Even before the pandemic, I was a work at home person and worked at home permanently since 2014.  Headphones are essential to a workday with multiple Zoom calls and I always make sure to have at least 2 headsets that will work for Zoom. My normal set, an Avantree AH-6B had an issue and needed to be replaced under warranty but I still had a day or so until the new set would get here so I decided to pick up Anker’s Soundcore Q20 Bluetooth Headphones and see if they’d work as a great backup.

The design of these is like most over the ear headphones.  It has nice soft cups that go around my ears and they are comfortable to wear for short periods but where they become uncomfortable is when you have them on for extended periods of time.  The issue isn’t that they become uncomfortable but my ears get really hot! I am used to more open headphone designs and these completely seal around the ears so when it’s warmer in my office my ears roast in these. Other then that I like the controls with the volume being on the right cup with the charge port (MicroUSB) and the port where you can plug in the included aux cable so if you run the batteries out you can plug them into your devices. The left cup has the power button and a button to turn off the active noise cancellation. These will fold and fit in the included carrying bag which makes it nicer to carry when travelling. It also includes a USB-A to MicroUSB charging cable as well as the  previously mentioned Aux cable.

The Soundcore Q20’s easily paired to my MacBook and to any Windows machine I have tried it on plus my Pixel 6 Pro with no issues.  Anker has a Soundcore app for their other headphones but these do not work with the app.

The sound quality is pretty decent but it is Bluetooth so they aren’t audiophile grade. I primarily use these with Zoom so I am not hugely concerned with the quality of the audio coming in. The audio going out with the single mic was very good and I had no complaints on any Zoom calls. So as a backup these work pretty well. I prefer to leave the ANC off because when it was on I could not hear anything at all in the room and with time there was a pulsing sensation I would feel in my ears. So for me I just leave the ANC off.

The specs for the headphones are below:

Sound: Hi-Res, BassUp, dual EQ modes
Active Noise Cancellation: Hybrid ANC
Playtime: 60 Hours(with ANC off), 40 H (with ANC ON)
Fast Charging: 5 minutes = 4 Hours
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5, AUX
Calls: Single Mic
Charging Port: Micro-USB
Recommended for: Travel, flight, train, commute

Conclusion

For the price of $59.99 you get a decent set of headphones that can be used with Zoom without issue. I will say these probably are designed more for listening than it is for holding Zoom calls especially if they go more than an hour or so. The ANC works wonderfully and completely blocks out the background noise. I have not tried these on a flight but my wife tried calling my name from the other side of the house and I could not hear her so I would say they would work well drowning out the drone of the plane. The Anker Soundcore Q20s are pretty good and another excellent product from Anker.