I’ve never been a huge fan of Apple’s regular AirPods. The early models didn’t fit my ears well, I found the sound quality to be adequate at best, and I preferred the noise isolation provided by earbuds with silicone tips. But I fully recognize that a lot of people love the standard AirPods for their open-back design and the comfort that comes with it. And after spending a week with the new AirPods 4, I can already tell that they’ll be an instant upgrade for many.
From the outside, you won't notice any drastic changes from the AirPods 3. Apple has continued to tweak the shape and contours of the earbuds for the best possible fit, and the charging case is now smaller than ever (and yes, it has a USB-C connector this time around). But these earbuds still look like AirPods, and they're still only available in white.
Inside, we’re in for bigger changes: For the first time, Apple is offering two different versions of the regular AirPods. Both offer the same sound quality, so don’t worry about that. And each contains the company’s H2 chip, which powers several new features that improve the sound quality and clarity of voice calls. They’re also water and dust resistant with an IP54 certification. The base AirPods 4 cost $129, and the more premium model is $179. For the extra money, you get some key upgrades, with the main differentiator being active noise cancellation.
Let’s start there. How well can active noise cancellation work in an open-style design that doesn’t completely seal around your ears? This isn’t the first time it’s been tried (Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 also included noise cancellation), and the way it works is basically the same as it is with the AirPods Pro. The AirPods 4’s microphones analyze your surroundings and generate anti-noise to reduce ambient volume. But with other earbuds, active noise cancellation gets a helping hand from the eartips’ natural noise isolation. That’s not the case here, so you have to have realistic expectations. There are no miracles. The AirPods Pro are capable of much more comprehensive noise cancellation, period. If you want a private bubble of quiet, the AirPods 4 aren’t going to get you there.
But I'm really impressed with what they've done. are capable of. If you put your AirPods 4 on and turn on noise cancellation without any audio playing, you might not be surprised. You’ll hear… well, absolutely everything, but the noise is less overwhelming. Active noise cancellation is better at tackling the low-frequency noises of airplane cabins, city traffic, and those random hums in many offices. The AirPods 4 even did a pretty noticeable job of reducing the noise from the ferry engines at the dock near our office.
You’re always going to hear a fair amount of ambient sound if you’re not listening to anything, but once the music starts, that’s where active noise cancellation proves its worth. I found that I can keep the volume around 50 percent and barely notice any distractions. With previous AirPods (and with the AirPods 4 without active noise cancellation), I routinely turn up the volume to combat my surroundings. You won’t have to face that battle with the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation, and that means you should be listening at safer levels most of the time.
The AirPods 4 aren’t going to have any of the hearing health features that are coming to the AirPods Pro, but their ability to shut out just enough of the outside world to let you keep the volume slider at a reasonable point is a big reason to consider upgrading. There are definitely environments where they might struggle (the active noise cancellation didn’t offer much resistance in a crowded bar), but I was pleasantly surprised by how useful the feature proved to be on this open-ear style.
In addition to noise cancellation, the higher-end model includes Transparency mode and Adaptive Audio, a feature that combines the two so important noises like sirens can get through. Adaptive Audio is less useful here than it is on the AirPods Pro, as the AirPods 4 always make it easy to hear what’s going on around you by nature of their design. But Conversation Awareness, which lowers the audio volume when you start talking, is still a useful trick — unless you have a habit of mumbling things to yourself, as I tend to do.
The higher-end AirPods 4, which cost $179, have other advantages. The case supports wireless charging, either with Apple’s MagSafe pucks or any Qi-compatible charger. Plus, the case has a built-in speaker that can emit a sound when you try to locate it with Apple’s Find My app. The standard AirPods 4, which cost $129, lack these features. I don’t mind losing the speaker, but having to forego wireless charging on the base model is a bummer and significantly detracts from their value.
Sound-wise, these are Apple’s best regular AirPods yet. The overall sound signature hasn’t changed much from the AirPods 3, but the AirPods 4 provide a thicker layer of bass than their predecessors—I noticed greater instrument separation when listening to songs like Bleachers’ “Tiny Moves”; there’s more finesse and clarity in the upper/treble range. The AirPods Pro maintain an edge when it comes to overall fidelity, but I’d have no problem living with the AirPods 4. And again, the regular and noise-cancelling models are identical in this regard.
I still have to be intentional and twist these AirPods in my ears just the right way if I want them to stay in place. But once they’re in, they fit pretty snugly, even when I’m running down the stairs at the subway station to catch a train. With the AirPods Pro, I can just squeeze them in without thinking about it. But even I can admit that the AirPods 4 are more comfortable during extended listening sessions.
Head gestures are a new feature included on both AirPods 4 models. When enabled, you can respond to Siri by moving your head up and down to respond to notifications or answer a call; moving your head side to side will dismiss those, too. I’m not someone who likes being bombarded with notifications by earbuds, but in my brief testing, my head movements were accurately detected, even when they were fairly small. Some people might appreciate this way of interacting with Siri, but I’ll stick with the more traditional methods.
Anyone who frequently uses their AirPods for voice calls will appreciate the Voice Isolation feature (which was already available on the AirPods Pro) that has now arrived on the AirPods 4. By running machine learning algorithms simultaneously on both your AirPods and the source device, Apple is able to better isolate your voice, even in noisy environments. This is basically similar to Google’s Clear Calling feature, and it can make a significant difference if you need to take a call in less than ideal conditions. Note that Voice Isolation is only available on calls, and can’t be used when you’re, say, recording a voice memo or video with your phone.
In addition to these new features, you get the usual array of features built into the Apple ecosystem, such as audio sharing, automatic switching between devices, hands-free “Hey Siri” commands, Apple TV integration, and more. I’d still very much like to see Apple include genuine multipoint support so you could pair two products at once, but at this point, the decision to leave it out feels like a philosophical choice that’s not going to change.
Battery life is estimated at four hours of playback with noise cancellation on or five hours without. Adding the charging case gets you 20 and 30 hours total, respectively. (The cheaper AirPods 4 obviously get the higher numbers, since they don’t have active noise cancellation.) I haven’t used them enough to thoroughly verify those estimates, but so far they seem about right. Sadly, Apple still hasn’t made repairability a priority with the AirPods 4, so there will inevitably come a time when that endurance starts to wane.
After this review, I’m going back to regular earbuds. That’s just me, and I like to have as much noise isolation as possible. But the AirPods 4 with ANC are by far Apple’s most convincing take on this open-back design yet. The noise cancellation isn’t quite on par with more expensive in-ear alternatives, but it’s good enough to ensure you can enjoy your music at a normal volume no matter where you are. You can actually tell the difference when the ANC is kicking in, which I can’t say about other open-back earbuds that have advertised noise cancellation. That, combined with wireless charging, is the main reason I’d recommend most people go for the more expensive model.
The standard AirPods 4 offer the same audio performance and integrate seamlessly into Apple’s ecosystem. They’re also a substantial upgrade over the second-generation model they replaced for the same $129, but beyond the walled-garden tricks, Apple left them with relatively few frills compared to the ANC pair. So unless you’re very price-conscious, it’s worth taking the extra step. Your ears will greatly thank you for spending the extra $50.
Photograph by Chris Welch/The Verge
