What you need to know
- Soundcore VR P10 Bluetooth earbuds are designed to work with gaming consoles, VR headsets, and any other normal device you would pair Bluetooth earbuds with.
- Parent company Anker touted the ability to use these earbuds on VR headsets thanks to a USB Type-C dongle that switches the earbuds to a 2.4GHz signal.
- Bluetooth headphones don’t normally play well with VR because of the audio latency in the Bluetooth codec.
At an Anker event in NYC last week, I got the chance to see a brand-new earbud concept from Soundcore, a company owned by popular accessory maker Anker. But these aren’t just any old “gaming” earbuds. These are Bluetooth earbuds touted specifically for VR usage, something that has never before been feasible.
Soundcore VR P10 earbuds, as they’re called, are scheduled to be available later this year and should solve a major pain point for Oculus Quest 2 (opens in new tab) users. If you’ve ever taken a look at our guide for the best Quest 2 headphones (opens in new tab) (or any other similar guide), you’ll notice that all of them use a short wire to connect to the 3.5mm jack or USB Type-C port on the side of the headset.
That’s because Bluetooth connections always have too much latency. Oftentimes, true wireless earbuds — like the design of the Soundcore VR P10 earbuds — have a latency between 100 and 300 milliseconds, meaning a full 1/3 of a second can go by before you hear the sound of whatever is happening on the display of your VR headset (or smartphone’s screen). This is an inherent trait in Bluetooth headphones that has yet to be overcome and can make people very sick in VR.
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But these Soundcore VR P10 earbuds are different. As you’ll notice in the pictures above, they come with a small USB Type-C dongle that clicks into the side port of the Quest 2, switching the earbuds from Bluetooth to a 2.4GHz wireless signal. As we know from video game controllers, 2.4GHz is superior for signal speed. In fact, this switch can bring the latency down from 100ms (at best for Bluetooth earbuds) down to single digits in ideal scenarios.
That dongle tucks safely away inside the Soundcore VR P10’s case, which you can also see in the pictures above, and could make for the ideal pair of headphones once Anker is able to launch them later this year. They also make an excellent pair of earbuds for something like a Nintendo Switch with its bottom-facing USB Type-C port. Hopefully, Soundcore can deliver.
If you don’t care about removable earbuds, Logitech Chorus is the best way to get incredibly high-quality sound on your Meta Quest 2 while having the added convenience of built-in speakers.
