Which is right for you?

AirPods (4th Generation with ANC)

Improving on the 4th gen AirPods, the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancelation support features like Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness. Its case has also been upgraded, with wireless charging and a built-in speaker for Find My functions.
Pros

Smaller design

Improved sound quality

Impressive ANC for an open ear design

Wireless charging case with speaker for Find My
Cons

They can dislodge a bit when working out
AirPods (4th Generation)

The 4th gen AirPods might not feature support for Active Noise Cancelation, but they still pack a punch. The new H2 chip and improved acoustic architecture improve sound quality compared to the previous generation, and the USB-C charging case is highly convenient.
Pros

Smaller design

Improved sound quality

Personalized spatial audio

They actually fit my ears now
Cons

No wireless charging

Auditory masking can be an issue

They can dislodge a bit when working out

In September 2024, Apple announced an exciting update to its existing line of AirPods with the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Canceling (ANC) at the company’s “It’s Glowtime” event. They look exactly alike at a glance, but several key differences determine whether you’d be willing to pay $50 more for the ANC version of the AirPods 4 or if the standard AirPods 4 will sufficiently scratch your earbuds itch.

I’ll walk you through what you’re paying $50 more for, along with all the improvements over the previous generation AirPods 2 and 3, so you can spend your hard-earned money wisely.

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Price, availability, and specs

	Apple AirPods (4th Generation with ANC)	Apple AirPods (4th Generation)
Battery Life	Up to 5 hours (30 hours with case)	5 hours (30 with case)
Charging Case Included?	Yes	Yes
Brand	Apple	Apple
Bluetooth	5.3	5.3
Price	$179	$129
IP Rating	IP54	IP54
Weight	1.22oz (34.7g)	1.14oz (32.3g)
Colors	White	White
Charging Port	USB-C	USB-C
Noise Cancellation	Yes	No
Max talk time	4.5 hours	4.5 hours
Max playback time	4 hours w/ANC on, 5 hours w/ANC off	5 hours

The AirPods 4 are available now for $129 on Amazon, on Apple’s website, and in Apple stores. You’ll also be able to find them at multiple retailers online or in your local brick-and-mortar big-box electronics stores. Availability is the same for the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, but they cost $179.

Let’s talk about whether that $50 difference in price might matter to you.

Apple's AirPods 4 on top of the iPhone 16 Pro

Apple’s AirPods 4 with ANC might just be the best update yet

The entry-level wireless earbuds get several new features, including active noise cancellation, conversation awareness, and improved sound quality.

Design and fit

Finally, AirPods fit me

Close up of airpods 4 with anc in reviewer's ear.

I’ve reviewed a lot of true wireless earbuds. Some have been in-ear, some have been open-ear, but I’ve always had sketchy times with fit due to my freakishly small ear canals. My ear canal size has nothing to do with open ear designs, but stem-style buds, more often than not, fall out of my ears far too easily. In that regard, AirPods of the past have been no different. They always fall out when I talk or chew and forget about moving around vigorously — exercising with them is a definitive no-go. Luckily, that’s changed with the AirPods 4.

Using a more extensive data set, Apple redesigned the AirPods 4 to fit a broader range of ears, including mine. I can run, talk, and chew, and the AirPods 4 stay put. Compared to the AirPods 2 and 3, the AirPods 4 have a sharper angle between the thinner, shorter stem and the earbud.

With each earbud weighing only 0.1oz (4.3g), it’s easy to forget they’re in your ears after a while. If they fit you properly, I cannot overstate how comfortable both sets of AirPods 4 are.

The new AirPods 4 case is smaller, but the AirPods 4 with ANC case adds more features. Both are USB-C charging and no longer have the pairing button on the back — they’re touch-based. To pair them, you double-tap the front of the case where the hidden charging LED is and double-tap three times to reset them.

AirPods Pro in case against a blue background

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A few key differences between the two sets of AirPods 4 are in their cases. While both are IP54 dust, sweat, and water-resistant, only the ANC’s case has Qi and Magsafe wireless charging. You’ll also get a Find My speaker on the bottom of the AirPods 4 with ANC’s case, which is louder than the tone the buds on the standard AirPods 4 emit. This should make them easier to find when lost between couch cushions.

Sound and call quality

Boldly go where no buds have gone before

Let’s get this out of the way up front: The Active Noise Cancellation in the ANC model is game-changing. It’s some next-level Star Trek tech. I’m highly impressed with the amount of noise canceled out by the AirPods 4 with ANC — walking on busy city streets, I could hear the high and mid-frequency sounds hush significantly for an open-ear design.

Frankly, I expected to be underwhelmed because part of what makes ANC effective is the ability of earbuds with ear tips that sit in your ear canals to cancel outside noise passively. Do they compete with industry leaders like Sony or Bose, or even their own AirPods Pro 2? No. Are they effective for an open-ear design? Absolutely.

A woman wearing Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active earbuds in the rain.

Skullcandy’s Sesh ANC Active earbuds are my new gym and coffee shop companions

I’ve been using the Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active earbuds for work and exercise for the last two weeks — here’s how my listening held up.

Sound quality-wise, both of these earbuds sound marvelous. They connect to your phones using Bluetooth 5.3 and the AAC codec. Listening to masterfully engineered tracks like Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes” or “Shikiliza Kwa Wahenga” from the Get Out OST, you get a sense of just how well the AirPods 4 handle stereo imaging. The clarity is great, the soundstage is large and airy, and the nuanced layering of the stereo image is rousing. Especially with masterful big-band jazz tracks like Mingus’.

They’re open-ear designs, so you won’t get deep, resonant bass as you would with something that sits inside your ear canal, but the bass frequency response in quiet environments is still quite satisfying. In louder environments, bass response and other frequencies will also suffer from auditory masking.

Auditory masking is where the AirPods 4 with ANC outshines the standard AirPods 4.

Put simply, auditory masking occurs when outside sound competes with and diminishes the sound from your earbuds. This is where the AirPods 4 with ANC outshine the standard AirPods 4. When you activate the ANC in noisy environments, the perception of auditory masking decreases, and your audio sounds more robust despite the competition from environmental sound. Bolstering this ANC-driven increase in sound quality in noisy places is Adaptive Audio, which adjusts the level of ANC and Transparency based on ambient noise in your environment.

Charlotte wearing a pair of blue AirPods Max.

Do you need spatial audio on headphones?

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That takes me to the other set of features in the AirPods 4 with ANC, Transparency mode. The transparency with the ANC models is excellent, and as a result of the inclusion of these technologies, you also get Conversation Awareness, which lowers your media volume and then brings it back up when it detects you speaking.

I have a love/hate relationship with this feature. It’s excellent when I have ANC activated and need a quick word with someone while working out, for example. When I’m out for a casual walk by myself, with my music playing, I’ll often get into it and start singing to the track I’m listening to. I wish they weren’t so “aware” of my conversation then.

Control center settings for the AirPods 4 with ANC on an iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking sounds very good with both sets of AirPods 4. I usually turn off dynamic head tracking in favor of fixed Spatial Audio. Listening to Episode Two of Blue Eye Samurai, the fight scene at the cliff’s edge that coincides with a Taiko drum performance is still highly engaging despite the AirPods 4 being an open-ear design. The bass from the Taiko drums is satisfying, and the virtual surround field created by the Spatial Audio is immersive.

Rounding out the sound, the AirPods 4 both have the H2 chip embedded, so features like hands-free Siri activation are on board, as well as Voice Isolation, which removes background noise around you, making it easier for callers to hear you in busy environments. This worked quite well in my testing, and the calling quality of the AirPods 4 is as good as that of some of the top truly wireless earbuds I’ve tested this year, like Technic’s excellent EAH-AZ80.

6 key things to consider when you’re in the market for noise-cancelling headphones

Not all noise-cancelling headphones are built the same.

Software

Everything but EQ

The software experience is well-rounded with both sets of AirPods 4. Apple throws in everything but the kitchen sink — and EQ. Granted, you can get EQ options in many apps, including Apple Music, but I want EQ that is persistent with the earbuds themselves, keeping my settings across apps and contexts.

You can control, customize, and activate/deactivate so many features in the iOS Settings app that you should be able to craft whatever experience meets your needs. Of course, with the AirPods 4 with ANC, there will be more options in the Settings app for the different noise functions.

How AirPods Pro became Apple’s best-selling headphones

The AirPods Pro are Apple’s best-selling headphones thanks to a range of features and improvements.

Speaking of more options, the AirPods 4 are tightly integrated into iOS, making them one of the best options for enjoying media from your iPhone or iPad. Not only can you access configuration options from the Settings app, but you can also access some settings directly from the Control Center.

Battery life

How you use them will determine their fate

AirPods 4 with anc on MagSafe charger connected to a mophie power bank.

Stamina is one of the few areas where the AirPods 4 are a bit spotty. In my testing, with ANC on, I saw around the promised four hours of battery life. Both sets of AirPods 4 will get you closer to that five-hour listening mark sans ANC.

When you run the AirPods 4 down, you can charge them again in the case for five minutes, which will give you around an hour of listening time. However, all of these battery life observations will vary based on other factors like how loud or low you listen to your media.

Charge Limits in iOS 18 on iPhone 15 Pro on colored background

How to set a Charge Limit in iOS 18 to prolong your battery life

If you have an iPhone 15 or 16, you can choose how much your battery gets charged.

Which AirPods 4 should you buy?

AirPods 4 with ANC offers much more

AirPods 4 versus 4 ANC comparison of cases.

This is an easy one for me, but I’m not the one buying them right now. My main reason for liking the AirPods 4 with ANC over the entry-level AirPods 4 is the sound quality in real-life scenarios. If you’re out on these mean streets, taking public transportation, or studying or working in cafés, Active Noise Cancellation makes a noticeable difference in perceived sound quality.

Another consideration is the speaker built into the ANC version of the AirPods 4’s case — it’s a boon if you frequently misplace things. The speaker emits louder tones than the earbuds themselves, making the AirPods 4 with ANC easier to find in places that attenuate the Find My tones, like between couch cushions or in a bed beneath blankets.

The $50 difference is well worth the price for the added features of the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation.

For me, the $50 difference is well worth the price for the added features of the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. Though the case speaker, Conversation Awareness, and Adaptive Audio helped make the case for me, it was the ANC’s ability to improve the perceived sound in noisy environments that sold me.

The other bit that makes the ANC version of the AirPods 4 the winner for me is that I’m fully invested in wireless charging overnight, so I have a Mophie 4-in-1 wireless charging mat on a nightstand across the room.

Apple’s AirPods 4 with ANC might just be the best update yet

The entry-level wireless earbuds get several new features, including active noise cancellation, conversation awareness, and improved sound quality.

Top Pick

AirPods (4th Generation with ANC)

The AirPods 4 with ANC are Apple’s best entry-level AirPods yet. Their features make them a great value proposition for $50 more than the standard AirPods 4.

If you don’t often find yourself in noisy environments or on airplanes, adding Active Noise Cancellation may not be necessary for you. You’ll have some sound competing with what’s going into your ears from the AirPods 4 on busy streets, but if you don’t spend much time outside in that environment, you’ll love how they sound indoors.

Additionally, if you’re like me and place your phone and earbuds in the same place when you get to work or arrive at home, you may not need that speaker in the case. Without the need for ANC or the additional Find My feature, you might find that the standard AirPods 4 are more to your liking, and I’m sure your wallet will be delighted with the $50 savings.

Great Savings

AirPods (4th Generation)

The new AirPods 4 improve upon previous generations with a fit that should work for a wider range of ears, and improved sound. If you don’t need ANC, or wireless charging, you’ll save $50 with these.