Apple AirPods 4 ANC review: the most OK sounding buds

Published: Oct 03, 2024, 9:13 AM

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AirPods 4 ANC in their case, next to the original box. The case is open and the battery light is on.

At the Glowtime event, where Apple mainly introduced the new iPhone 16 series, there was also an unexpected update for the regular AirPods. Now at 4th gen, the base AirPods come in two variants — with ANC and without ANC. Of course, we got a pair with noise cancelation to see how they sound and how they deal with external noises.

The regular AirPods 4 are half the price of the AirPods Pro, so they are still considered kind of the "budget" Apple earbuds. However, the ANC variant jumps up to $179, bringing it close to the $249 price of the Pros. So, who are they meant for?

We believe they are for people that are not necessarily looking for a cheaper set, but ones that don't like the in-ear experience. Some ears just don't jive well with in-ears — this reviewer would know. And there are very few regular buds out there that actually sound good, not to mention ones that offer ANC. With the AirPods 4, you also have the added bonus that they quickly and easily connect to multiple Apple devices, so if you have an iPad, iPhone, Mac, et cetera, you definitely get a better experience, too.

So, are the AirPods 4 with ANC worth your consideration?

Apple AirPods 4 (ANC) in a nutshell:

Driver size - presumed 11 mm
High dynamic range amplifier
Apple H2 chip
Pinch controls
ANC with Transparency mode and Adaptive mode
Adaptive EQ
Spatial Audio with Head Tracking
Tiny case
USB Type-C port on case
IP54 for both buds and case

AirPods 4 ANC specs

Color options	White
Audio	Bluetooth 5.3, AAC
Noise cancelation	ANC, Transparency, Adaptive
Connectivity	Multi-connection to all your Apple devices
Battery life	With ANC: 4 hours from buds +16 hours from case Without ANC: 5 hours from buds +25 hours from case
Wireless charging case	Yes, Qi2
Ingress resistance	IP54 buds and case

Design and Comfort

AirPods and their case, held in hands, showing off how tiny they are.

The AirPods have been redesigned since the 3rd gen to have this short stem and kind of tubbier look. Their speaker ports are also bigger, to deliver more sound to your ear. They fit really easily and stay in really nicely. Since they are not in-ears, they don't introduce much fatigue after prolonged wearing, but this will be highly subjective, of course. They do have to ensure a good fit and latch, so you can feel their size as your ear "clasps" around them.

Operating the stems feels really nice, and they offer a few gestures. Most are non-customizable of course — single pinch for play/pause, double pinch for next, triple for previous. Pinch and hold to toggle ANC and Transparency. That latter gesture can be set up to activate Siri, if you so desire, but you can simply speak "Hey, Siri" or "Siri" while wearing them and that'll accomplish the same.

The case is very tiny and comfortable. To the point that it's a bit scary that you can misplace it. The case does have a speaker, and all AirPods work with the Find My app, so that's a bit of peace of mind.

The regular AirPods 4 don't support wireless charging, but the ANC model does — plop them on a Qi2 charger and the case will juice up. The port on the bottom is now also USB-C, so you can very easily find where to plug it.

The box contents of the AirPods 4 — a booklet, the case with earbuds, and the box itself

Both the buds and case are rated IP54. Meaning, they can resist random splashes, sweat, and have limited dust protection. Don't go swimming or showering with them.

Oh, also, by the way... No USB-C charging cable in the box. Mother Nature must be proud!

Sound Quality

The AirPods 4 are at a bit of a disadvantage, when compared to in-ears. It's just much easier to deliver quality sound when the drivers of the earbuds are shooting right into your ear canal, which is why many manufacturers and users prefer the in-ear model, and why there are plenty of cheap in-ear monitors that actually sound very, very good.

But we respect the attempt to cater to the crowd that simply does not like using in-ear buds. Maybe your ear is too narrow and they always fall off, maybe you just don't like the feeling of it — there are good reasons to prefer an old style earbud. And the AirPods 4 do try to deliver a good sound with their design.

They do have a good bass and some silky presence to them. The lower mids are a little forward and the upper mids are a somewhat hollowed out, often making instruments that live in that area sound subdued, with their upper range popping up unnaturally once they play a high note. Their sound is a bit tubby, we wouldn't call it bassy. They just lack a good bite or sparkle, but the soundstage is wide, and you can definitely enjoy your music casually through them.

Apple does say these come with Adaptive EQ, which has been a feature of high-end AirPods thus far. Basically, there's an internal microphone in the AirPods, which is mainly used to adjust the ANC, but Apple also uses it to measure how your particular ear scatters frequencies around, and actively adjust the EQ of the earbuds to maintain a "consistent" sound. Unfortunately, there's no way to turn it off and hear how the AirPods 4 "really" sound.

These also support Spatial Audio and you can go as far as to customize it — you need to take a photo of your ear shape with the selfie camera of an iPhone, which will utilize the Face ID sensors to create a 3D map of your ear shape. Supposedly, this should make Spatial Audio even better for you.

Noise Cancelation and Transparency

Yet another challenge here, as noise cancelation is much easier when you have an in-ear bud with a silicone tip already isolating most of the ambient sound around you. Since the AirPods 4 sit just outside your ear canal, more sounds will come in, and ANC needs to work much harder in order to mute them.

So, how is it? It's decent — better than we expected, really. Of course, not as good as AirPods Pro, but the AirPods 4 ANC can definitely mute lower frequency noise. Humming and brumming will, at the very least, be much quieter in your head, and easily masked by music at medium volume. Higher frequencies do come through. Like your laptop fan, or sibilance and hard consonants in speech around you, or the clicking and clattering around the office space. Still, they are somewhat muffled, so they can almost go away if you are playing music in your buds.

The Transparency is also not as awesome as on the AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Max — it's a bit bitey and a bit middy, but that's probably to ensure that speech is well understood when you activate Transparency mode.

Is the ANC in the AirPods 4 (ANC) worth the extra $50? Kind of, but it's hard to say a definite "yes". It's a nice bonus for sure, but it's not nearly as good as having the AirPods Pro 2 in, completely muting the outside world. If you absolutely can't stand in-ear buds, and you need something to muffle the sounds around you, these will help.

Mic quality

The microphones in these sound pretty good. They are still Bluetooth, so there's the unnatural thinning-out of the sound, but the highs don't get rolled off and we don't get random dropouts. So, callers should be able to hear and understand you perfectly fine, while you are taking hands-free calls.

Conclusion

AirPods 4 in their case, with the lid open, standing next to the shipping box

Overall, the AirPods 4 ANC are pretty good. There aren't many earbuds (non-in-ear) on the market, and the ones that are out there often just sound bad. Now, the AirPods 4 are not an audiophile's dream, but they are pretty OK in the sound department. We like that Apple keeps updating the normal AirPods to give people with picky ears an option. And they are extremely convenient to use with multiple Apple devices, so if you are already in the ecosystem, these just have a good quality of life bonus to them.

The noise cancelation is not as good as with in-ears, but it's surprisingly effective.

Should you get these if you already have AirPods 3? If you absolutely want to make the outside world "pipe down a bit" — yeah, you should consider an upgrade. It would've been much easier to recommend these if they were $150, really, so maybe wait for a Black Friday deal?

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Preslav, a member of the PhoneArena team since 2014, is a mobile technology enthusiast with a penchant for integrating tech into his hobbies and work. Whether it's writing articles on an iPad Pro, recording band rehearsals with multiple phones, or exploring the potential of mobile gaming through services like GeForce Now and Steam Link, Preslav's approach is hands-on and innovative. His balanced perspective allows him to appreciate both Android and iOS ecosystems, focusing on performance, camera quality, and user experience over brand loyalty.