Apple AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Review: Not Worth Buying
Apple’s Basic AirPods are my least favorite tech products and I find them everywhere. They are not good headphones in terms of both specs or design, and even with the new H2 chip and noise cancellation added to the top end AirPods 4They’re not really great yet.
The first AirPods well deserved praise simply because they were one of the first truly wireless earbuds to work—previous models from many other brands had connectivity issues. (It’s worth noting that AirPods solved a problem Apple itself created by removing the headphone jackBut the company has handled this problem quite well.)
The no-head design has its flaws, but one benefit is that you don’t have to take your headphones off to talk to people because they don’t block out the world. In the years since, newer wireless headphones have not only worked well and sounded great, but have also overcome the transparency issue. Each pair from JLab’s $60 Jbuds ANC Apple’s own AirPods Pro Headphones Features ear tips, noise cancellation, and transparency mode so you can chat without having to adjust the ear tips.
These days, Entry-level AirPods asks more questions than it answers. Why do they still lack ear tips, and how can noise cancellation be effective without a proper seal in your ear canal? Why do they still have a dismal 5-hour battery life (which has been discounted over the years)? Why do they sound just as good as competitors that cost half as much? Honestly, I can’t think of any reason other than the amount of money Apple spends marketing its headphones. Consumers have a preference: The AirPods Pro are Apple’s best-selling model, according to The apple itselfJust because you can sell an old product with a faulty design doesn’t mean you should.
50 Million Data Points
The AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 have active noise cancellation look identical and very similar older model Friends and family have asked me which is which when I put them side by side. (It’s worth noting how much smaller the sensor in the middle of the earpiece is on the latest pairs, as you can see below.)
The AirPods 4 with ANC ($179) Have wireless charging in the case and speaker for Apple’s Find My technology, meaning you can use your iPhone to find the case if it goes missing. Those features aren’t available on AirPods 4 for $129But otherwise, you can’t tell the external difference between the hardware.
The cases on both models are design highlights for me; they’re smaller, sleeker, and easier to fit into smaller pockets. I wish we had a similar change for the AirPods Pro 2These AirPods finally have the feature USB-C Chargingsuitable for European Union Regulations will take effect this December a universal charging connector.
