Fan Favorite Anker Is Phasing Out Its Soundcore Brand
The decision to retire the Soundcore name (which has been a staple in this space since 2014, can you believe it) stems from a fundamental naming conflict. For headphones and Bluetooth speakers, the branding works great, but not so much when you have something like the Nebula projector series under that lineup. Understandably, Nebula projectors were initially niche, small volume products, but now that the business has grown exponentially, such as with the recent launch of the Nebula X1 Pro 4K mobile theater, company leadership felt the audio-only name no longer accurately represented the breadth of the hardware, thus the change to Anker Audio-Visual.
This rebranding is currently rolling out across China, with local social media accounts and press releases confirming the immediate shift. Beyond just a name change, the move involves integrating customer service accounts and digital content streams directly into the main Anker ecosystem.
For existing users, however, the impact is purely cosmetic. Anker assured customers that the transition will be gradual, with products sporting both the old Soundcore and new Anker branding appearing on shelves simultaneously for several months. There are no reported changes to product specifications, warranties, or software support during this period either.
Just days before this announcement, Anker unveiled its Thus chip, a proprietary AI silicon designed to deliver 150 times more computing power for noise cancellation and spatial audio processing, debuting in the upcoming Liberty 5 Pro series. But, one can expect that Thus (as well as other tech developments) will be integrated into new products within the Anker family. It feels like yesterday when Anker/Soundcore was the budget accessory king, but now it appears that the company is also slowly positioning itself to compete more directly with premium tech giants.
As for the global rollout of "Anker Audio-Visual", no official schedule has been released, although we expect the soundcore brand to disappear from Western markets like the US and UK by the end of this year.
If you'd like to check out some current Anker/Soundcore deals, we got you covered:
- soundcore Nebula X1 Pro Triple Laser Projector (currently $4,299)
- Nebula X1 4K Projector (currently $2,199)
- soundcore P31i (currently $36.99)
