The charging case folds out into a phone stand, which is the kind of small idea that turns out to matter more than the spec sheet. The Soundcore P30i lists at $49.99 and frequently sells for half that, and for the money you get active noise cancelling rated up to 42dB, 10mm drivers with Anker’s BassUp processing, Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint, and IP54 for sweat and splashes. Battery is 10 hours a bud with cancelling off, or about 7 with it on, and 45 or 30 hours respectively once the case is counted. Four microphones, touch controls, and 22 EQ presets in the app.
Sound is bass-forward as you’d expect from anything with BassUp in the name, and owners consistently describe it as clear and punchy for the money. There’s a full custom EQ in the Soundcore app alongside the presets, plus a 3D sound mode, and the custom EQ is worth ten minutes because the defaults lean heavy. The cancelling is real, peaking around 100Hz where engine and traffic rumble live, which is exactly where you want it on a bus. It isn’t going to silence a coffee shop conversation, but it takes the bottom out of a commute convincingly.
The case is the genuinely clever bit, and it’s the thing I miss on every other pair I own. A separate back panel folds out into a stand, so you can prop your phone up on a tray table or a desk without carrying anything extra, and once you’ve used it a few times you notice its absence on other earbuds. Comfort gets good reports even from people who struggle with earbuds generally. The complaints are the sort you’d expect at this price. Several owners report real battery falling short of the marketing, the included charging cable is comically short at about four inches, and some found the silicone tip covers work themselves loose.
Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint means a laptop and a phone can both stay connected, and single-earbud use works if you want one ear free. The touch controls can be oversensitive, so expect a few accidental pauses in the first week. Two things worth knowing before you order: microphone pickup is reported as unreliable when you’re using only one bud with the other in the case, and some owners report the case failing to reconnect properly to the buds after its own battery has fully drained.
These make sense for anyone who wants noise cancelling and doesn’t want to spend real money on it, especially commuters and anyone who watches things on a phone away from a desk. The stand really does earn its place. Skip them if you need best-in-class cancelling, or if you want to trust the battery numbers on the box. Owners who’ve tried both suggest the newer P31i is worth the few extra dollars. But at this price, with a working ANC and a phone stand in your pocket, the P30i is hard to fault.
Pros
• Real noise cancelling for around fifty dollars or less
• Charging case folds out into a phone stand
• Multipoint, IP54, and full custom EQ in the app
• Comfortable even for people who dislike most earbuds
Cons
• Real battery often falls short of the claims
• Touch controls are oversensitive at first
• The included charging cable is only a few inches long
• Mic gets unreliable when using a single bud
Our score: 7.5/10