Description
The Soundcore Space A40 is Anker’s small adaptive noise cancelling earbud, first listed in August 2022 and still one of the most heavily rated sets in this catalog with 16,937 ratings behind a 4.2 out of 5 average. It is also one of the few listings here that names an audio codec. Where most budget earbuds ask you to take a high resolution claim on faith, Anker names LDAC and lets you check whether your phone can use it.
The listener this is built for
The Space A40 is a commuter and office earbud first. Anker built it small, quotes it as light as a sheet of paper, and ships five ear tip sizes with it, a wider fit range than almost anything else at this level. The recommended use in the attribute table is simply listening to music, and that is an accurate summary.
It is not a set for road running or cycling. It seals, it cancels, and both work against situational awareness. Anker describes a transparency behavior in its wider marketing for this line, but the listing captured here does not state a transparency mode, so it should not be assumed. Anyone who needs to hear traffic should look at an open design instead, such as the Soundcore V20i open ear headphones from the same brand, or the wider group in our open ear headphone reviews.
Connection, and the codec that actually matters
The listing does not state a Bluetooth version in its own field. What it does state is a compatibility requirement of devices with Bluetooth 5.2 and a USB C port, which implies a 5.2 radio. A Bluetooth version affects connection stability, power draw and profile support, not sound quality, so the more important line is the codec.
LDAC, and the condition attached to it
Anker states that the Space A40 can listen in LDAC mode for what it calls Hi-Res Audio Wireless sound. LDAC is Sony’s higher bitrate Bluetooth codec and it is the real thing, but it carries a condition the marketing never puts in the same sentence: both ends have to support it. LDAC is available on most modern Android phones, having been part of the Android open source project since Android 8. It is not available on any iPhone. Apple devices negotiate AAC or SBC, so an iPhone owner will not get LDAC and will not get the high resolution transport the bullet describes.
Below LDAC, SBC is the universal baseline and AAC is the codec that matters on Apple hardware. Anker does not state AAC support here, so an iPhone owner should confirm it rather than assume it. Multipoint pairing and wear detection are both absent from the published text. There is a companion app, which the attribute table confirms with a Control Method of App, and that is where EQ adjustment and mode switching would live.
Noise cancelling, and the 98 percent figure
Anker’s headline is that the Space A40 reduces noise by up to 98 percent, and that the system detects external noise and selects a cancellation level automatically. Take the 98 percent as an Anker figure with no test standard named, because none is. There is no reference to a measurement method, a frequency range or a test environment anywhere on the listing.
What matters is what active noise cancellation can and cannot do, because it is not one uniform thing. ANC works well against constant low frequency noise: engine drone, cabin rumble, air conditioning, train wheels. It works poorly against speech and sudden sounds, which are irregular and higher in frequency. No earbud makes an office silent or removes a conversation two desks away. An adaptive system changes how hard it works, not what it can work on. If the target is aircraft cabin noise, the Space A40 is aimed at the right problem. If the target is an open plan office full of talking, the ear tip seal does more of the work than the electronics.
Battery, split properly
Anker publishes both figures, which is more than most: 10 hours from a single charge of the buds and 50 hours in total once the case is counted. It also quotes a fast charge of 10 minutes for 4 hours of listening, and the case supports wireless charging.
The attribute table then contradicts itself twice. The Charging Time field reads 50 Hours, which is the playtime figure written into the charging field, and the Carrying Case Battery Average Life field reads 15 Hours, which cannot be reconciled with a 50 hour total against a 10 hour bud runtime, since that leaves 40 hours to come from the case. Name both errors rather than choosing: the bullets are internally consistent, the table is not.
Every quoted playtime is a best case number at moderate volume, and here there is an extra variable. Active noise cancellation costs battery, and the 50 hour figure is the cancellation off number. Expect meaningfully less with it running, and no separate figure is published for that.
Fit, tips, controls and the water question
Five ear tip sizes ship in the box, listed as XS, S, M, L and XL. That is the standout physical specification, because the seal decides perceived bass and also decides how well the cancelling performs. An earbud that does not seal loses low frequency isolation before the electronics get a chance, so working through all five sizes is the setup step that determines whether the product does what it claims. Few sets at this level ship five sizes, and three is the usual maximum, as on the Bcaikair i17 wireless earbuds.
Controls are confused in the attribute table, which lists Control Type as Volume Control, Control Method as App and Controller Type as Touch across three separate fields. The practical reading is touch controls on the buds with an app for configuration.
On water, the attribute table says Water Resistance Level: Waterproof and gives no IP code at all. That is not enough to make an immersion claim or to call the product waterproof in the ordinary sense. Anker states no IP rating anywhere on this listing, so the code is simply not published and should be confirmed on the packaging. Do not shower or swim in these on the strength of an unqualified attribute field. If a stated immersion code is a requirement, look at a sports specific set instead, such as the Soundcore Sport X20.
What is missing, what is odd, and the alternatives
The attribute table carries the usual import damage. A Theme field reads Movie, inherited from an unrelated product category. Item Weight is given as 18.14 grams and separately as 0.64 ounces, both describing the case with the buds inside rather than a bud. There is no driver size, no frequency response, no impedance and no sensitivity published, though the copy describes double layer diaphragm drivers.
One duplicate is worth flagging. This catalog carries a second Space A40 listing under a different ASIN, reviewed separately as the Soundcore Space A40 noise cancelling earbuds, and both share the same A3936 model number. Buyers should treat them as the same hardware sold through two listings. Within Anker’s own range, the Soundcore P40i is the newer and larger alternative, and the full comparison group sits in our wireless earbud reviews. The listing showed a rank of 237th in Electronics and 49th in earbud and in ear headphones when captured.
Who should buy it and who should not
Buy the Space A40 if you are on Android, want LDAC stated in writing, and want adaptive cancellation aimed at commuting noise. Five tip sizes, a 10 hour bud runtime and a wireless charging case make a coherent package for a desk and transit listener.
Skip it if you are on an iPhone and the LDAC line is what attracted you, because Apple hardware cannot use it. Skip it if you need a published IP rating, because there is not one here. And do not expect the 98 percent figure to translate into silence, because no active system removes speech and no test standard is named behind that number.
