The affordable wireless earbuds I use every day are $19 right now, a price so right that I'm buying backups

(Image credit: anker)

My experience with wireless earbuds has taught me that springing for the extra expensive ones that go with my phone doesn't make a lick of difference when it comes to longevity. I've had two pairs of Airpods and one pair of Pixel Buds that have all crapped out in less than a year, either because they stopped keeping a charge, developed signal issues, or got quieter over time.

That's why these days, I don't pay more than $30 for wireless buds I expect to crap out on me. That was the idea behind picking up a pair of Anker Soundcore P20i earbuds earlier this year, which are on sale for $18.99 during Cyber Monday. So far, they're beating my expectations.

This sale price is over half off MSRP, but in reality it's just a dollar less than what they usually go for ($19.99). Don't let the lack of a huge discount deter you—much like Anker's other reasonably priced tech, these cheap buds swing above their weight class. They're comfortable, boast a decent battery life, and sound good enough to support my podcast habit.

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Indeed, the output of the P20i's speakers aren't impressive for music. The bass is weak, they get a little blown out at full volume, and this model doesn't have bells and whistles like sound cancelling or "pass through" mode (though the $25 P30i upgrade model does). As someone who has had much nicer earbuds with those features, I'm here to say I don't miss them, and appreciate that I don't have to treat my P20i's like a fragile investment. If they wear down a year from now, I'll get another pair. In fact, I already have as of this morning.

But I suspect these budget buds will actually last longer than ones that cost five times more. If you're familiar with Anker's game, the P20i's surprising quality for the price won't actually be all that surprising. Seven years ago I bought a $20 Anker speaker that still works perfectly and keeps a long charge. Quality like that makes me a customer for life.

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Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.

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