Nothing Ear (3) vs Anker soundcore Liberty 5

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Ear (3) compared with Liberty 5

	NothingEar (3)	Anker soundcoreLiberty 5
Overview
Released
Released	September 2025	May 2025
Sound
Type
Type	In-ear	In-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	Yes
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	Yes
Spatial audio with head tracking
Spatial audio with head tracking	No	–
Driver size
Driver size	12 mm	9.2 mm
Impedance
Impedance	32 ohms	–
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC, AAC and LDAC	SBC, AAC and LDAC
Drivers
Drivers	12 mm dynamic driver with a patterned PMI dome and TPU surround; 20 Hz – 40 kHz frequency range	9.2 mm wool-paper diaphragm drivers with dual bass-enhancing tubes
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	Real-time adaptive ANC, up to 45 dB depth and 5000 Hz bandwidth (Nothing's figures); High, Mid, Low and Adaptive modes; Transparency mode and ear-tip fit test	Adaptive ANC 3.0 adjusts every 0.3 seconds; five strength levels, transport presets, wind-noise reduction and Transparency mode
Audio features
Audio features	Static spatial audio; Personal Sound hearing profile by Audiodo; advanced EQ, Dynamic Bass Enhancement and low-latency mode	Dolby Audio Music, Movie and Podcast modes; HearID 4.0 hearing profile; 8-band EQ and presets. Game mode cannot run alongside LDAC or Dolby Audio
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 5.5 hours	Up to 8 hours
With the case
With the case	Up to 22 hours	Up to 32 hours
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	Yes	Yes
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	AAC with ANC provides up to 5.5 hours, or 22 hours including case recharges; without ANC, 10 hours or 38 hours total. LDAC with ANC provides 3.5 hours, or 5.5 hours without ANC. Tested at 50% volume and 25°C; 55 mAh per bud and 500 mAh case	Up to 8 hours with ANC or Transparency, 32 hours including case recharges; 12 hours and 48 hours with ANC off. ANC with Dolby Audio provides 5 hours; dual connections with LDAC/Dolby Sound provide 4 hours (maker FAQ). Figures depend on settings, volume and source
Charging case
Charging case	USB-C charging to full in 70 minutes, or wireless charging in 120 minutes; case base made from 100% recycled aluminium	USB-C and wireless charging; maker FAQ gives 2.5 hours wired or 4 hours wireless with earbuds, while the user guide gives 3 hours wired or 4 hours wireless; earbuds charge in about 50 minutes
Fast charging
Fast charging	With ANC off, 10 minutes charging provides up to 10 hours including case recharges; 5 minutes provides up to 1 hour from earbuds alone	10 minutes in the case provides up to 5 hours of playback
Design
Weight (each earbud)
Weight (each earbud)	5.2 g	4.6 g (better)
Water and sweat resistance
Water and sweat resistance	IP54	IP55
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.4	5.4
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	Yes	Yes
Controls
Controls	Customisable pinch controls and in-ear detection; TALK button selects the case Super Mic	Customisable pressure controls on each stem; wearing detection; case pairing button and battery indicator
Microphones
Microphones	Three MEMS microphones and a voice pickup unit per bud; dual-microphone Super Mic in the case for calls and voice notes	Six microphones with AI call-noise reduction and wind-resistant processing
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Four sizes of silicone ear tips (XS, S, M and L)	Silicone ear tips in XXS, XS, S, M, L and XL; fit test in the app
Case weight
Case weight	Earbuds and case together weigh 71.4 g; standalone case weight not specified	47.9 g (global launch specification)
Dimensions
Dimensions	Each bud 30.5 × 21.5 × 20.75 mm (H × W × D); case 55.5 × 55.5 × 22.25 mm (H × W × D)	Each bud 33.11 × 21.96 × 24.99 mm; case 59.24 × 59.26 × 28.71 mm (global launch specification)
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	IP54 for both earbuds and case	IP55 applies to earbuds only; case rating not published
Works with
Works with	Nothing X app; Android 6.0 or later and iOS 13 or later; two-device connection, Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair. Essential Space voice-note transcription and ChatGPT integration require compatible Nothing OS devices	soundcore app for Android and iOS; Google Fast Pair; two-device connection, including with LDAC or Dolby Audio; single-earbud use supported by the current maker FAQ
Colours
Colours	Black, White	Ink Black, Cloud White, Abyss Blue and Rose Apricot; UK store labels these Black, White, Blue and Apricot
In the box
In the box	Earbuds, charging case, four sizes of ear tips, USB-C cable, safety information and user guide	Earbuds, charging case, six sizes of ear tips, USB-C cable and user guide