benefit for mobile listeners. On the spatial side, the Buds 4 support spatial audio, adding a dimension of immersive, three-dimensional soundstage that the Liberty 5 does not offer. The Liberty 5 counters with Dolby Atmos support, which provides object-based audio processing for compatible content — a different but also legitimate approach to an enhanced listening experience.

On balance, the OnePlus Buds 4 hold a technical edge in sound quality for this spec group. The combination of a larger driver, deeper bass extension, lower impedance, and native spatial audio support gives it more versatility across music, movies, and gaming. The Liberty 5's Dolby Atmos support is noteworthy for content that explicitly takes advantage of it, but it does not offset the broader hardware advantages of the Buds 4.

Battery performance here tells two different stories depending on how you use your earbuds. The OnePlus Buds 4 deliver an impressive 11 hours of playback per charge — significantly ahead of the Liberty 5's 8 hours — making them the stronger choice for long uninterrupted listening sessions without reaching for the case. However, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 hits back with a larger case reserve of 40 hours total versus 34 hours for the Buds 4, meaning that over multiple days of use away from an outlet, the Liberty 5 system sustains you longer overall.

The ANC battery figures add another wrinkle. The Liberty 5 is rated at 12 hours with ANC active, while the OnePlus Buds 4 drop to just 6 hours under the same condition — a steep penalty that makes ANC use a significant trade-off for Buds 4 owners. For users who rely on noise cancellation regularly, this gap is substantial and practically limits how freely the Buds 4's ANC can be used day-to-day. Charge times are close, with the Buds 4 edging slightly faster at 1.33 hours versus 1.5 hours, but the Liberty 5's support for wireless charging — absent on the Buds 4 — adds meaningful convenience for those already invested in a Qi ecosystem.

The Liberty 5 takes the edge in this category. While the OnePlus Buds 4 wins on raw single-session battery, the Liberty 5's superior case capacity, much stronger ANC endurance, and wireless charging support make it the more well-rounded power package for most users.

At the foundation, these two earbuds are well matched: both run on Bluetooth 5.4, share an identical 10 m wireless range, support AAC, and charge via USB-C. The more revealing differences lie in their high-quality audio codec support and day-to-day usability features. The Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 supports LDAC, Sony's high-resolution wireless codec capable of transmitting up to 990 kbps — a significant advantage for audiophiles pairing with Android devices that support it, as it delivers substantially more audio data than standard Bluetooth codecs. The OnePlus Buds 4, by contrast, carry LDHC, a competing high-res codec also capable of high bitrate transmission, but with notably narrower device ecosystem support compared to LDAC.

The Buds 4 do hold one practical edge: fast pairing, which enables quicker, more seamless initial connection to compatible devices — a small but genuinely convenient feature that the Liberty 5 lacks. Neither earbud supports aptX in any of its variants, Bluetooth LE Audio, or Auracast, so those omissions are a wash.

The verdict here hinges on your device and priorities. For Android users on LDAC-compatible phones, the Liberty 5 holds a meaningful audio quality advantage through its codec support, which has broader ecosystem reach than LDHC. The Buds 4's fast pairing is a convenience win, but it does not offset the codec gap for listeners who prioritize wireless audio fidelity. Users outside the LDAC ecosystem will find the two products more evenly matched on connectivity overall.

Feature parity between these two earbuds is remarkably high. Ambient sound mode, in-ear detection, fast charging, 2-device multipoint connectivity, mute, on-device controls, voice prompts, and an included travel bag — all present on both. For the vast majority of daily use scenarios, users of either earbud will find an essentially identical feature set at their disposal.

The sole differentiator in this category is the OnePlus Buds 4's built-in translator function, which the Liberty 5 lacks. For frequent travelers or users who regularly communicate across language barriers, this is a genuinely useful real-world capability — one that typically requires a separate app or device to replicate. Its practical value is situational, but in those situations, it is a meaningful convenience that the Liberty 5 simply cannot match.

The OnePlus Buds 4 takes a narrow but clear edge here on the strength of that single exclusive feature. If translation functionality is irrelevant to your use case, these two earbuds are effectively tied on features — but for international travelers or multilingual users, the Buds 4 offers something the Liberty 5 does not.

Microphone hardware is a dead heat between these two earbuds. Both the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 and the OnePlus Buds 4 feature 6 microphones and noise-canceling mic technology. A six-mic array is a premium configuration for true wireless earbuds, enabling more sophisticated beamforming and wind noise rejection — the kind of setup that meaningfully improves call clarity in noisy environments like streets, cafes, or open offices.

With no differentiating data points available for this group, the two products are fully tied on microphone specs. Neither holds an advantage based on the provided specifications, and any real-world differences in call quality would come down to software processing and tuning — factors that fall outside what these specs can tell us.