For those that don’t know, I’m an avid Apple user being deep into the ecosystem for as long as I can remember, and there’s no product that shows off the strength of the Apple ecosystem more than the AirPods, which are hugely improved with the AirPods 4.
The AirPods well and truly pioneered the wireless earbuds space, but other brands have been getting closer and closer with Apple’s own Beats Solo Buds that I reviewed a few months ago providing fantastic value for money, but the new AirPods 4 have once again put a fair amount of distance between Apple and the pack.
The AirPods 3 copped a bit of flack for staying in the ears, so Apple totally re-designed the 4 with a narrower width and a different angle for the bud and it’s not only a much more comfortable fit, but they also stay in the ears a lot better as well, which is super important for exercise.
The AirPods 4 comes in two different variations and whilst the actual design of the AirPods and much smaller case are almost identical, there’s some differences between the model. The base model doesn’t have active noise cancelling, and similarly, the case doesn’t have any form of wireless charging and it also lacks a speaker in the case as well.
On the flipside, the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, obviously do have active noise cancellation for the first time in the open-ear design, the case has wireless charging as well as support for Apple Watch chargers (no MagSafe) and there’s a speaker in the case for Find My Support as well.
THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $219 WITH FREE SHIPPING
The noise cancelling is the biggest story here. If you wanted it in AirPods, you had to go to the Pros, and not only are they a lot more expensive, but a lot of people don’t like in-ears. The AirPods 4 with ANC provide a really solid active noise cancellation experience, blocking out I’d say 70% of what the AirPods Pros do.
If you’re on a plane, or somewhere where there’s a lot of noise, you’ll notice a difference, but I wore them on a trip to Sydney a few weeks ago, and was really impressed. If you just want noise cancellation to block out office noise or whilst on a walk these are more than fine.
As far as features go, it’s identical to that of the Pros, with transparency mode as well as adaptive audio (automatically blending the two) and conversation awareness featuring here as well.
It’s a very similar story when it comes to audio quality, with the AirPods 4 performing well above their price. They sound phenomenal, and out of the box, they’re just a joy to have in your ears, whether you’re listening to a podcast, on a call or enjoying music.
The AirPods 4 have the H2 chip which means you can take advantage of the new nodding feature to answer or dismiss calls. I did have a bit of trouble setting it up the first time but it works quite well. Similarly, it allows for Voice Isolation which continues to amaze me. With two noisey sausage dogs, this feature is a must-have, and I’m consistently amazed when people on the other end tell me they can’t hear them when I’m on a call. When it comes to gaming, the H2 Chip also allows for low latency which is great when pairing with any of the Apple devices for gaming.
Battery life on the AirPods 4 has also been improved with 5 hours base on both models, and 4 hours with ANDC turned on. This extends to 30 hours with the case for both models or 20 hours with ANC turned on.
I touched on it at the start of the review, but if you’re in the Apple ecosystem, there is just no better audio offering than AirPods purely because going from device to device is seamless and faster than ever. I can go from my MacBook to my iPhone to my iPad and it moves with me with zero fuss.
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At $219 for the standard AirPods 4 and $299 for the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, these will absolutely be the two new wireless earbuds that are perfect for most people.
