Testing Apple's New AirPods 4 With Active Noise Cancellation

[tothemoonsands]

If you don't mind putting the AirPods into a case, ESR has one that includes MagSafe compatible magnets.

Do you have one? Was looking at ESR options the other day. I don't necessarily love the design and prominent ESR branding, but at the same time I am not opposed to a case in order to regain that feature. I would assume the magnets are very strong being on the outside!

 

[JohnC1959]

Do you have one? Was looking at ESR options the other day. I don't necessarily love the design and prominent ESR branding, but at the same time I am not opposed to a case in order to regain that feature. I would assume the magnets are very strong being on the outside!

I do have one. The AirPods don't need a case that much but I liked that I could secure them with a little carabiner and it didn't cost much. I don't use MagSafe so I don't know how powerful the magnets normally are. They also have added magnets for the lid to be extra sure that the lid doesn't pop open on accident from a fall.

 

[UltimaKilo]

T

I like my Pros 2 don't need these 4 with ANC

Thanks, everyone was really curious as to if you would upgrade or not. Whew!

 

[Sarafay]

In windy conditions they are suboptimal. ANC is more disturbing than helping.

 

[svish]

Good video. The new AirPods seem to be good.

 

[jonnyb]

Apple: "Here's everything you've ever wanted in an AirPods without rubber tip...but we didn't want it to be perfect so we removed MagSafe magnets from the case..."

Also Apple: Do you like controlling volume like a Pro? Well, don’t get the new AirPods 4 with ANC.

 

[CraigsDog]

In windy conditions they are suboptimal. ANC is more disturbing than helping.

And an air conditioner isn't blocked out well at all by the 4 with ANC. The Pro 2 however almost completely mute the AC.

 

[Marcpek]

The AP3s have more treble so the additional bass of the AP4s makes music seem a bit less detailed and maybe more muffled sounding?

I agree with music sounding somewhat muffled in high frequencies compared to the AP3, I think they exaggerated with the bass in the AP4 (maybe to impress people or to make the ANC work, who knows).

Btw they have more bass than the Beats Fit Pro, which is kind of crazy to me.

 

[Pooneil]

I got my set this morning. I’ve been using the AP3s and the Pro 2s, but the Pros irritate my ear canals so they only really get used when the AP3s need charging. Now I have the AP4s as well, the Pros will likely be going in a drawer and I’ll use the AP3s as my fallback when the AP4s need charging… which it seems may be fairly often, even with ANC off, the AP4s seem to discharge much more quickly than the AP3s! They also don’t seem to charge as quickly as the AP3s either.

It’s taken me a bit of time to adjust to the sound of the AP4s. The AP3s have more treble so the additional bass of the AP4s makes music seem a bit less detailed and maybe more muffled sounding? That said, they sound pretty much like the Pros, so I’m sure I’ll get used to them.

As a side note, the battery life of my AP3s has been incredible. I bought them at launch and there’s virtually no battery fade, in fact they seem to have better battery life than the brand new AP4s!

In terms of fit, ironically the AP4s might fit slightly less well than the AP3s. Being smaller, the right one definitely feels a bit looser than the left and if I tilt my head and shake it, the bud will fall out. I’ll need to be more careful than I needed to be with the AP3s and Pro 2s.

The ANC is pretty decent, if I crank the volume they can definitely drown out normal surrounding noise, I’d say they’re like 75% of what the Pro 2s do. This is likely a firmware thing, but Conversation Awareness seems more responsive compared to the Pro 2s, but it also much more aggressively reduces the volume to the point I can barely hear the music, which kind of defeats the purpose, it might as well just pause the music if I can’t hear it.

I think my only other criticism would be the lack of volume sliders on the stems. I’m not sure why that is a Pro-only feature, but I guess as these have pretty much everything else the Pros do, Apple had to hold something back (or keep it in reserve for the AP5s! 😂)

Regarding the reduction in treble with the AirPods 4, engaging the ANC has some bass increase. If found that using Spatial Audio will heighten the upper midrange and treble. I’ve been using the AirPods 4 with both turned on. I’m still playing around with the settings. I have the AirPods 3 also and do have more top end which can be a double edge sword. Depending on the recording, the treble can be fatiguing and not be musical. Just experiment with the new AirPods.

 

[Reeneman]

Really don’t see the point of this product. I got the Sony WF XM5 for 169€ and these earbuds blasting any kind of AirPods out of the water. soundquality is so much better.
If you’re the N1 Apple stan than absolutely is in the need for white coloured buds and in the Apple ecosystem it might be reasonable to buy these, otherwise there isn’t a point for this product.

- Only 4 hrs of battery
- No volume control on the buds
- mediocre ANC and soundquality

 

[MasterControlProgram]

I agree with music sounding somewhat muffled in high frequencies compared to the AP3, I think they exaggerated with the bass in the AP4 (maybe to impress people or to make the ANC work, who knows).

Btw they have more bass than the Beats Fit Pro, which is kind of crazy to me.

Regarding the reduction in treble with the AirPods 4, engaging the ANC has some bass increase. If found that using Spatial Audio will heighten the upper midrange and treble. I’ve been using the AirPods 4 with both turned on. I’m still playing around with the settings. I have the AirPods 3 also and do have more top end which can be a double edge sword. Depending on the recording, the treble can be fatiguing and not be musical. Just experiment with the new AirPods.

Yes, I noticed the ANC does seem to increase the bass. I‘ve found the “Flat” setting in the EQ of the Music app works quite well to reduce the bass too. Of course that’s only good for the Music app and no use for YouTube or other streaming services, so I’ll have a play with Spatial too. Hopefully Apple’s next feature will be a global EQ app for AirPods!

 

[MrMister111]

Really don’t see the point of this product. I got the Sony WF XM5 for 169€ and these earbuds blasting any kind of AirPods out of the water. soundquality is so much better.
If you’re the N1 Apple stan than absolutely is in the need for white coloured buds and in the Apple ecosystem it might be reasonable to buy these, otherwise there isn’t a point for this product.

- Only 4 hrs of battery
- No volume control on the
- mediocre ANC and soundquality

I do and I use Android phone, but have iPad, Mac, Apple TV.

I don't like push in seal type ear buds. So this having the "rest in ear" and the addition of ANC is great for some.

Yes the ANC won't be the best, I think everyone will agree, it can't be, but to have it, I imagine, not having actually tried, but from reviews, and discussions, seems to be good, so it's a win win.

 

[bbates123]

Given the whole point of this product is the ANC, this review is rather perfunctory. Basically one line:



I can’t watch the video right now, does it go into more detail? If so, can someone summarise it for me? How good is the ANC, compared to the Pros?

As another person mentioned previously, and I agree, ANC seems to be about 75-80% of the Pros. I tried mowing my lawn with them in yesterday and that was a no go. With the Pros I can mostly listen to the music while I'm mowing or vacuuming.

 

[bbates123]

If I can dare to ask....

Has anyone used new ANC AP4 with an Android phone?

I know you don't get the full integration, but wonder if you can control AnC and transparency, and what controls work. How is ANC on them with Android, work just as well?

It's just I like the fit of AP than shove in type and seen these.

If I recall correctly, with my previous AirPods, once your AirPods are set the way you want, those settings will follow through to an Android device, including ANC. Of course if you want to change any of the settings off of the default settings you'll need an iPhone to do that.

 

[PagerDuty=quit]

I prefer Bluetooth speakers with big bass

 

[turbineseaplane]

Really don’t see the point of this product.

It's the only earbud on the market that has an open design yet can still do some amount of ANC

 

[Reeneman]

It's the only earbud on the market that has an open design yet can still do some amount of ANC

What’s so bad about „real“ in ears?
There are comfortable ones out there which way better performance for the same price or even less.

 

[MrMister111]

If I recall correctly, with my previous AirPods, once your AirPods are set the way you want, those settings will follow through to an Android device, including ANC. Of course if you want to change any of the settings off of the default settings you'll need an iPhone to do that.

So you can't switch between ANC and transparency on the go when using with Android?

It's the only earbud on the market that has an open design yet can still do some amount of ANC

It's not, there is others. Soundpeat for one.

 

[turbineseaplane]

What’s so bad about „real“ in ears?
There are comfortable ones out there which way better performance for the same price or even less.

They’re not an open design so you can’t hear your surroundings

Many of us have very specific cases in mind here

For me, it’s daily walks alongside busy roads where I need to have situational awareness, but I love to be able to turn down the traffic noise now with AP4s

Plug bud designs can do transparency mode or noise cancellation mode, but not both at the same time

 

[turbineseaplane]

. Soundpeat for one.

Links please!!

Every time somebody has said there is something that does this the link has been a product that is not actually what we are talking about here

Would love to have some options beyond just the AirPods 4

 

[Reeneman]

They’re not an open design so you can’t hear your surroundings

Many of us have very specific cases in mind here

For me, it’s daily walks alongside busy roads where I need to have situational awareness, but I love to be able to turn down the traffic noise now with AP4s

Plug bud designs can do transparency mode or noise cancellation mode, but not both at the same time

Hearing surroundings and the need for ANC doesn’t make sense in any way.
Better earbuds are absolutely capable of an environment mode to let through voice or other noises. You don’t need an open design for this.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Hearing surroundings and the need for ANC doesn’t make sense in any way.

Incorrect

The entire point is to cancel annoying and fatiguing frequencies while still hearing others, naturally through the open design nature

It absolutely makes sense. I’m doing it right now along a busy road .. literally (on my walk right now)

You may want to experience this yourself with the AirPods 4, and perhaps it will make more sense

The combo of an open design and active noise cancellation at the same time is a pretty revolutionary execution here by Apple

 

[MasterControlProgram]

So you can't switch between ANC and transparency on the go when using with Android?

I can’t speak to Android, but paired with my Steam Deck holding the stem allows you to switch between ANC and transparency modes like on iOS.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The other thing people are missing when comparing these to the AirPods Pro is that when you have ANC off they are just normal open AirPods, which many people prefer over a plug type design.

There’s a different product trade-off and design/usage priority being made here with these

 

[Heat_Fan89]

The main reason I chose the AP4 w/o ANC is because I get disoriented when I shutout, outside noises. By letting external noises come through I can still function without isolating myself to the outside world. It is why I never use earbuds with tips in public because I get disoriented.