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Soundcore Sleep A20 Review: The Best Sleep Earbuds

Soundcore Sleep A20
Soundcore Sleep A20

I’m an extremely light sleeper, easily woken up by my partner’s snoring, hotel room doors slamming, or any small disturbance. I’ve tried all kinds of earplugs, but nothing really helped me fall (and stay) asleep until I tried sleep earbuds. Sleep earbuds, as the name implies, are earbuds designed to be worn by sleeping. They’re comfortable to wear while lying down (even on your side) and play noise-masking sounds that block out external sounds. I became addicted to Bose’s Sleepbuds (the original sleep earbuds) but mine ended up breaking and Bose unfortunately discontinued them, so I turned to Anker’s Soundcore Sleep A20. This is my honest review. 

Soundcore Sleep A20 Earbuds vs. A10 Earbuds

The Soundcore Sleep A10 Earbuds were Anker’s first sleep earbuds model. It’s since been discontinued for their newest version, the Soundcore Sleep A20.

Soundcore Sleep A20 Pros

Soundcore Sleep vs Bose Sleepbuds vs Ozlo Sleepbuds
  • Can be used in Bluetooth mode to play your own audio, or in Sleep mode to stream downloaded noise-masking sounds
  • Ability to create your own custom noise-masking sounds
  • Wide variety of noise-masking and white noise sounds to choose from
  • Extremely long battery life, can actually last up to 14 hours on sleep mode
  • Comfortable even if you’re a side sleeper (unless you have very small ears)
  • Case is small and lightweight
  • Uses USB-C to charge
  • Adjustable volume is definitely loud enough to block out all noise
  • Can set multiple alarms so you can wake up without waking anyone else up
  • Charging case battery lasts for up to 80 hours
  • Find your device feature plays a loud noise in case you lose an earbud in your bed or at night

Soundcore Sleep A20 Cons

Soundcore Sleep Size
  • Bigger than other sleep earbuds on market; may be uncomfortable if you have small ears
  • White noise cuts out for about a minute before the alarm goes off
  • Light indicator does not show if both earbuds are charging, it can be easy to not put one earbud on the charger correctly and have it be dead when you need it
  • Sound quality is not as good as the Bose or Ozlo sleepbuds
  • Sleep tracking app is not very accurate
  • No active noise cancelling 

Soundcore Sleep A20 Overall Review

Soundcore Sleep A20 comparison with Bose Sleepbuds and Ozlo Sleepbuds

Overall, I recommend the Soundcore Sleep A20. Out of all the sleep earbuds I’ve tried (including Bose and Ozlo), these are the only ones that have not had any issues for the year that I’ve had them. They also have the longest battery life by far out of any sleep earbuds, lasting up to 14 hours on one charge. I’ve worn them on sleep mode for up to 12 hours (when I was sick and needed a lot of sleep, don’t judge!) and they did not die.

I love the ability to customize white noise sounds, and Soundcore’s library has lots of random noises you can mix together (such as teethbrushing, typing, and buttering toast.) I stick to the more standard rain and white noise blend. The volume is more than enough to drown out noises (I keep mine at 44% and it works well.) I also really like the built-in alarm, so I can get up early without waking up my partner. 

I found Soundcore’s sleep-tracking app, however, to be completely useless. It measures sleep based on movement, and I find it to be very inaccurate. For example, if you can’t sleep, but are lying in bed still, it will count it as sleep time, and if you toss and turn in your sleep, the app will count that as awake time. If you just want earbuds that will drown out noise while you sleep, these are a great choice, but you may want to use something else to track sleep.

I have fairly small ears, and my right ear is slightly smaller than my left ear. I find the A20s to be uncomfortable in my right ear after wearing them for more than a few hours, but completely comfortable in my left ear. If you have very small ears, you may want to try on the earbuds for comfort before committing. 

Finally, the A20s can be switched between Bluetooth mode (where you can listen to your own music) or Sleep mode (only streaming Soundcore’s downloaded white noise) by tapping on the sleep earbuds. This is a nice feature, but also annoying as it’s very sensitive, and I’ve accidentally switched between the two in the middle of the night. I fixed this by changing the tap controls in the app to correspond with volume, but you can turn it off completely if it bothers you.

Where to Buy Soundcore Sleep

If you’re looking to find the Sleep A20 at a discount, check Amazon’s refurbished section, where you can find heavily discounted, like-new sleep earbuds.  

Otherwise, I recommend buying directly from Soundcore’s website, as they have a 30-day price match policy and an easy warranty policy.

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