Anker’s Soundcore Frames are wireless earbuds that look like sunglasses

Soundcore Frames by Anker look like regular sunglasses, or blue-light glasses, with the twist being that there’s a speaker in each stem for listening to audio. Bose and Ray-Ban both make audio frames with speakers in them; it’s a growing category of gadgets. Each brand seems to have carved out an area of interest. For example, Bose’s best effort is geared toward sports use, while Ray-Ban partnered with Facebook and included cameras on its frames to capture creativity. The thing these Soundcore Frames have going for them is that there’s no other gimmick. These are essentially wireless earbuds for listening to audio, but they don’t go in your ears.

The Soundcore Frames aren’t about undercutting any price or improving the audio quality—they are all about offering an alternative way to listen. I’ve spoken to several people who just can’t wear most earbuds due to lack of comfort and fit, and this device could address those concerns. But I also know people who have very specific uses for needing to hear audio without something in their ears. In these cases, the Soundcore Frames could be an interesting solution.

That said, Soundcore doesn’t currently offer any direct solutions for prescription lenses. Soundcore’s frames are interchangeable. Their lenses are not. There’s no mention of prescription on the site.

The actual audio quality isn’t fantastic and sound will leak to other people around you if the volume is too loud, but these audio glasses are still an attractive proposition for the right people.

TL;DR

Pros:

• A wide array of Interchangeable Frames styles available
• Auto on and off from wear detection works well

Cons:

• The proprietary charging cable isn’t ideal
• Rich sound quality is lacking
• No ability to accommodate prescription lenses

Buy at Best Buy.

Soundcore Frames Fit and Style

The Soundcore Frames from Anker are made up of two wireless stems that click into a front lens piece—what Anker calls Interchangeable Frames. The arms don’t need to be connected to work and really emphasize how similar in functionality they are to wireless earbuds—just a different shape.

This modular design is one reason you might select these audio glasses over a competing version. The stems can click into small or large size sunglasses frames or blue-light filtering frames for indoor use. The stems, with the speakers, come only in black.

The speaker stems aren’t too bulbous or heavy, making them comfortable for me. I had no problem using the blue-light frames for hours at a time while working.

There are several that I don’t mind, but none that I love. If you’re curious enough about how the styles will look on you before buying, you can do a virtual try-on. Personally, I think the smaller, female-focused designs look the best. I appreciate that there are more than a few choices available.

Using Soundcore Frames

It’s important to stress that all the audio glasses I’ve tried—and not just these—leak sound to the people around you. Some do a better job of keeping the audio personal, but this type of device might not be quite right for use in all locations.

Though the Frames leak sound doesn’t mean they aren’t great for some situations. I wore them regularly during times I was expecting a call or times I was constantly going back and forth between listening to music and watching videos on my phone. I found this kind of device was more pleasant than constantly putting in and taking out earbuds. These also worked well when I needed a break from the ear fatigue that comes with devices on or in your ears.

The Soundcore Frames are, of course, primarily an audio product, but the sound quality isn’t great. In fact, I would categorize the sound as adequate at best. Even mobile phone speakers are louder and possibly have better fidelity than the ones crammed into the stems here. Still, the sound being bad isn’t a deal breaker, because the whole package of looks, function and sound goes toward serving the product’s utilitarian purpose.

Music doesn’t sound great unless it’s just being used as casual, background noise. Podcasts and audiobooks, which typically already suffer from mediocre production, are perfectly fine but will probably need to be turned up quite loud. Phone calls are the highlight use case for the Frames. The microphone quality was good, so people had no problem hearing me speak, and I had no problem hearing them. Using the blue-light version of these glasses could be a really solid use for people on audio or video calls all day.

To start listening, just place the Frames on your face to turn on—and take them off when you’re done. This wear detection provides automatic power functionality that worked great most of the time. Still, I found the lack of any power button or switch to be slightly annoying: It caused me to wait and see if they really turned off a minute or two after being removed from my head.

All the controls for the Frames are on each of the stems. The Soundcore app allows for these touch controls to be changed and customized. The control gestures include a double and triple tap along with a slide forward and slide back. I think these are good control options, even though I found it confusing to remember whether I had programmed the left or the right side for volume and whether sliding forward or backward would raise or lower the volume. (You can turn off any controls you don’t want in the Soundcore app.)

There are quite a few subpar aspects of this product, but the one I have the biggest problem with is the way the Frames charge using a proprietary charging cable. The cable that comes in the box has an old USB-A connector on one end and magnetic induction charging on the other side. Each stem has a charging contact point and needs to be connected. It’s clunky and hard to use. If each stem isn’t folded in right, the cable won’t reach the other one.

On the plus side, the battery life was as advertised with 5.5 hours of constant listening. So, hopefully, using the charging cable stays at a minimum.

Should You Buy Soundcore Frames by Anker?

The Soundcore Frames should be seen as a specialized type of wireless earbuds. They can work great for very specific situations or needs. But the Frames probably can’t carry the weight of a primary listening device. They are the most appealing when they are used to compliment an existing pair of wireless earbuds. For example, these are an ideal product for someone working at home who regularly takes virtual meetings.

The problem that these audio glasses encounter is that they’re expensive for a narrow use or a secondary listening product. I’m glad there are multiple audio glasses available on the market for people who need them, but I don’t think the number of people who really need them is very large.

Buy at Best Buy for $199.99.

Newsweek may earn a commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. We participate in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.