The charging case for Soundcore's newest earbuds can do something most earbuds cases can't: record a meeting and hand you a transcript, without your phone anywhere nearby.

TL;DR: Soundcore launched the Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max on May 21, 2026, built around Anker's new Thus AI chip and Adaptive ANC 4.0. The Pro Max adds a 1.78-inch AMOLED touchscreen charging case that can record meetings independently and generate transcripts via the Soundcore app, priced at €249.99.

The chip doing the heavy lifting

Both the Liberty 5 Pro and Pro Max are the first products built around Anker's co-developed Thus AI chip, which the company claims delivers up to 150 times the processing power of Soundcore's previous flagship generation. That on-device power is what enables Adaptive ANC 4.0: an eight-microphone array processing audio data up to 384,000 times per second, continuously monitoring both outside noise and residual sound that leaks into the ear canal, adjusting the cancellation curve in real time rather than applying a fixed profile.

The case is the real story on the Pro Max

The Liberty 5 Pro Max's distinguishing feature is its charging case: a 1.78-inch AMOLED touchscreen that Soundcore is billing as a world-first for earbuds. The case can record meetings directly — without the phone present — and then hand that audio off to the Soundcore app afterward to generate transcripts, identify individual speakers, and extract action items. For anyone who's left their phone in another room during a meeting and lost the recording, that's a genuinely practical use case rather than a gimmick feature.

Pricing

The Liberty 5 Pro Max is priced at €249.99, positioning it in the upper-mid tier of true wireless earbuds rather than ultra-premium territory, despite the touchscreen case and dedicated AI chip.

Key Takeaways

  • Soundcore's Liberty 5 Pro and Pro Max launched May 21, 2026, built around Anker's new Thus AI chip.
  • Adaptive ANC 4.0 uses an eight-microphone array processing audio 384,000 times per second for real-time noise cancellation adjustment.
  • The Pro Max's 1.78-inch AMOLED touchscreen case can record meetings independently and generate transcripts via the Soundcore app.
  • The Liberty 5 Pro Max is priced at €249.99.

Conclusion

The AI chip and improved ANC are solid generational upgrades, but the touchscreen case's standalone recording feature is the part that actually changes how you'd use the product day to day — assuming the transcription accuracy holds up in real-world testing once units are in more hands.