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If you want a comfortable over-ear headphone with adjustable EQ, wired backup and multipoint pairing for long sessions at a desk or in front of a TV, choose August Over Ear; if you need pocket-sized earbuds with active noise cancelling, a phone-stand charging case and a big playtime number, choose Anker Soundcore P30i.
• August Over Ear — biggest strength: over-ear comfort with 50mm dynamic drivers, an EQ app, aptX Low Latency, NFC pairing, multipoint and a 3.5mm wired option when the battery runs out.
• August Over Ear — biggest trade-off: it is a full-size headphone at 235g, it uses an older Bluetooth spec, and the quoted battery life is only around 10 hours per charge (2-hour charge time).
• Anker Soundcore P30i — biggest strength: active noise cancelling up to 42dB with adaptive adjustment, a transparency mode, 10mm drivers with BassUp, and up to 45 hours total playtime through the case.
• Anker Soundcore P30i — biggest trade-off: they are in-ear buds, so there is no wired fallback and no over-ear cushioning; fit depends entirely on the ear tips you settle on.
• Buy the August Over Ear if you want one pair of headphones for music, movies, TV and calls at a desk or on the sofa, with a cable as a safety net.
• Buy the Anker Soundcore P30i if you want something that disappears into a pocket, cuts out commuting or office noise, and doubles as a phone stand for watching video.
The August EP650 is built around one idea: a big, comfortable over-ear headphone you can keep on for hours. The 50mm dynamic drivers and the 60Hz–20KHz frequency range point to a warm, bass-forward tuning rather than a flat studio sound, and the ultra-soft padding, lightweight frame and adjustable headband with flexible earcups are there to make long listening sessions tolerable. If you wear headphones through a workday, a long flight or a movie marathon, that design logic matters more than any single spec.
What makes it unusual at this end of the market is the flexibility. There is a free August Audio EQ app for Android and iOS, so you can push the bass, flatten it out or brighten the highs instead of living with whatever the factory tuned. There is aptX Low Latency, which is aimed squarely at people watching video or gaming and who hate seeing lips move before they hear the words. There is NFC for quick pairing, multipoint so a phone and a computer can both be connected at once, and a 3.5mm jack so the headphones still work when the battery is flat. A built-in mic and on-ear remote handle calls and track skipping, and the brand explicitly mentions VOIP services and gaming use.
Who should skip it? Anyone who wants noise cancelling. August lists sound isolation, not active noise cancellation, so it muffles rather than cancels. Anyone who wants buds they can drop in a pocket. And anyone who needs the newest Bluetooth — the sheet lists Bluetooth 4.2 in the style field and 5.1 in the description, which is fine for everyday use but not cutting edge. In my opinion this is the pick for a home-and-desk listener who wants one versatile headphone rather than a commuting tool.
The P30i is the opposite philosophy: tiny, sealed, and aggressively focused on blocking the world out. The headline feature is the active noise cancelling system rated to cut noise by up to 42dB, and it is adaptive — the buds detect external sound and pick a cancelling level for your ears rather than making you cycle modes manually. There is also a transparency mode for when you need to hear a platform announcement or a barista. Both are things the August simply cannot do.
The audio side is built around 10mm dynamic drivers with Anker's BassUp processing, so the tuning leans punchy rather than neutral. The battery story is the other big selling point: 10 hours from a single charge and up to 45 hours with the case, plus a quick top-up that gives roughly 2 hours of playback from a 10-minute charge. For anyone who forgets to charge things, that is genuinely useful. Bluetooth 5.4 is the modern standard here, and IP54 means sweat and light rain are not an immediate problem.
Then there is the case, which is the detail people remember: the back panel opens into a phone stand, so you can prop up a phone and watch something hands-free on a train or a hotel desk. That is a niche trick, but it is a real one. The trade-offs are equally clear. There is no headphone jack on these, so once the battery is gone, you are done until you charge. There is no multipoint mentioned, so juggling two devices is less seamless. And the fit is entirely dependent on ear tips — Anker includes small, medium and large, which helps, but in-ear comfort is personal in a way that over-ear padding is not. This is the pick for commuters, gym-goers and travellers who want quiet and portability over everything else.
• Best for noise cancelling → Anker Soundcore P30i. Up to 42dB of adaptive ANC and a transparency mode; the August only offers passive sound isolation.
• Best for all-day comfort at a desk → August Over Ear. Over-ear padding, a lightweight frame and flexible earcups beat buds for marathon sessions.
• Best for battery life → Anker Soundcore P30i. Up to 45 hours with the case versus roughly 10 hours per charge on the August.
• Best for watching TV, films or gaming without lip-sync lag → August Over Ear. aptX Low Latency plus a wired 3.5mm option is a stronger setup for screens.
• Best for travel and pockets → Anker Soundcore P30i. Buds in a charging case that doubles as a phone stand; the August is a 235g headphone.
• Best for sound tuning → August Over Ear. The August Audio EQ app lets you reshape the sound; the P30i relies on its fixed tuning and BassUp.
• Best for connecting two devices at once → August Over Ear. Multipoint lets a phone and a laptop stay paired simultaneously.
• Best for workouts and light rain → Anker Soundcore P30i. IP54 and a sealed in-ear design suit movement; the August is a home-and-office headphone.
If I had to pick one, I would buy the Anker Soundcore P30i. In my opinion the adaptive noise cancelling, the 45-hour total playtime and the genuinely pocketable case solve more everyday problems than any single feature on the August. I would only switch to the August Over Ear if my listening happened mostly at a desk or in front of a TV, where over-ear comfort, aptX Low Latency, multipoint and the wired fallback are worth more than noise cancelling. So: quiet and portable, go Anker. Comfortable and versatile at home, go August. Whichever way you lean, check the current price on Amazon before deciding, since that is the one variable that can flip this call.
They aim at different things. The August uses 50mm drivers with an EQ app and aptX Low Latency, which suits music, movies and gaming. The P30i uses 10mm drivers with BassUp and a punchier tuning. Neither is objectively better — it depends whether you want an over-ear soundstage or a bass-forward in-ear with ANC.
Does the Anker Soundcore P30i have noise cancelling?
Yes. It uses active noise cancelling rated to reduce noise by up to 42dB, with adaptive technology that adjusts the level automatically, plus a transparency mode. The August Over Ear does not have ANC — it relies on passive sound isolation only.
Anker quotes 10 hours per charge and up to 45 hours with the charging case, plus about 2 hours of playback from a 10-minute charge. August quotes around 10 hours of average battery life with a 2-hour charge time, and you can keep listening over the 3.5mm cable once it runs out.
The Anker Soundcore P30i, in my opinion. It is small, it has IP54 protection, it blocks out transit noise, and the case doubles as a phone stand. The August Over Ear is a 235g full-size headphone with a carrying case, which is fine for a desk or a flight but not for a run.
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See also: Anker Soundcore V20i vs QearFun Kids Cat Open: Open Ear, Anker Soundcore Sport X20 vs Sennheiser CX 80U: Wired in Ear, Anker Soundcore AeroFit 2 vs EarFun OpenJump Open Ear