Soundcore's New Headphones and Earbuds All Share One Tiny AI Brain

At IFA 2026 in Berlin, Soundcore announced four new audio products: the Space 2 Pro headphones, AeroClip 2 and AeroClip 2 Pro earbuds, and the Liberty Buds 2. All four are built around the same small processing chip from Anker, called Thus. Anker first introduced the Thus chip in April with its Liberty 5 Pro earbuds and is now spreading it across more of its product line (The Verge).

The Soundcore Space 2 Pro is the first headphones to use the Thus chip. The over-ear model uses 6 microphones for voice isolation and 8 microphones for active noise cancellation, which is the technology that reduces unwanted background sound. Soundcore claims the Space 2 Pro's noise cancellation is 1.5 times stronger than the previous model, the Space One Pro. The headphones support high-resolution audio via LDAC, a format that delivers better sound quality than standard Bluetooth audio. They also use Soundcore's HearID test to create a personalized sound profile for each listener. Battery life is rated at 60 hours of listening at 50 percent volume, 30 hours with noise cancellation on, or 20 hours of talk time on a single charge. The Space 2 Pro launches on September 22 for $200 in gray, white, and black, with availability in the US, EU, and UK (The Verge).

The AeroClip 2 earbuds also include the Thus chip and will retail for $170 in black, red, white, and blue at its September 22 launch. The AeroClip 2 Pro adds AI note-taking, which can record online meetings, phone calls, and in-person conversations. The Pro model uses 11mm dual-diaphragm drivers, supports LDAC hi-res audio, and provides about 10 hours of playback at 50 percent volume, with 30 hours total including the charging case. It comes with a free AI transcription plan providing 120 minutes per month for 24 months, with an option to pay for more transcription time after that. AeroClip 2 Pro pricing and a firm launch date were not announced; the product is expected later in the year (The Verge).

The Soundcore Liberty Buds 2 are lightweight 4.7-gram earbuds that include the Thus chip for call clarity and use a 6-microphone noise cancellation system. They will be available in purple, black, and white on September 22 for $130 (The Verge).

Anker describes the Thus chip as the world's first AI audio chip that uses a design called compute-in-memory (Anker). Think of it like doing calculations right where the information is stored, instead of constantly moving data back and forth between two separate areas. That saves power, which matters a lot in small battery-powered devices like earbuds. Designed specifically for wearables, Thus supports HearID 5.0, performing hearing profile analysis, audio detail restoration, and environment adaptation all at once on the chip itself (Anker). Anker says the chip delivers 150 times the computing performance of previous approaches. In Soundcore earbuds, the Thus chip uses 8 sensors to process over 384,000 noise signals per second, monitoring both the noise around you and the sound leaking inside your ear canal in real time (Anker). Before this announcement, Soundcore had already used 10 sensors and the Thus chip in its Space 2 earbuds to keep calls clear in environments louder than 100 decibels, which is roughly the volume of a lawnmower (Soundcore).

Beyond the audio lineup, Anker also launched an AI-powered home hub at IFA 2026 alongside the new Soundcore products (Tom's Guide).

The reason Anker is putting the Thus chip into all of these products is practical. Because the chip processes sound directly on the device, it does not need to send audio data to the internet and wait for a response. That means noise reduction happens instantly, with no delay. It also means your audio data stays on the device rather than being sent to remote servers, which is especially important for the AeroClip 2 Pro, since it records meetings and phone calls.

The transcription feature on the AeroClip 2 Pro is worth paying attention to. The consumer audio industry has mostly stayed away from charging monthly fees tied to hardware. By attaching a monthly minute limit to a pair of earbuds, Soundcore is introducing a recurring payment model that differs from the usual one-time purchase. The 24-month free period works like an extended trial, and how many people choose to pay for more minutes will likely determine whether this feature spreads to other Soundcore products.

The bigger story is that Soundcore is putting the same AI chip into every type of audio product at once, from open-clip earbuds to in-ear buds to full-size headphones. For anyone watching how custom AI chips move from high-end devices into more affordable products, the IFA 2026 lineup offers a clear example of that shift in action.