Soundcore's new earbuds put an AI note-taker in the charging case

The interesting bit of Soundcore's new Liberty 5 Pro Max is not the earbuds. It is the case. Anker's audio brand has built a 1.78-inch AMOLED touchscreen into the charging case, given it its own microphone and speaker, and added an AI Note-Taker that records the conversation happening around you, transcribes it, and spits out a summary with key points and action items.

The buds themselves are the same ones you get in the $169.99 Liberty 5 Pro. So the $60 you pay on top for the Pro Max, which lands at $229.99, is almost entirely for that smart case and what it can do.

Who this is for

If you sit through a lot of meetings, lectures or interviews and want a record without juddering open a phone app, this is a neat trick. The case becomes a discreet voice recorder that does the tidying-up for you. Reviewers have been impressed with the noise cancelling and the call quality too, and the standard Liberty 5 Pro picked up a Guinness World Record in April for the highest objective speech-quality score on true wireless earbuds.

The honest caveat

Recording the room raises the obvious question: everyone else in that room is being recorded too. AI note-takers are spreading fast, and the etiquette has not caught up. A device that captures and transcribes by default is genuinely useful and slightly awkward at the same time, and where you can legally record a conversation depends on where you live.

Skip the Pro Max if you just want very good earbuds, because the cheaper Liberty 5 Pro gives you the same sound for $60 less. Buy it if the note-taking case solves a real problem you have, rather than because it is the shiny new thing in the lineup.

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