Apple AirPods 4 (ANC) Review: Good and Bad News!

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78%

78%

• Sound Quality

  8
• Comfort & Fit

  6.5
• Design

  8
• Connectivity

  9
• Noise Cancelling

  7
• Battery

  8
• Value For Money

  8
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
  0

Earlier this month, Apple launched a brand-new generation of AirPods in two flavours: one with active noise cancelling (ANC) and a few other bells and whistles, and one in stock entry-level AirPods configuration.

This is a review of the AirPods 4 with ANC. On paper, they look fascinatingly close to the £50 more expensive AirPods Pro 2, and immediately piqued my interest, as a result.

I’m a huge fan of the AirPods Pro 2 (comparison article here!). If I’ve missed anything during my extended time away from the iPhone this year, it’s Apple’s earbuds. Now I’m fully back into the fold with the iPhone 16 Pro Max, I’ve been reacquainted with my AirPods Pro 2, and I’m reminded of the ease of use, sound quality, and perfect fit.

Do AirPods 4 with ANC live up to their big brother?

Almost.

Specs and Pricing

The AirPods 4 with ANC are impressively specc’d. They come with a custom high-excursion Apple driver and high dynamic range amp, adaptive audio and EQ, conversation awareness, voice isolation, personalised Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking, and IP54 water resistance.

Battery-wise, you can expect up to four hours of use on the buds with ANC turned on (five with it off) and 20 hours in total with the case (that increases to thirty hours total if you turn ANC off).

The AirPods 4 with ANC are also equipped with the H2 chip, which enables most of the fancy features described above and which, laughably, puts them ahead of the £499/$549 AirPods Max in terms of capabilities. Go figure.

You’ll pay £179/$179 for Apple’s latest earbuds, or £129/$129 for the version without ANC.

With that feature set, and given Apple’s penchant for premium pricing, that sounds like a rather good deal, doesn’t it?

Sound and Noise Cancelling

The AirPods 4 sound superb. With their full, rich audio, they knock other earbuds in that price bracket out of the water.

It’s not audiophile grade, because that isn’t the point of these earbuds. But it does continue Apple’s dominance in the ‘everyday all-rounder’ earbuds market. I get to test a lot of earbuds and nothing comes close in that regard.

The AirPods 4 deal with pretty much any kind of music beautifully and the same can be said for podcast playback. They will, quite simply, work for most people if all you need is a pair of earbuds that you can rely on to make whatever it is you’re listening to sound good.

It’s worth remembering that you also get Spatial Audio, which adds another dimension (literally) to movie and TV watching, and all of the Apple ecosystem benefits such as the ability to seamlessly switch between connected devices.

The AirPods 4 noise cancelling is as good as it can be. They don’t feature a rubber tip (one of the key differences between these earbuds and the AirPods Pro 2), which means there’s no seal to aid the ANC. In turn, this means that depending on your fit, quite a bit of the outside world will continue to creep in.

In noisier environments such as coffee shops, that means you won’t find yourself quite as cocooned as you will with the AirPods Pro 2.

Design and Fit

The AirPods 4 buds are slightly smaller than the AirPods Pro 2, but you have to put them side-by-side to notice any difference. They do look nigh-on identical. The obvious difference is, as noted, the lack of a rubber tip on AirPods 4, and this is where the problems start for me.

Apple told us during the unveiling of AirPods 4 earlier this month that they have spent considerable time researching different ear types to help design the most comfortable AirPods ever. I can’t deny that they’re comfy, just like AirPods Pro 2, but my left ear is still not compatible with Apple’s non-silicon-tipped earbuds, I’m afraid.

I’ve been using AirPods Pro for so long I’d forgotten that every other pair of AirPods or EarPods that came before would never sit securely in my left ear. Whatever Apple has done to AirPods 4 has made no difference; when stationary, I have to constantly readjust the left earbud to make anything like a secure fit.

Working out with AirPods 4 is a no-go for me. The right earbud sits relatively secure, but the looseness of that pesky left earbud means it immediately loosens and falls out if I run or do anything remotely energetic.

This is incredibly annoying because everything else about these earbuds is top-notch and offers brilliant value for money. A special shout-out must go to the case, which is the smallest AirPods case ever made and, as a result, utterly lovely to carry around.

However, when it comes to the fit, your mileage may vary, and that leads me to my conclusion about AirPods 4 with ANC.

Conclusion

The AirPods 4 with ANC (and without, if you want to save even more money) are a solid release from Apple and offer a brilliant alternative to the AirPods Pro 2.

Unfortunately, it comes down to one thing: do they fit securely in your ears? This is why I highly recommend that you try a pair before committing. If they fit securely and feel good, they’re a no-brainer for anyone who doesn’t want the fancier features and loftier price tag of the AirPods Pro 2.

I just wish my left ear had fallen into Apple’s extensive research.

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