It seems surprising that it took this long, but the Thus AI chip is the first “large model compute-in-memory” AI chip to be integrated into earbuds for audio.AnkerSoundcore Liberty 5 Pro Series Are First Earbuds To Receive Guinness World Record Back in the day, I recall Guinness World Records being given for important feats, such as how many people could squeeze into a mini. Soundcore, however, the audio brand of electronics manufacturer Anker, has received one for its new Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max headphones.The record was awarded to Anker for its new Liberty 5 Pro earbuds for the “highest speech quality score” for true wireless stereo (TWS) headphones, as tested by an independent laboratory. This refers to the earbuds’ “Whisper Clear call” feature, which uses eight microphones, a 10-sensor matrix, and neural network processing to help separate the user's voice from noisy surroundings. Anker claims that even with 100 dB+ of noise to contend with, the person you’re talking to will still be able to clearly hear you.The record was achieved thanks to the presence of what Anker describes as the first earbuds to ever feature a dedicated, on-board AI hardware. Dubbed the Thus AI chip, Anker says it delivers 150x more computing power compared to Soundcore’s Liberty 4 Pro earbuds. At the product launch, Jocelyn Qian, Anker’s UK country manager, said that the Thus AI chip was designed in-house by a team based in Germany, which was done to ensure the chip was optimized for performance while maximizing battery life, which is so crucial for earbuds. On the Liberty 5 Pro, the chip is used not only to enhance call quality, but also for more effective noise cancellation, improved audio quality and effective voice control.MORE FOR YOUSilence is BlissAs well as call quality, the Thus AI chip is used to improve noise cancelling, applying on-chip processing with the audio captured from the eight microphones to more effectively dial out the world.The Liberty 5 Pro Max includes a charging case featuring AI note-taking and direct access to ANC and audio settings without having to fire up the app.AnkerRestoring Bluetooth Audio Quality There’s also “Hear ID” AI sound enhancement to improve audio quality. The company says that the Thus AI chip has been trained on full-resolution audio to improve Bluetooth audio quality in real time, restoring 65% of the audio quality normally lost over Bluetooth. Eliminating Voice Command DelayAnother use of the Thus AI chip it to deliver effective voice control. Normally, these commands are sent off to the cloud for processing, but on the Liberty 5 Pro, they are processed locally on the Thus AI chip. Anker says this makes them respond three times faster than normal voice control and means you can say “stop audio”, and “increase volume” without a wake word and get an instant response. While not on board, AI also comes into play for the “AI Note Taker” feature of the Liberty Pro Max. Using microphones built into the “smart case”, you tap on the screen to record audio, which is then sent to the app for real-time multi-language transcription.Other niceties are Multipoint connectivity, so you can switch seamlessly between three devices. The Liberty 5 Pro is available now in four colors, Blue, White, Black and Pink, while the Liberty 5 Pro Max is offered in either Titanium-Gold or Black.Both can be purchased via Soundcore.com, Amazon.com and BestBuy.com, with the Liberty 5 Pro costing $169.99 in the US, £149.99 in the UK and €179.99 in Germany and across Europe, while the Liberty 5 Pro Max costs $229.99/£199.99/€249.99. Nuki Keypad 2 NFC: The ‘Tap-To-Unlock Feature’ You’ve Been Waiting ForSoundcore Sleep A30 Earbuds And The Evolution Of Sleep TechnologyOpen Ear Vs In-Ear? How These Earbuds Differ And Which Is Best?