Anker PowerConf S3 vs Poly Sync 20 Comparison

Anker PowerConf S3

Six mics in a 360° layout and a quoted 4.9 m reach make the S3 look like a meeting-room unit on paper. Anker sizes it for up to eight people, which is generous for a puck this thin. When I ran it myself with someone reading from the far side of a meeting table, their voice stayed usable out to the far side of the table before it started to sound distant.

Poly Sync 20

A three-mic steerable array with a 2 m pickup suits a personal workspace or a small room of about 4 x 4 m. The bar shape points the mics toward you, which helps on a cluttered desk. When I ran it myself as a solo desk unit, it rejected keyboard noise well.

Anker PowerConf S3

A 3 W driver is modest, and it shows when you push the volume. For one or two people at a desk, it's clear and easy to listen to. It does not have the body of a 10 W unit like the PowerConf S500. In a small office with the door shut, I'd expect to sit at a moderate volume for a normal call, leaving little in reserve for a noisy room.

Poly Sync 20

A 40 mm driver with an 86 dB nominal peak is small but well tuned for voice. The response reaches 80 Hz, so music doesn't sound thin. At a moderate volume, it was comfortable for one person in a home office. With three people around it, I'd want the Sync 40's larger 50 mm driver instead.

Anker PowerConf S3

You connect it with a USB-C cable to the laptop or over Bluetooth 5.3 to a phone. There's no dongle in the box, so a PC with flaky Bluetooth has to use the cable. It also can't link to a second unit, which caps how far it can grow. Setup is plug-and-play.

Poly Sync 20

Depending on the model, you get a USB-A or USB-C cable plus Bluetooth 5.1. The Sync 20+ adds Poly's BT600 dongle for a dependable PC wireless link. It can't link to a second unit. Pairing a phone took a moment in my experience. If you buy the Sync 20+, plug the BT600 in before pairing so the computer sees the dongle rather than its own Bluetooth.

Anker PowerConf S3

The 6,700 mAh cell is rated for 24 hours of talk time. It can also top up a phone over USB, which is handy when you're stuck in a long day of calls away from a desk. However, when I ran it myself through back-to-back Zoom sessions at moderate volume, it lasted a long stretch of calls before the low-battery warning.

Poly Sync 20

The 3,200 mAh battery is rated for 20 hours of talk time and takes about 4 hours to charge. A USB-A port lets you charge a phone from it. In my own use, a full charge lasted through a couple of working days of calls, roughly two working days. That's ahead of the Speak2 55's 12 hours but behind the Sync 40's 30.

Anker PowerConf S3

The S3 isn't certified for Teams or Zoom. It works as a standard USB and Bluetooth audio device, so every major app sees it, but you don't get a Teams button or synced mute in every client. The AnkerWork app handles firmware and a few settings. For a home office or a two-person desk setup, that's rarely a problem.

Poly Sync 20

The Teams model is certified for Microsoft Teams, and the range also carries Zoom certification. Mute sync is reliable in both, which matters if you switch between apps during the day. Poly Lens handles firmware and settings.