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Zen Air
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Life P3
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What we think

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The PerfectRec Earbuds or Headphones team Learn more
Updated April 11, 2024·

If you're looking for a budget-friendly option, the Creative Labs Zen Air is the more economical choice. These earbuds offer good overall sound quality and excellent build quality, making them robust for everyday use. They're suitable for air travel and exercise due to their sweatproof certification and active noise cancelling feature, which can help block out ambient noise. However, they may not be the best for making calls or engaging in media consumption like gaming or watching TV, as they have been noted to perform poorly in those areas. On the other hand, the Soundcore Life P3 earbuds are a bit more expensive but provide excellent noise isolation and have a longer battery life, which is handy for extended use without the need for frequent charging. They also come with app control customization options and are optimized for both Android and Apple devices. Yet, just like the Zen Air, they don't excel in call quality or gaming suitability. In summary, if cost and build quality are your priorities, and you need them for active use or travel, the Creative Labs Zen Air could be the better option. But if you can stretch your budget for better noise isolation, battery life, and customizable controls, consider the Soundcore Life P3 instead. Both options are sound investments for someone who doesn’t prioritize call quality or gaming with their earbuds. Give Feedback

this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Creative Labs Zen Air
  • The Creative Labs Zen Air has no clear advantages over the Soundcore Life P3.
Advantages of the Soundcore Life P3
  • Very good for exercise

Key differences

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Music

6.8
Zen Air
Life P3
5.7
The Creative Labs Zen Air is only fair for music, while the Soundcore Life P3 is poor.

Podcasts and Audiobooks

5.4
Zen Air
Life P3
5.9
The Soundcore Life P3 and Creative Labs Zen Air are both poor for podcasts and audiobooks, though the Soundcore Life P3 is somewhat better.

Noise Reduction

7.0
Zen Air
Life P3
9.1
The Soundcore Life P3 is excellent for noise reduction, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is good.

Battery

5.0 Hours
Zen Air
Life P3
7.0 Hours
The Creative Labs Zen Air has 5 hours of battery life. The Soundcore Life P3 has 7 hours of battery life.

Cost

$30
Zen Air
Life P3
$70
Product image
Product image

$0

$20

$40

$60

$80

$100

The Creative Labs Zen Air has a price of $30 and the Soundcore Life P3 costs $70.
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Key similarities

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Gaming

5.1
Zen Air
Life P3
5.1
The Soundcore Life P3 and Creative Labs Zen Air are both poor for gaming.

Phone Calls

5.1
Zen Air
Life P3
5.1
The Soundcore Life P3 and Creative Labs Zen Air are both poor for phone calls.

TV and Video

5.6
Zen Air
Life P3
5.5
The Creative Labs Zen Air and Soundcore Life P3 are both poor for TV and video.

Build Quality

9.0
Zen Air
Life P3
8.8
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Creative Labs Zen Air to have excellent build quality, while the Soundcore Life P3 has very good build quality.

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We’re constantly working to improve.

How the Creative Labs Zen Air and the Soundcore Life P3 compare to other earbuds and headphones

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Spec Comparison

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Creative Labs Zen AirSoundcore Life P3
Creative Labs Zen AirSoundcore Life P3

GENERAL

Price
$30
$70
Brand
Creative LabsSoundcore
Release Date
December 1, 2022June 1, 2021
Form Factor
EarbudsEarbuds
Connectivity
WirelessWireless

SOUND

Music Score
6.9/105.8/10
Phone Calls Score
5.1/105.1/10
Gaming Score
5.1/105.2/10
TV and Video Score
5.7/105.5/10
Exercise Score
6.9/108.4/10

PERFORMANCE

Battery life
5 Hours7 Hours
Wireless charging
YesYes
Charging time
2 Hours0.8 Hours
Bluetooth version
55
Case Battery Life
1235

FEATURES

Active Noise Cancelling
YesYes
Noise Reduction Score
7/109.1/10
Virtual Surround
YesNo
Android App
YesYes
iOS App
YesYes
Mic Quality
7/106.5/10

BUILD AND DESIGN

Build Quality
9/108.8/10
Comfort score
7/107.6/10
Size
MediumSmall
Weight (headset or single earbud)
5 Grams4.5 Grams
Microphone style
IntegratedIntegrated

Shopping

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Creative Labs Zen Air

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Dig into reviews and images

Headphone Check

Maike Paeßens | February 2023
"The Creative Zen Air’s weak points are its low battery life and rather short Bluetooth range. On the other hand, the strengths of these weatherproof True Wireless in-Ears are the sound and the wide attenuation of the Active Noise Cancellation. Considering the price range, the speech intelligibility during calls is also exceptionally good."

Soundcore Life P3

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Dig into reviews and images

Tom's Guide

Alex Bracetti | July 2021
"Anker continues its trend of stealth releases, recently dropping the Soundcore Life P3 out of nowhere. This product essentially replaces the disappointing Life A2 NC as the brand’s flagship ANC model under $100. It comes with bassy audio and enough features to give even the best noise-cancelling earbuds pause."

Get a great deal on the Creative Labs Zen Air or the Soundcore Life P3

About Creative Labs

Creative Labs is a Singaporean technology company specialized in the manufacture of multimedia products. They created the world-famous Soundblaster soundcard back in 1989 which was a staple of the gaming community for a long time. Nowadays, besides still marketing their discrete audio systems, they offer a wide array of headphones, gaming headsets and speakers that still preserve that same heritage.

About Soundcore

Soundcore is a sub-brand belonging to Anker Innovations. Starting in 2014, initially marketing wireless, Bluetooth, speakers, Anker now offers an array of, budget-friendly, wireless earbuds and headphones that directly compete, especially in the Active Noise Canceling field, with other brands several times as expensive.

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Why trust us

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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.

By the numbers

108
Earbuds and headphones evaluated
11,340
Earbuds and headphones stats compiled
15
Proprietary Earbuds and headphones ratings developed
94,700
Recommendations made
14,205
Consumer hours saved

About the Earbuds or Headphones team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and Earbuds and Headphones Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Luis Torres

Earbuds and Headphones Expert
Luis is a Mexico-based headphones expert. He’s been making headphone recommendations for five years and has close to 100 pairs in his personal collection.

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