Anker's Soundcore Sleep A20 Sleep Headphones Are More Effective Than Expected! They Could Be a “Sleep Essential” Item[مراجعة سلع العمل عن بعد رقم 104]

The Anker Soundcore Sleep A20, wireless headphones designed specifically for sleeping, went on sale in early July, and as someone who needs sound while sleeping, I immediately gave them a try. I’ve been using them for a little over a week, but I can already tell you I’m sleeping better. Good sleep also has a positive effect on work.

“When you can't sleep, it helps to play soft sounds.”

How many people say, “I can’t sleep if it’s too quiet at night?” Even when I close my eyes and try to sleep, my mind won’t stop, or rather, strange thoughts keep running through my bed, making it difficult for me to calm down and fall asleep.

I read in a magazine or something that it would be a good idea to turn the radio on at a low volume to solve these problems. When a radio program or other conversation is playing at a barely audible volume, your attention will naturally be focused on listening to it, and your thoughts will disappear. After that, he says that he will soon be able to sleep (so to speak, he will be in a state of “sleep”).

I don’t know if this method works for everyone, but it definitely worked for me, and I still use this method when I go to sleep last time with my family. Since I can’t play music through the speakers in my bedroom where my family is, I put on a pair of cheap earbuds, set a sleep timer, and turn on a radio show or podcast to fall asleep.

Relatively precise selection criteria for essential sleeping earbuds

When it comes to earbuds you use while sleeping, no matter how cheap they are, it’s important that the part that touches your ear is as small as possible. Bulky things are uncomfortable, and wireless products are generally bulky because they have a built-in battery, which makes them uncomfortable to use.

I usually sleep on my side, so I only have the earbuds on one ear on the top side, but if I turn over and the side I'm wearing the earbuds on is the bottom, the pillow and earbuds put pressure on the area around my ear canal, causing pain.

Canal-type earbuds create a strong feeling of pressure inside the ear, which can make them uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. However, the earbuds are so loose that they can fall out with just a slight movement. After trying several things, I have been using wired earbuds with slightly smaller earbuds. I have seen a few products that claim to be “sleeping earbuds,” but I had never tried them because I didn’t think they would make a drastic difference in the feel of use.

As you can see, sleeping earbuds have small “hard spots,” but the Anker Soundcore Sleep A20 are visually appealing because the part that touches your ear is “thin.” The base of the earbud, or rather the thickness of the part around your ear canal when you wear it, is muted, so when you sleep on your side, it doesn’t seem to hurt even if it rubs against you. If the size issue could be resolved, it would be easier to use wireless without cables getting in the way.

Earphone body. The exposed part of the ear canal is very thin.

Additionally, it has a noise reduction function (not general noise cancellation, but a “noise masking” function that layers certain sounds so that noise doesn't bother you), and it may cut off while you sleep. It has a “find earbuds” function that makes it easy to find them even if they disappear. With the wireless connection, I was worried that if the connection was cut off while I was sleeping, I might not be able to find them, but with this feature I can rest easy.

It fits as expected and makes me want to go to bed early!

Well, the Soundcore Sleep A20 has arrived. The sandy beige color doesn’t look like a gadget, or rather, it gives the impression of a makeup product. The circular design may enhance this impression. The neatly aligned earbuds and earcups give the case a somewhat elegant or subtle feel.

When you lightly move the case cover, it accelerates and opens quickly, allowing you to take out the earphones. When closing it, just swipe it lightly and it will close with a click. The level of satisfaction is increased by the pleasant feeling of the detailed mechanisms present here.

The case has a closed lid (USB port side). It's round, so it's a bit hard to figure out where to put it when charging, but it's stylish and pretty.

Try to install the main unit. The medium-sized earbuds and ear flaps that come with it initially seem to fit just fine. Ear flaps are the mounting parts used on very small earbuds, and are installed by resting on the cartilage at the bottom of the ear canal.

The earbuds don't have a strong sense of pressure, but they don't seem to fall out easily. I immediately took out my pillow and tried sleeping on my side. Even with the Soundcore Sleep A20 under my ear, there was almost no pressure and it didn't seem to cause any pain. As planned. I want to go to bed early!

Replacement earbuds and wings included.

Instructions on how to install it are in the accessory package.

Now, if you pair it with your smartphone, you can use it as a Bluetooth speaker right away. However, if you install the Soundcore app, you’ll be able to use more functions. One of these features is the “smart switch” that detects when you fall asleep, turns off Bluetooth pairing, and switches to a “sleep mode” that plays “sleep sounds” (described later), or turns off playback after a certain period of time. There’s also an alarm function that notifies you of your scheduled sleep time.

You can also use the “Find Earbuds” function from the app. The app also has a sleep monitoring feature. There are other sleep monitoring apps out there, but the Soundcore Sleep A20 has a gyroscopic sensor built into the earbud itself, which detects the user’s movements.

Screen to turn on Soundcore Sleep A20 while pairing using the Soundcore app

The “Find Earbuds” function allows you to play audio from the left and right sides.

Sleep Sound lets you sleep by playing your favorite environmental sounds.

A unique feature that can be used with the Soundcore Sleep A20 and Soundcore app is the “Sleep Sound” function in “Sleep Mode.” This does not act as a Bluetooth earbud, but instead plays audio data called “sleep sounds” stored on the device.

Another advantage is that when in “sleep mode”, there is no Bluetooth connection, thus extending the runtime (continuous playback time). However, it can run for up to 10 hours in Bluetooth mode and up to 14 hours in sleep mode, so I don’t think you need to think too hard about the runtime in either case for normal use.

This “sleep sound” doesn’t let you freely save your favorite audio files, but you can combine up to three different types of sounds provided by the app to create something like an “original mix of sleep sounds.” In addition to “white noise,” there are also traditional environmental sounds like “rain” and “wind,” depressing sounds like “fire” and “snow,” and sounds you’re not sure will help you sleep, like “spaceship” and “hair dryer.”

The only thing that caught my attention was the “cicadas”. I often hear stories like: “When I went to the countryside, I couldn't sleep because the cicadas were chirping in the middle of the night”, and I feel that it may not be popular, but I don't really care, and I can't sleep because the cicadas were chirping at night in the countryside. However, I don't like it so much that I want to actively listen to it while sleeping at home in the city…

Cicada species seem to be those that can be heard screaming most often during the day, such as the Minmin cicada. Although it does sometimes cry in the middle of the night, it might be assumed that using it for naps would give you a summer vacation feel. Personally, I think Higurashi would have been more moody. Additionally, since you can mix three types of sounds, you can create weird combinations like “spaceship + snowstorm + cicada.” If you’re interested, you might want to give it a try.

I tried some sounds, but found the overall volume too loud, and thought it would be nice to have the sounds intermittent. For me, the sound from the radio etc. sounds better.

Sleep Sound customization screen, choose from different sounds available

By adjusting the sound balance and transferring up to three types of sounds to the Soundcore Sleep A20, you can play them while you're in Sleep Mode.

Waking up in the middle of the night has decreased, and the amount of time I sleep has increased significantly.

In fact, since I started using the Soundcore Sleep A20, my sleep time has increased by about 1-2 hours, and I've woken up less during the night.

Lately, I've been waking up every 5-6 hours, and I thought it might be due to my age, but when I sleep with the Soundcore Sleep A20, I end up staying up for 6-7 hours, about 8 hours (thanks to this, I now set an alarm when I have plans in the morning). The noise cancellation seems to be particularly effective, and I think I'm less likely to wake up in response to small sounds. Also, just putting the earbuds in both ears probably has a sound-isolating effect.

I never find the earbuds coming off when I wake up (though it does happen occasionally), I don’t feel any pain around my ear canal even when I sleep on my side, and I don’t feel any discomfort from wearing the earbuds overnight (not at all (not necessarily). Earplugs would be fine if they were just for sound isolation, but earplugs don’t allow audio to play when you fall asleep, and the Soundcore Sleep A20 feels less uncomfortable than any other earplugs I’ve used. By the way, although I haven’t tried them yet, replacement earbuds are also available with improved sound isolation.

Sleep Monitoring Screen. I slept for about 8 hours that day. Since the data is obtained from the gyroscope sensor on the earbud itself, if the earbud is taken off while sleeping, the data may be unclear.

Of course, there are likely to be individual differences in these effects. The way you feel when sleeping on your side seems to vary depending on things like the shape of your head and ears and the firmness of your pillow. If you’re interested, please try it without having too high expectations.

Additionally, Anker released the “Soundcore Sleep A10” in October 2022, which I was not aware of. The main differences between the old A10 and the A20 introduced this time are the customization function for “sleep sounds,” the inclusion of the “find earbuds” function, increased wing variations, and longer continuous playback time based on time. The A10 is said to last up to 6 hours in Bluetooth mode and 10 hours in sleep mode.

The A10 is cheaper to buy, and many people probably don't need the “sleep sounds” customization, but they do want the “find earbuds” function, and the new A20 seems more comfortable to wear. Next, the A10 is available in one color, white, and the A20 in sand beige, so your color preference may also be a factor in your choice.

What about “everyday earphones”?

This product is not that cheap, so I wonder if it can be used outside of sleeping hours? Can this unit work as everyday earbuds? Some people might think so. I'm someone who doesn't want to touch my bed wearing the same clothes I got home from work in, so I wouldn't recommend this due to the mood.

However, I have tried it. Even if you wear it and walk around, it will not come off easily, and there will be no problems in daily use. It has IPX4 waterproof performance compared to ordinary earphones, and even if you lose it while moving, you can easily find it with the “Find my earphones” function.

However, the playback volume seems to be lower than that of regular earbuds. This seems to be due to the fact that the headphones themselves are small, making it difficult to produce strong sound. It works fine if you turn the volume up, but I feel like I'm forcing myself to do so.

Also, this is a personal and sensory experience, but if you wear in-ear headphones while sleeping at night, it's best to use a different type of headphones when you're awake so that they don't irritate the same part of your ear that felt comfortable.