Apple AirPods 4 (with ANC) Review

Apple’s two newest pairs of earbuds, the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC, have been a bit polarizing so far in their existence. There are some tech experts ready to grab their pitchforks, and some eager to sing the praises of the latest in a long line of Apple wearables. Admittedly, I was preemptively headed out to the barn to sharpen mine. But Apple made some tangible updates to its new buds, most notably improved audio quality and, for its more expensive version, active noise cancellation that’s hard to beat for an open-ear design. They still have a ways to go before striking fear into the hearts of Sony or Sennheiser, but these new AirPods have a lot in store for iPhone owners everywhere.

Editor’s Note: This review is officially of the AirPods 4 with ANC. However, with just a few specifications separating both versions of the new AirPods 4, we have included comparisons and feedback from testing the standard AirPods 4 as well.

Specs

• Price: $179.99
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 1.19” x 0.72” x 0.71” (each)
• Weight: 4.3 grams (each)
• Active Noise Cancellation: yes
• Weather resistance rating: IP54
• Battery life: up to 4 hours with ANC (20 hours total with case), up to 5 hours without (up to 30 hours total with case)
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3

Apple AirPods 4 with ANC – Design and Features

Both the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC adhere to Apple’s signature golf tee, semi-open earbud design. Whether you like it or not, it’s an iconic aspect of Apple’s ultra popular earbuds, and a few slight tweaks (a “refined contour” and a shortened stem, per Apple) from generation to generation aside, they have shown no signs of trying to reinvent the wheel here. One design aspect of note, however, is that both models’ cases are noticeably smaller than their older counterparts.

Under the hood, Apple says the AirPods 4 have a new H2 chip built in that’s meant to intuitively adapt the buds to the environment they’re in order to improve both audio and phone calls. Both sets also have IP54 weather resistance, giving them protection against dust, sweat and water. It took Apple until its third generation of AirPods to offer any sort of weather protection whatsoever, and even then the company snuck by with the bare minimum (an IPX4 rating). By comparison, the AirPods 4 and 4 with ANC instill a lot more confidence when it comes to taking them out in the elements. I got caught in downpours multiple times thanks to the West Coast’s recent “bomb cyclone,” only for the AirPods 4 to power through unaffected.

Feature-wise, the AirPods 4 with ANC fill out the spec sheet almost in unison with the AirPods Pro 2. Both pairs have Spatial Audio capabilities, a wireless charging case with USB-C and a built-in speaker to support Apple’s Find My functionality, automatic switching between devices that share the same Apple account, and of course Siri accessibility built-in. The AirPods Pro 2 have slightly better battery life (6 hours of listening without ANC), but these buds are otherwise strikingly similar when purely pouring over the stats.

Apple AirPods 4 with ANC – Performance

I’ve personally been an AirPods naysayer for a long time, partially because I’m a stubborn Android loyalist and partially because I prefer earbuds with silicone tips that create passive noise cancellation and naturally keep outside noises from tampering with the audio experience. Also because compared to most non-Apple earbuds in this price range, AirPods’ battery life, weather resistance and sound quality have consistently missed the mark.

Well, after borrowing my wife’s iPhone, the AirPods 4 have me eating my words – at least some of them. Battery life is still bad by almost every other brand’s standard, although I will say that Apple’s estimations are impressively accurate. But to my ears, the sound quality in both AirPods 4 and 4 with ANC were surprisingly great. Track after track, they were precisely balanced and packed with detail. For instance, listening to Chris Stapleton’s Tennessee Whiskey, the singer’s award-winning voice was paired to perfection with deep bass notes that act as the song’s anchor. Apple points to its custom-designed low-distortion driver that was developed to handle deeper bass, and for my money, it’s working wonders.

When it came to audio quality, the AirPods 4 with ANC did have the slight upper hand compared to the non-ANC variant, which can mostly be chalked up to being able to keep more details in your ears and more distractions out of them. Speaking of noise cancellation, the AirPods 4 with ANC were nothing short of impressive, just as long as you consider the form factor they arrive in. Silicone-tipped earbuds have a clear advantage over AirPods and their open-ish design, but the AirPods 4 were still very effective at blocking out the unwanted sounds of daily life. I routinely swapped the AirPods 4 and 4 with ANC based on which pair had battery life to spare, and certainly missed the latter at the gym when every grunt, slammed weight or whirring treadmill made their way into my listening experience.

Not to be forgotten, both versions of the AirPods 4 are outfitted with Spatial Audio and dynamic head tracking. They both execute this feature well, virtually placing stereo music and movie or TV content in a three-dimensional space around your head. It’s an entirely subjective technology at this point in time, and while I can appreciate the presence it adds to certain content, I’m just not very sold on it in general.

Finally, I fully endorse the AirPods 4 and 4 with ANC when it comes to call quality. They became my weapon of choice for multiple work calls that I had to take on-the-go, mainly because they did a remarkable job of isolating my voice and dampening the sounds of traffic (and in my case, heavy rainfalls) happening around me. You never want to be the coworker who sounds like he’s taking a call in his car, and based on feedback from trusted team members, the AirPods 4 made sure I didn’t time and time again.

Apple AirPods 4 with ANC – The Competition

Interestingly, the biggest competition the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC face are each other, as well as their older, more powerful relatives. Most Apple users interested in new earbuds will land between one of these three pairs, simply because of how seamlessly they integrate with the entirety of the Apple ecosystem.

To that end, Apple fans have a few considerations to make. If they don’t need any noise cancellation whatsoever, the standard AirPods 4 seem like an easy choice. They offer the vast majority of the features that both the AirPods 4 with ANC and AirPods Pro 2 have, sound nearly as good as the AirPods 4 with ANC despite being $50 cheaper, and are more durable and impervious to weather than the previous AirPods 3.

Things get interesting when choosing between the AirPods 4 with ANC and AirPods Pro 2. Having tested my wife’s AirPods Pro 2 against the AirPods 4, there’s no question that they are the superior earbuds thanks to improved clarity, bigger bass, more comfort (depending on your preference), and significantly better noise cancellation. The question, though, is whether or not the AirPods Pro 2 are $70 better than the AirPods 4 with ANC in each of those categories. For most folks, I don’t think they are, which means that the AirPods 4 with ANC could very well eat into some of its bigger brother’s market share.

Oh, and if you’re an Android user, find whatever AirPods alternative matches the price you’re interested in from Sony, Sennheiser, Jabra, JBL, Denon, Soundcore…etc. and buy those. Unless you’re a really big fan of the way AirPods look, they’re really only at the top of the food chain when they have an Apple device to correspond to.