One of my favourite audio brands just released 'sleep-focused earbuds' – here's my honest opinion

I'm a light sleeper who loves tech, and over the last two years I've really delved deep into the worlds of ambient music and white noise as a work aid... so on paper, the Soundcore Sleep A30s – a new pair of headphones designed to aid sleep through white noise and noise cancellation – is directed squarely at me.

And though they got their official launch today, I've been having a play with a pair for a couple of weeks now... and I have some thoughts on them.

I had high expectations for this product when I was contacted about it. The Soundcore X600 speaker is one of my treasured sound systems at home, and I've had fun with Soundcore's new in-ear Liberty 5 headphones (especially once I tamed the bass with the app's equaliser). But the Sleep A30 are not for listening to your favourite tunes (though you can do that). They are earbuds designed to provide noise and music to ease you into a restful sleep. And something about that makes me uneasy.

Soundcore Sleep A30 $230 at Amazon
If you've had experience with the prior two generations of Sleep earbuds, then expect more features, a tweaked design, and all the sounds and noises that you could possibly care for to aid a good night's sleep.

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Initial thoughts, lasting impressions

My initial experience with the A30s was great. I really loved the design of the earbuds – they are slight, sleek and teeny tiny. They also fit really well into my ears.

I'm not one to read instructions first – I like to dive into using tech products to see how intuitive they are. Opening the app, and connecting to the earbuds was effortless, and I was immediately able to start pressing sound options and discovered the vast array of sounds and noises available.

It was also pretty easy to see that you had some sound options in the local mode, that are stored on the earbuds themselves, and then a vast array of options when connected to a smartphone device (including streaming services). A good feature as you might find yourself sleeping somewhere without reception.

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With all new tech releases come extravagant claims, and the A30s are no exception. Apparently they offer, 'improved AI brainwave audio that helps users fall asleep quicker and stay asleep longer.' I mentioned this to my wife, who happens to have a degree in neuroscience, and honestly I've not seen an eye roll quite that dramatic before.

Quack assertions aside, I did find the A30's automatic sleep monitoring with sleep position tracking quite interesting to get more data on my night's sleep. I also found that setting them to turn off once you were asleep, and setting a bespoke alarm to gently stir me from my slumbers – without disturbing my aforementioned eye-rolling wife – were great features.

So what are my reservations? It's silly really, but there's just something about inserting some tech into my ears, and then falling asleep, that feels unnatural. I realise that's not rational, as I constantly have headphones over and in my ears all day, but it's definitely something I had to overcome to use the A30s fully.

I definitely have warmed to them, however, and I think users of pervious generations of the Sleep earbuds, and people who are in desperate need of a more regulated night's sleep, should definitely check them out... but I don't think they're for me.