Best AirPods: Our Comprehensive Buying Guide

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AirPods are the go-to option for earbuds if you own an iPhone. There are loads of excellent alternatives out there, but for pure ease of use, you cannot beat AirPods for how seamlessly they connect with other Apple devices.

The question of which are the best AirPods is, on the face of it, a simple one to answer. The AirPods Pro 3 are the most expensive and, therefore, objectively the best. But, that’s not the end of the story. It doesn’t mean you should automatically fork out the money because the other options are still excellent and worth considering, especially on a budget.

In this buying guide, we’ll explore the features, design, sound quality, battery life, and more of every AirPods model to give you our overall AirPod recommendations.

Best overall AirPods: AirPods 4 ANC

AirPods 4 ANC

$179/£169

✅ Pros:
– Great value for money
– Good ANC standard
– Improved sound quality over AirPods 3
– Latest H2 chip included
❌ Cons:
– May not fit some ear shapes
– Slightly disappointing battery life
– No silicon ear tips

Sound Quality and ANC

AirPods 4 are now by far the best AirPods you can buy when considering features and sound quality alongside value for money. While the AirPods Pro 2 do offer better sound quality and noise cancelling, the upgrades to AirPods 4 mean they aren’t far off matching them.

It used to be the case that you could only get access to Active Noise Cancellation on AirPods by buying the Pro models. AirPods 4 has changed that game. You can choose to buy the new AirPods with or without ANC, for a bit more money of course.

Alongside ANC, AirPods 4 has the latest H2 chip, Apple’s premier audio processor, meaning that the general sound quality is so much better than AirPods 3. The audio is rich and full, with a bass that is less distorted than before and crisper top-ends.

They are an excellent-sounding pair of straight-out-of-the-box earbuds for most listeners. They aren’t audiophile standard, but no earbuds are for this price range.

Extra Features

The H2 chip also powers Spatial Audio which is a feature that creates a feeling that whatever you are listening to is coming from every direction, a more immersive experience.

Added from AirPods 3 is also Adaptive Audio and Transparency Mode. The former automatically adjusts what you’re listening to to fit the sounds around you and the latter allows you to hear the outside world alongside in-ear audio.

New to base-level AirPods with the fourth generation is Conversation Awareness which, like Transparency Mode, detects when you are talking to someone so you can hear them more clearly.

And AirPods 4 live up to all of the promise of an updated set of already good earbuds. They are worth the $179/£179 if you also want ANC, and are definitely worth the $129/£129.

Drawbacks

The main problem with AirPods 4 is the in-ear fit. Because Apple remains locked into releasing standard AirPods without silicon tips, they can sometimes fit improperly as Mark found out in his AirPods 4 review. If they don’t fit your ears, then you simply can’t use them.

The battery life is also a touch disappointing. At five hours, AirPods 4 has one less hour of battery than AirPods 3, most likely a function of the more demanding H2 chip.

On top of that, the lack of silicon tips means you get a poorer audio seal, which leads to some sound leakage and a less effective ANC than AirPods Pro 2/3. So, if you want the absolute best ANC quality found in AirPods, you’ll want to read on…

Best noise-cancelling AirPods: AirPods Pro 3

AirPods Pro 3

$249/£219

✅ Pros:
– Market-leading ANC
– Excellent sound quality
– Very comfortable
– Extra health features like hearing protection
❌ Cons:
– Fairly expensive
– AirPods Pro 2 are only slightly worse but cheaper

Design and Fit

AirPods Pro are the only AirPods design to come with silicone ear tips. That means they are instantly more comfortable than the standard AirPods design. But that isn’t where the advantages stop. The main advantage is that they offer a secure fit, which is not only safer than the hard plastic of standard AirPods but also means you get a better audio seal. That leads to far less sound leakage and more effective noise cancelling.

These ear tips come in various sizes making the AirPods Pro 3 customisable to a range of ear shapes. The shorter stems also give them a smaller, more discreet profile. They haven’t really changed much since the AirPods Pro 2 in terms of comfort, so that’s something to consider when choosing between the two.

Sound Quality and Active Noise Cancellation

Before 2024, if you wanted AirPods, ANC capability and the H2 chip, you had to buy AirPods Pro. This is no longer the case after the release of AirPods 4 with ANC and undoubtedly makes choosing which AirPods to buy a little bit harder. But not when it comes to sound quality.

While both AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 3 have the H2 chip, the drivers and general hardware inside the AirPods Pro 2 mean they sound significantly more dynamic with noticeably less distorted bass. The general sound mix is just better by quite a distance, as you’d expect. That doesn’t mean the AirPods 4 sound bad; it’s just that if you want the best sound quality, then you have to go Pro.

The H2 chip also powers the ANC inside AirPods. ANC automatically reduces the impact of outside noises on your listening experience by using microphones to detect sounds and then play inverted sound waves back into your ear to cancel out the noise.

ANC on the AirPods Pro 3 is categorically the best you will find on the earbuds market. Nothing comes close; the Pro 3 is almost at over-ear headphone levels. If you want superior noise cancelling, and frankly, the best you can get, then it’s the AirPods Pro 3.

Extra features

The H2 chip also enables a few other features that older AirPods models don’t have.

There’s the same Adaptive Audio, Transparency Mode and Conversation Awareness found in AirPods 4. The first of these means AirPods Pro 2 can tailor what you’re listening to in relation to the environment you are in.

Transparency Mode allows you to let some sounds from your outside environment into your ear so you can, for example, hear road noise without removing an earbud. In a similar vein, Conversation Awareness automatically detects when you are talking to someone, lowering your audio whilst boosting theirs and back again when you are finished.

These all now exist in AirPods 4 too, but there are some features that only the AirPods Pro 3 can deliver and they all relate to Apple’s mission to make AirPods double as hearing aids.

The most significant of these is Loud Sound Reduction which, you guessed it, reduces the impact of loud noises on your ears. Then there’s Conversation Boost, which works to up to volume of people talking to you even more than Conversation Awareness.

Then there’s the Live Translation feature but this is also available on AirPods 4 ANC and AirPods Pro 2.

Whether these extra features are important to you is a personal decision. They are handy, but mainly for a specific use case. Most people can do without them

Battery Life and Charging

The AirPods Pro 3 have up to 8 hours of listening time on a single charge with ANC turned on, 10 hours with ANC off and a maximum of 24 hours contained within the wireless charging case. 

The case supports MagSafe charging, meaning you can charge the AirPods wirelessly.

Best budget AirPods: AirPods 4

AirPods 4

$129/£119

✅ Pros:
– $50 cheaper than ANC model
– Same sound quality as ANC model
– Same battery life and IP rating as ANC model
– Includes H2 chip
❌ Cons:
– No ANC
– Lacks other features like Adaptive Audio, Transparency Mode and Conversation Awareness

There isn’t much more to say about the standard AirPods 4. Thanks to the H2 chip, they have a very similar sound quality to the ANC AirPods 4. For $50 less, you get the upgraded bass and top-end crispness but forfeit extra features like Transparency Mode.

The decision for you is simple. If you want AirPods with ANC, then buy AirPods 4 with ANC. But if you don’t care about that and just want some Apple earbuds with great sound quality, then you can rest easy when choosing the base-level AirPods 4.

Should you still buy AirPods 3?

The straight answer to the above question is no. Buying AirPods 3 in this day and age doesn’t make much sense. Because AirPods 4 have been released, you can no longer find the 3rd-generation AirPods in the Apple Store.

That means you need use a retailer like Amazon or BestBuy to find them. And inexplicably, such retailers are still selling AirPods 3 for prices ranging from $119 to $139. That isn’t enough of a discount to justify dropping down in quality.

Yes, AirPods 3 still sound fine, but the hardware means they are lagging behind other AirPods and other earbuds from the likes of Sony and Bose. If you bought them, you wouldn’t be disappointed, but you’d also be getting slightly less value for money.

So no, you shouldn’t buy AirPods 3. You should buy AirPods 4 instead, or with ANC if you have the extra cash.

Or…maybe you could try some of these…

Best AirPods Alternatives

The truth is, there are some excellent earbuds out there that aren’t AirPods. You may have to spend a bit more money, but you often get a better pair of earbuds, both in terms of sound quality and noise cancelling.

Here are our three favourite AirPods alternatives.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen

Boasting excellent noise-cancelling and the absolute best sound quality, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra are simply brilliant. The bass is so smooth and there is no perceptible distortion throughout the listening experience.

You can also adjust the EQ in the Bose app if you want to tailor your audio setup. They cost $300/£300 but the first gen models are now discounted heavily by most retailers and Bose themselves to around $200. The 2nd Generation version is largely the same as the first generation, but if you have the money, get the latest and greatest.

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8

Although pricey at $399/£349, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 easily make our recommendations list. Why? Because they are the best-sounding earbuds we’ve ever tested. It’s as simple as that.

The noise-cancelling needs some work and the case can get a bit smudged, but if you want top-end sound quality, then you should buy these headphones.

Sony WF-C710N

If you haven’t got loads of money to spare but still want a very good pair of earbuds, then do not look any further. The Sony WF-C710N are the earbuds for you.

At $129/£99, these blow any nearby competitor out of the water for sound quality, and arguably the AirPods themselves. The noise cancelling is pretty good too, although nowhere near more expensive options.

I’d recommend just buying them anyway as a backup pair.

Should You Buy AirPods Max In 2024?

AirPods Max

$549/£499

✅ Pros:
– Excellent noise cancelling
– Transparency feature works brilliantly
– Sound great, but not the best
❌ Cons:
– Terrible case
– Uses the old H1 chip
– Equally good headphones for less money

Apple released an updated version of AirPods Max in 2024 that turned out to be not-so-updated.

Barring a few new colours and a switch to USB-C from Lightning, there really is nothing different about the new AirPods Max. Apple could have added the H2 chip, a new case design or even some internal tech to make them sound better, but they didn’t.

Unfortunately, that means they struggle now more than ever to justify the eye-wateringly high $549/£499 price tag. That being said, they aren’t bad headphones. They look and feel unique and sound very high-grade. You won’t be disappointed by them.

But until Apple releases AirPods Max with new hardware, it isn’t worth buying them unless you really want these specific headphones.

For hundreds of dollars less, you can get a pair of Bose QuietComfort Headphones, Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphones or even splash on a pair of Sonos Ace.

Conclusion

The release of AirPods 4 makes choosing the right AirPods for you a much easier process.

They are an excellent pair of earbuds, and if you’ve wanted ANC without the price tag of AirPods Pro 2, this is the time to buy AirPods 4 with ANC.

And, if you want the absolute best in audio quality and ANC, AirPods Pro 2 are still there and still great. They are just a touch less worth the extra money now AirPods 4 exist.

Are you tempted by AirPods 4? Let us know below!