Apple AirPods 4 review: defying expectations 

I’ve ne'er been the biggest instrumentality of Apple’s regular AirPods. The first fewer models didn’t fresh my ears securely, I recovered their sound value to beryllium capable astatine best, and I preferred the sound isolation provided by earbuds pinch silicone tips. But I afloat admit that ample swaths of group emotion the modular AirPods for their unfastened creation and the comfortableness that comes pinch it. And aft spending a week pinch the caller AirPods 4, I tin already show you that they’re going to beryllium an instant upgrade for many.

From the outside, you won’t spot immoderate drastic changes from the AirPods 3. Apple has continued to tweak the style and contours of the earbuds for the champion imaginable fit, and the charging lawsuit is now smaller than ever. (And yes, it’s sewage a USB-C connector this time.) But these still look the portion of AirPods — and they still only travel successful white.

Bigger changes await inside: for the first time, Apple is offering 2 different versions of the regular AirPods. Both present the aforesaid sound quality, truthful don’t interest astir that. And each contains the company’s H2 chip, which powers respective caller features that boost sound value and sound telephone clarity. They’re besides some IP54 particulate and h2o resistant. The guidelines AirPods 4 costs $129, and the much premium exemplary is priced astatine $179. For the other money, you get a fewer cardinal upgrades, pinch the headlining differentiator being progressive sound cancellation.

So let’s commencement correct there. How good tin ANC perchance activity successful an open-style creation that doesn’t afloat seal into your ears? This isn’t the first clip it’s been attempted — Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 besides included sound cancellation — and the measurement it useful is fundamentally the aforesaid arsenic pinch the AirPods Pro. The microphones connected the AirPods 4 analyse your situation and make anti-noise to dial down ambient loudness. But pinch different earbuds, ANC gets a helping manus from the earthy sound isolation of receptor tips. That’s not the lawsuit here, truthful you’ve sewage to spell successful pinch realistic expectations. There are nary miracles. The AirPods Pro are tin of overmuch much broad sound cancellation, afloat stop. If you want a backstage bubble of tranquility, the AirPods 4 aren’t going to return you there. 

But I’ve been genuinely impressed by what they are tin of. If you conscionable put the AirPods 4 successful and move connected sound cancellation without immoderate audio playing, you mightiness not beryllium wowed. You’ll hear… well, perfectly everything — but the din is little overwhelming. The ANC is champion astatine tackling lower-frequency noises from airplane cabins, metropolis traffic, and those random hums astatine galore offices. The AirPods 4 moreover did a reasonably singular occupation of cutting down the rumble of ferry engines astatine the pier adjacent our office. 

You’re ever going to perceive a adjacent magnitude of ambient sound if you’re not listening to something, but erstwhile the euphony starts, that’s wherever the ANC proves its worth. I’ve recovered that I tin support the measurement astatine astir 50 percent and hardly announcement immoderate distractions. With past AirPods (and pinch the non-ANC AirPods 4), I routinely find myself cranking the measurement to combat my surroundings. You won’t request to look that conflict pinch the AirPods 4 pinch ANC, and that intends you should beryllium listening astatine safer levels much often than not.

The AirPods 4 aren’t going to get immoderate of the hearing wellness features coming to the AirPods Pro, but their expertise to shave disconnected capable of the extracurricular world to fto you support the measurement slider astatine a sensible spot is simply a awesome logic to see upgrading. There are decidedly environments wherever they tin struggle — the ANC didn’t put up overmuch of a conflict successful a crowded barroom — but I’ve been pleasantly amazed by really useful the characteristic has proven successful this open-ear style.

Along pinch sound cancellation, the higher-end exemplary gets transparency mode and Adaptive Audio, a characteristic that blends the 2 truthful that important noises for illustration sirens tin walk through. Adaptive Audio is little useful present than connected the AirPods Pro since the AirPods 4 ever make it easy to perceive what’s happening astir you by quality of their design. But Conversation Awareness, which lowers the audio measurement erstwhile you commencement talking, remains a adjuvant instrumentality — unless you person a wont of muttering things to yourself for illustration I often do.

There are different perks included pinch the higher-end $179 AirPods 4. The lawsuit supports wireless charging either pinch Apple’s MagSafe pucks aliases immoderate Qi-compatible charger. And there’s besides a built-in speaker connected the lawsuit that tin emit a sound erstwhile you’re trying to way it down pinch Apple’s Find My app. The modular $129 AirPods 4 deficiency these features. I’m good losing the speaker, but having to spell without wireless charging successful the guidelines exemplary stings and meaningfully takes distant from their value. 

Sound-wise, these are Apple’s champion regular AirPods yet. The wide sound signature hasn’t changed overmuch from the AirPods 3, but the AirPods 4 supply a thicker furniture of bass than their predecessors; I’ve noticed greater instrumentality separation erstwhile listening to songs for illustration “Tiny Moves” by Bleachers; there’s much finesse and clarity to the precocious scope / treble. The AirPods Pro support a limb up erstwhile it comes to wide fidelity, but I’d person nary issues surviving pinch the AirPods 4. And again, the regular and ANC models are identical successful this department.

I still person to beryllium intentional and twist these AirPods into my ears conscionable correct if I want them to enactment put. But erstwhile they’re in, they’re reasonably snug, moreover erstwhile I’m rushing down the subway position stairs to drawback a train. With the AirPods Pro, I tin conscionable benignant of cram them successful without giving it immoderate thought. But moreover I tin admit that the AirPods 4 are much comfortable complete agelong listening sessions.

Head gestures are a caller capacity you get pinch some sets of the AirPods 4. When toggled on, you tin respond to Siri by nodding your caput up and down to prosecute pinch notifications aliases reply a call; shaking your caput broadside to broadside will besides disregard them. I’m not personification who likes having my earbuds pester maine pinch notifications, but successful my little tests, my caput movements were detected accurately, moreover erstwhile they were reasonably small. Some group mightiness really travel to for illustration this measurement of dealing pinch Siri, but I’ll beryllium sticking pinch the much accepted methods.

Anyone who often uses their AirPods for sound calls will admit the Voice Isolation characteristic — already disposable connected the AirPods Pro — that has now travel to the AirPods 4. By moving instrumentality learning algorithms simultaneously connected the AirPods and root device, Apple tin amended isolate your voice, moreover successful raucous environments. This is fundamentally akin to Google’s Clear Calling feature, and it tin make a important quality if you request to return a telephone successful less-than-ideal conditions. Note that Voice Isolation is only disposable connected calls and can’t beryllium utilized when, say, you’re signaling a sound memo aliases a video pinch your phone. 

On apical of these caller features, you get the accustomed slew of Apple ecosystem tie-ins for illustration audio sharing, automatic switching betwixt devices, hands-free “Hey Siri” commands, Apple TV integration, and more. I still very overmuch wish that Apple would see genuine multipoint support truthful you could brace to 2 products astatine once, but astatine this point, the determination to time off it retired seems for illustration a philosophical prime that’s not going to change. 

Battery life is rated astatine 4 hours of playback clip pinch sound cancellation aliases 5 hours pinch it off. Add successful the charging lawsuit and you get a full of 20 and 30 hours, respectively. (The cheaper AirPods 4 evidently get the longer numbers since there’s nary ANC.) I haven’t utilized them agelong capable to extensively verify those estimates, but they’ve seemed connected constituent truthful far. Sadly, Apple still hasn’t made repairability a privilege pinch the AirPods 4, truthful inevitably, location will travel a clip erstwhile that endurance starts to wane.

I’ll beryllium going correct backmost to regular earbuds aft this review. That’s conscionable who I am, and I for illustration having arsenic overmuch sound isolation arsenic possible. But the AirPods 4 pinch ANC are acold and distant Apple’s astir compelling return connected this unfastened creation yet. The sound cancellation isn’t connected par pinch much costly in-ear alternatives, but it’s easy bully capable to guarantee you tin bask your euphony astatine a normal measurement nary matter wherever you mightiness be. You tin show a quality erstwhile the ANC is working, which I can’t opportunity of different unfastened earbuds that person advertised sound cancellation. That, mixed pinch the wireless charging, is the biggest logic I’d steer astir group toward the much costly model.

The modular AirPods 4 springiness you the aforesaid bully audio performance, and they effortlessly weave into Apple’s ecosystem. They’re besides a important upgrade complete the second-gen exemplary that they’ve replaced for the aforesaid $129, but beyond the walled plot tricks, Apple near them pinch comparatively fewer frills compared to the ANC pair. So unless you’re very price-conscious, it’s worthy stepping up. Your ears will beryllium supremely grateful you spent the other $50.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge