AirPods 4 review: The best update yet

I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with Apple’s AirPods line. The standard AirPods don’t fit snugly in my ears, and I miss the AirPods Pro’s active noise-cancellation (ANC) when I use them. On the other hand, I’m not a fan of the AirPods Pro because I find them uncomfortable to wear for long periods. Sure, there are other wireless earbuds that are far more comfortable (like Nothing’s Ear (open), for example), but I often find myself going back to the AirPods because I’m an Apple device user and their integration with the tech giant’s ecosystem just can’t be beat.

When I got my hands on the AirPods 4, I hoped that they could solve my issues with the AirPods 3 and my fit problems with the AirPods Pro 2. They comfortably sit outside your ears, and for the first time, ANC is available with the standard AirPods. This sounded like the perfect combination to me. The key question surrounding the AirPods 4 with ANC is if the noise-cancellation actually works. Samsung tried open earbuds noise-cancellation with its Galaxy Buds 3 wireless earbuds, and I barely noticed it was even there. Thankfully, the AirPods 4’s ANC is decent, but it doesn’t block out nearly as much sound as the AirPods Pro 2’s active noise cancellation, and unfortunately, the earbuds still constantly fall out of my ears.

Recommended

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

• Great-looking new design
• ANC is decent for open earbuds
• Charging case now supports Find My

Cons

• Sound quality upgrade isn’t huge
• Noise cancellation can be lacklustre
• Battery life remains the same

Price, availability, and specs

Apple’s AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancelation cost $179 ($70 less than the AirPods Pro 2). The AirPods 4 with ANC feature a new fit with shorter stems and a rounder speaker. They also offer the H2 chip, just like the AirPods Pro 2nd-gen, bringing features like personalized spatial audio, dynamic head tracking, voice isolation, and active noise cancellation, to the regular AirPods.

The case is smaller than and more square than previous entry-level AirPods, and it features a USB-C port instead of Lightning like past AirPods. Battery life comes in at five hours (four hours with active noise cancellation) and up to 30 hours from the charging case. In comparison, the AirPods Pro 2 get roughly six hours of battery life with ANC on. Other notable specs include Bluetooth 5.3 and IP54 (protection against splashes, but very minimal water resistance). IP54 means that the AirPods 4 are good for a workout and should offer decent sweat resistance compared to the AirPods 2, but you shouldn’t get them really wet.

Each bud weighs 0.15oz and measures 1.1 x 0.7 x 0.7-inches (30.2 x 18.3 x 18.1mm). The case weighs 1.14oz and measures 1.9 x 1.8 x 0.8-inches (50.1 x 46.2 x 21.2mm).

What I liked about the AirPods 4

AirPods Pro 2 features come to the base AirPods

The first thing I noticed about the AirPods 4 is how comfortable they are, even compared to the AirPods 3. Unlike the AirPods Pro 2, they don’t feel like an object burrowing into my ear and feel great to wear for long periods (even more so than the AirPods 3). Instead, they sit perfectly just outside my ears. However, this also means they don’t fit that securely, and unlike the AirPods Pro 2, there aren’t different tips to better lock them in place. Like with past AirPods, I find the AirPods 4 fall out of my ears frequently, especially if I’m doing something active like working in my backyard, running, or sometimes even going for a walk. I can twist them and lock them in place for a more secure fit, but it doesn’t really work that well. Of course, this problem likely comes down to my ear shape, so others might not encounter it.

Regarding design, the AirPods 4 look surprisingly different compared to the AirPods 3. First, they don’t feature lengthy stems and more closely resemble the AirPods Pro without the rubber ear tips, giving them a distinct appearance compared to the AirPods 3. The case also no longer features a physical pairing button, which I found confusing at first. If you want to pair the earbuds with a non-Apple device, you need to double-tap the capacitive button just below the status light. I still prefer the physical button, but the change isn’t a big deal, especially if you don’t use the AirPods 4 with an Android device (if you’re an Android user, you’re probably not interested in the AirPods 4 anyway).

The AirPods 4’s redesigned acoustic architecture sounds better than the AirPods 3, including crisper highs and deeper bass, but the sound quality upgrade isn’t monumental, whether you’re listening to podcasts or music. Still, they push into AirPods Pro 2 space in terms of sound quality, which is great given their decent price. Sticking with this theme, the AirPods 4’s ANC is best described as fine. It does a decent job of blocking out background noise, but if the sound is loud or high-pitched enough, you’ll still clearly hear it. For example, I wore the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation turned on while mowing the lawn, and it felt like ANC wasn’t working at all, but going for a walk on a windy day, it adequately blocked the wooshing of the wind. For a pair of open-ear wireless earbuds, the ANC is impressive and a cut above the Galaxy Buds 3. Given these are open-ear/on-ear rather than in-ear wireless earbuds that seal around your ear canal, their ANC can only ever be so good.

Other AirPods Pro features that have made their way to the AirPods 4 include “Personalized Spatial Audio,” “Conversational Awareness,” and “Head Gestures.” Personalized Spatial Audio adjusts the acoustics to match how you hear sound, but similar to the AirPods Pro 2, I didn’t notice much of a difference. Conversational Awareness lowers the volume when you hear sound or start talking. I’ve found this feature very useful with the AirPods Pro 2 when listening to music or a podcast and my partner says something, and it’s great that it’s now available with the AirPods 4. The AirPods 4 also support head gestures, allowing you to answer or decline calls by nodding or shaking your head. I don’t find myself using this feature often, but it works quite well.

Of course, you can also use Siri voice commands with the AirPods 4 to send texts, listen to notifications, and manage audio playback. The ANC version of the AirPods 4 also includes a charging case that features Find My — a must-have feature for me given how often I misplace my AirPods. And, finally, the new Voice Isolation feature, which, like a lot of the new features, is borrowed from the AirPods Pro. It works great and kicks up the AirPods 4’s sound quality considerably.

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What I didn’t like about the AirPods 4

There’s not enough here to make them a must upgrade

The AirPods 4 would be my go-to wireless earbuds if they featured a way to control the volume on one of the buds. The number of times I reached for the stem to turn the volume up or down has been countless over the past few weeks. I can just say, “Hey Siri, turn the volume down” or “Hey Siri, turn up the volume,” but this doesn’t come naturally to me, especially since I’ve been using the AirPods Pro 2 for the past few years (I’m also not a fan of talking to my wireless earbuds in public). This is obviously an intentional feature differentiation by Apple, and I can’t help but wish the AirPods 4 offered a way to adjust the volume on each bud — it would make them a more complete package and feel natural given you still squeeze the stems to pause music and change settings.

The other thing worth noting is that the AirPods 4 aren’t that much of a leap over the AirPods 3. They sound better, but not that much better. They offer ANC, but it’s lackluster compared to the AirPods Pro 2 and other in-ear earbuds. Battery life actually clocks in at less than the AirPods 3 when you have ANC on, too, which is disappointing. In my experience, I got about 3.5 to 4 hours with ANC on compared to the roughly six I get from the AirPods Pro 2.

One issue I’ve encountered is the AirPods 4 switching between Apple devices. It isn’t as seamless as other AirPods I’ve used (like the AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Max, for example), especially when jumping between my MacBook Pro and iPhone. Sometimes, the AirPods 4 just won’t connect, forcing me to remove them from my ears and put them back in to get the connection to stick.

But, beyond the above issues, the AirPods 4 are a pretty complete wireless earbud package.

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Should you buy the AirPods 4?

A great option

If it’s time to buy new AirPods because your AirPods 2 or 3 aren’t holding a charge anymore or are just beat up after years of use, the AirPods 4 with ANC are a great option. But if your AirPods 3 are still working well, ANC and features like conversational awareness just aren’t worth the upgrade. As impressive as the AirPods 4’s noise cancelling is for open wireless earbuds, it’s just not that great. This means that if you’re an Apple user and want solid ANC, you should probably opt for the more expensive AirPods Pro 2 over the AirPods 4.

With that said, if you have an ailing pair of AirPods 3 or your original AirPods or AirPods 2 have seen better days, the AirPods 4 are a solid upgrade with several worthwhile features, especially if you set your expectations appropriately regarding ANC.

Recommended

AirPods (4th Generation with ANC)