AirPods 4 deliver better sound and ‘ANC Lite’ [Review]

AirPods 4 bring professional-grade features to Apple’s non-Pro earbuds. Fairly good active noise cancellation sits at the top of the list of additions, which is a surprise because the earbuds lack foam ear tips.

Apple did tweak the design to make them more comfortable and secure. And the company improved the audio quality, too. Especially the bass. How does all this play out in real-world testing? Read our hands-on AirPods 4 review to find out.

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AirPods 4 review

Years ago, most people used the free set of wired headphones that came with their device. But the original AirPods (and Apple’s controversial decision to ditch the headphone jack) changed that in 2016. Apple created a demand for wireless earbuds, and the company now dominates the market with billions in annual sales.

We recently reached the fourth-generation model of AirPods. And, like so many Apple products, you can choose a more expensive Pro option with additional features. But AirPods 4 bring so much to the table that they’re almost on a level with AirPods Pro 2.

To complicate matters, Apple released two versions of AirPods 4 this month, not just one. Only the $179 version includes active noise cancellation and other high-end enhancements. These replace AirPods 3 in Apple’s product lineup. A budget version without ANC costs $129, taking over for AirPods 2.

Add in the pricier AirPods Pro 2 from two years ago, and you have three tiers of Apple wireless earbuds to choose from.

Table of contents: AirPods 4 review

• Comfortable wireless earbuds
• AirPods 4 and Active Noise Cancellation
• Audio quality: Much more bass
• Advanced audio features in AirPods 4
• Buttons on stems
• Charging case improved in multiple ways
• Not better battery life
• Advantage of the Apple ecosystem
• AirPods 4 review: Final thoughts
• Pricing

Comfortable wireless earbuds

AirPods benefit from an iconic design, and Apple didn’t tinker with it much. Put a fourth-generation AirPod next to a third-generation one, and they look almost identical. There’s the same white exterior with a 0.7-inch stem.

But don’t be fooled: Apple redesigned AirPods 4 to fit better. Apple promises they “deliver the most comfortable AirPods ever with one shape that naturally fits even more users around the world.”

I’m moving from AirPods 3, and there might be a slight improvement in comfort level with the new model. But then I found the earlier version comfortable, too. I could be feeling a change only because I’m looking for one.

The previous generation stayed in my ears fairly well, and the new one does too. They do need to be readjusted occasionally. That said, after many hours of testing over several days for this AirPods 4 review, I have yet to have either earbud fall out. I’ve taken them hiking, driving and shopping, not just wearing them around the office.

AirPods 4 and Active Noise Cancellation

The basic AirPods line uses an open-ear design without foam ear tips, and Apple didn’t change that with the fourth generation, even though it added active noise cancellation to the high-end version.

The result is what I call “ANC Lite.” Without ear tips, the earbuds can’t completely block ambient sounds — they reduce them, especially low frequencies. Even with ANC on, I can hear what’s going on around me, just more quietly.

And I actually like it that way. I can see wanting utter silence in an office or on an airplane. But walking around my neighborhood, I need to hear the car coming up behind me. While working outdoors, I can hear the birds singing, but the grinding noise from my neighbor’s faulty AC unit mostly disappears. On a walk, I can tell when someone is mowing their lawn, but it’s no more than a hum.

The AirPods 4’s active noise cancellation makes the world a lot quieter. But if you want more complete ANC, you need AirPods Pro (or AirPods Max if you want over-ear headphones).

For an opposite effect, you can turn on Transparency mode, which uses the earbuds’ microphones to pick up ambient sounds and send them to your ears. The goal is to simulate not having anything in your ears at all. Considering AirPods 4’s open design does little to block noise, this seems mostly a pointless battery drain.

Audio quality: Much more bass

I enjoy music, but I’m not an audiophile. That’s why I use AirPods 4 and not something much more expensive. I’m as likely to be listening to a podcast as I am to a song. But whatever is going through your earbuds, you should see an improvement with Apple’s latest earbuds.

That comes thanks to the H2 chip inside, the same one in AirPods Pro 2. Plus, Apple promises an “entirely new acoustic architecture, low-distortion driver, and high dynamic range amplifier.”

To my ears, the result is really significantly more bass. I used my traditional test song, “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons, because it depends so heavily on bass. And AirPods 4 deliver. The rest of the audio range seems better, too. Just not improved to the extent that the bass is.

For this review, I’m comparing AirPods 4 to AirPods 3 when I say I hear an improvement in audio quality. If you’re still on AirPods 2 or the earlier version, expect a truly dramatic change.

Advanced audio features in AirPods 4

Both versions of the new wireless earbuds feature what Apple calls Personalized Spatial Audio for music and gaming. This creates a surround sound-like experience but without all the speakers. It’s a cool effect, where available. It’s mostly something I notice when watching Apple TV+ shows.

During video or simple audio calls, the Voice Isolation feature blocks out extraneous sounds from around you. To be clear, this is a benefit for the other participants on your calls, not you. I like it because it makes me more comfortable doing other things — like cooking lunch or feeding the cat –while on conference calls.

Other high-end audio tricks only work on the premium version of AirPods 4. That includes Conversation Awareness. I love this feature — if I start talking, my podcast stops playing. Even better, when it restarts, it jumps back a few seconds so I don’t miss anything.

Personalized Volume proves less useful. The goal is to have the earbuds react to your environment, playing audio louder or softer as necessary. In real-world conditions, it mostly causes my podcast volume to fluctuate in a distracting and irritating way.

Buttons on stems

It may be difficult to remember now, but the stems on the original AirPods caused controversy. Some people thought they looked silly sticking out of their ears. But Apple made a benefit out of necessity and built buttons into the stems to make controlling your earbuds easy.

You can start/stop audio, skip forward and back, and accept and end phone calls just by pressing the stems. However, unlike AirPods Pro 2, there are no physical volume controls on AirPods 4. You must go to your iPhone, iPad, etc., for that.

Still, sometimes you can avoid needing to touch the stems. Both AirPods 4 variants support Siri Interactions, which allows you to respond to questions from Siri by nodding yes or shaking your head no. To me, this is most useful when I get a phone call. — I can answer it by simply nodding my head. Or (more likely) reject it by shaking my head.

AirPods 4 charging case: Improved in multiple ways

Apple downsized the AirPods 4 charging case to 1.9 inches by 1.8 inches by 0.8 inches — a 7% reduction. It fits better in my pocket than the AirPods 3 case did. Even better, the case supports Find My. That means if you misplace the case, you can go into the Find My app on your iPhone, iPad or Mac and see its location on a map. In my testing for this AirPods 4 review, my iPhone 16 could locate the case from the opposite side of my house. (Note: Apple’s earbuds supported Find My starting with AirPods 3.)

The charging case also drops the obsolete Lightning port in favor of USB-C. Now you can charge your earbuds with the same cable as your MacBook or recent iPhone.

Those who opt for AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation get an even better charging case. In addition to USB-C, it supports wireless charging through MagSafe or Qi-certified chargers. Plus, it comes with a built-in speaker. That way, when you use Find My, you can make the case play a loud sound. The alert sounds plenty loud. As a bonus, you also can use it with your Apple Watch charger.

Not better battery life

Unfortunately, the new features in AirPods 4 cut into their battery life. Progress usually comes with drawbacks. Apple says the new models last about an hour less than the third-generation ones. That said, the more features you turn on, the shorter the time between recharges.

In my testing for this review, my AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation on the whole time went 4.5 hours before one of them drained completely. The charging case juiced up my AirPods between four and five times before it became fully depleted. So I got about 20 hours of use before needing to plug anything in.

A decrease in battery life isn’t a win, but much of the drain comes from features you can turn off. And recharging happens fairly quick. With half an hour in the case, my AirPods 4 battery went up 70%.

Advantage of the Apple ecosystem

AirPods offer tricks no rival can match because of the Apple ecosystem. The best example is how they seamlessly switch their connection to whatever Apple device you’re currently using. I can go from listening to a podcast on my iPhone to hearing a YouTube video on my iPad with no effort on my part. It just happens.

Pairing proves just as simple. I unwrapped the earbuds, opened the charging case, and a notification appeared on my iPhone asking if I wanted to pair with the AirPods 4. And that’s it — they instantly paired with every one of my Apple computers, even my Apple Watch.

AirPods 4 review: Final thoughts

Fourth-generation AirPods work better than the third-generation version, but whether there’s enough improvement to justify an upgrade is questionable. There’s complete justification for anyone using Apple’s even older wireless earbuds, though.

Sound quality is excellent. And while the AirPods 4’s active noise cancellation works fairly well, it’s not as good as some reviewers made me think. Incomplete ANC would be more of a problem if these were Apple’s only wireless AirPods, but they are not. Those wanting better audio quality and more extreme noise cancellation can turn to AirPods Pro 2 — though I recommend waiting for AirPods Pro 3, expected in 2025.

★★★★☆

While I see the advantages in “ANC Lite,” it’s not full ANC. And if that’s what you want, you need to look elsewhere.

Pricing

You can order Apple’s latest wireless earbuds today — in fact, they’re already discounted by some retailers.

• Buy AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation from: Amazon or Apple
• Buy AirPods 4 from: Amazon or Apple

Alternatively, AirPods Pro 2 (and refurbished original AirPods Pro) remain available. Apple discontinued AirPods 3, however.

Apple did not provide Cult of Mac with a review unit for this article. See our reviews policy, and check out more in-depth reviews of Apple-related items.