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Tune Buds
Company ProductName Specs




Life Q30
Company ProductName Specs




What we think

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

If portability and exercising are priorities for you, the JBL Tune Buds would serve you well since they are sweatproof and offer a secure fit, which is ideal for active use. However, if you value noise isolation for environments like air travel or wish to enjoy a better overall sound quality and comfort for longer listening periods, the Soundcore Life Q30 headphones might be more suitable. They also come with active noise cancelling, which the JBL lacks, and a longer battery life. Nonetheless, for those who prefer not having something over their head and require a pair that is optimized for both Android and Apple devices, the JBL Tune Buds are a strong contender. 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 JBL Tune Buds
  • Good for exercise
Advantages of the Soundcore Life Q30
  • Good for music

Key differences

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Music

6.2
Tune Buds
Life Q30
7.1
The Soundcore Life Q30 is good for music, while the JBL Tune Buds is only fair.

Podcasts and Audiobooks

5.8
Tune Buds
Life Q30
4.8
The JBL Tune Buds and Soundcore Life Q30 are both poor for podcasts and audiobooks, though the JBL Tune Buds is somewhat better.

TV and Video

6.1
Tune Buds
Life Q30
5.4
The JBL Tune Buds is only fair for TV and video, while the Soundcore Life Q30 is poor.

Noise Reduction

6.7
Tune Buds
Life Q30
8.7
The Soundcore Life Q30 is very good for noise reduction, while the JBL Tune Buds is only fair.

Battery

10.4 Hours
Tune Buds
Life Q30
44.0 Hours
The JBL Tune Buds has 10.4 hours of battery life. The Soundcore Life Q30 has 44 hours of battery life.

Cost

$50
Tune Buds
Life Q30
$80
Product image
Product image

$0

$20

$40

$60

$80

$100

The JBL Tune Buds has a price of $50 and the Soundcore Life Q30 costs $80.
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Key similarities

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Gaming

5.4
Tune Buds
Life Q30
5.3
The JBL Tune Buds and Soundcore Life Q30 are both poor for gaming.

Phone Calls

4.9
Tune Buds
Life Q30
5.1
The Soundcore Life Q30 and JBL Tune Buds are both poor for phone calls.

Build Quality

8.5
Tune Buds
Life Q30
8.0
The JBL Tune Buds and Soundcore Life Q30 both have very good build quality.

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How the JBL Tune Buds and the Soundcore Life Q30 compare to other earbuds and headphones

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Spec Comparison

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JBL Tune BudsSoundcore Life Q30
JBL Tune BudsSoundcore Life Q30

GENERAL

Price
$50
$80
Brand
JBLSoundcore
Release Date
May 1, 2023August 1, 2020
Form Factor
EarbudsHeadphones
Connectivity
WirelessWired + Wireless

SOUND

Music Score
6.3/107.2/10
Phone Calls Score
4.9/105.2/10
Gaming Score
5.5/105.3/10
TV and Video Score
6.1/105.4/10
Exercise Score
7.6/105.3/10

PERFORMANCE

Battery life
10.4 Hours44 Hours
Wireless charging
NoNo
Charging time
2 Hours1.7 Hours
Bluetooth version
5.35
Case Battery Life
30N/A

FEATURES

Active Noise Cancelling
YesYes
Noise Reduction Score
6.8/108.8/10
Virtual Surround
NoN/A
Android App
YesYes
iOS App
YesYes
Mic Quality
6/108/10

BUILD AND DESIGN

Build Quality
8.5/108/10
Comfort score
7/107.6/10
Size
LargeN/A
Weight (headset or single earbud)
10.8 Grams263 Grams
Microphone style
IntegratedIntegrated

Shopping

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JBL Tune Buds

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Dig into reviews and images

PC Mag

Tim Gideon | September 2023
"JBL’s Tune Buds stick with the company’s signature bass-heavy sound by default, but a quality in-app EQ lets you sculpt the audio to taste. These noise-cancelling true wireless earphones also mitigate environmental distractions fairly well for the price and offer good battery life. If you're specifically seeking bold, bass-tuned audio out of the box, the Tune Buds are worth a listen."

Soundcore Life Q30

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Dig into reviews and images

Headphones Addict

Peter Susic | December 2021
"Every once in a while, headphones with an excellent price/performance ratio arrive that truly deserves all attention. Anker Soundcore Life Q30 are one of those headphones. Of course, they aren’t perfect, but they do most things better than their competition. Or they give you the option to make them better."

Get a great deal on the JBL Tune Buds or the Soundcore Life Q30

About JBL

JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer. Owned by Harman International which is, itself, owned by Samsung Electronics. JBL markets a wide array of monitoring speakers, professional headphones and consumer market headphones and earbuds. It was founded in 1946 by James Bullough Lansing (whose initials give the company its name) and has become one of the most prolific audio companies ever. Their products were responsible for audio during the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

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
95,000
Recommendations made
14,250
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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