First Apple AirPods 4 reviews: USB-C, «sometimes useful» ANC, and shorter battery life

Before the new AirPods 4 get into the hands of our reviewers, we’d like to offer you the first reviews from foreign websites and bloggers.

The reviews tested two different versions of AirPods 4 — both provide the same sound quality, contain an H2 chip, and are IP54-rated for dust and water. The base model costs $129 and the premium model — $179 and offers several key upgrades, with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) being the main feature. A detailed review by The Verge can be found at at the link while we provide summary conclusions below.

Apple AirPods 4 with ANC ($179)

Characteristics:

Type	Wireless in-ear headphones
Weight	4.3 g per earbud
Drivers	High Excursion Driver from Apple
Battery life	4 hours with ANC or 5 hours without
Controls	«Force Stem» on each earbud, «Hey Siri» in «hands-free» or head gestures
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.3

Advantages:

• Noise reduction often works impressively for open design;
• Improved sound quality;
• Wireless charging and a built-in speaker on the case.

Disadvantages:

• There is no proper management of Multipoint;
• Volume control is less convenient than on AirPods Pro;
• ANC will not be useful in all environments.

Apple AirPods 4 ($129)

Advantages:

• Improved sound quality;
• Voice isolation can significantly improve call clarity;
• Deep integration of the Apple ecosystem.

Disadvantages:

• Lack of wireless charging;
• No built-in speaker on the case;
• There is no proper management of Multipoint.

The greatest value of ANC, according to the observer The Verge by Chris Velcro, which manifests itself in AirPods 4 when listening to music (although without it, the headphones can handle some low-frequency noise) — at 50% volume, you won’t hear any extraneous sounds. However, you can’t adjust the volume directly from the headphones in the case of the basic version

Below are some key quotes from reviewers of other publications:

• Jake Krol, TechRadar: «For a long time, I thought AirPods Pro offered the best permeability mode, in which they intelligently let ambient sounds through and lowered the decibels so as not to damage your ears. But the AirPods 4 outperform the more expensive version: any sense of roboticism or noise coming through the channel almost disappears. With Conversation Awareness enabled, you can also effectively carry on conversations with people in a natural way, sometimes even forgetting that you’re wearing headphones. Your own voice will also sound a bit more natural and less processed».
• Billy Steele, Engadget: «AirPods 4 have more bass than the previous model. The improved frequency response is reflected in the full display with Dolby Atmos content (movies, music, and TV shows), but AirPods 4 also have better sound potential with non-spatial tunes and videos».
• Nicole Nguyen, The Wall Street Journal: «The real advantage of the new AirPods is their active noise cancellation, or ANC, which means they use microphones and signal processors to suppress outside sounds. When the mode is on, AirPods can mask the buzzing or conversations in the office or the rumble of a train».
• David Carnoy, CNET: «One thing that’s a bit disappointing is that Apple hasn’t been able to improve the battery life, and it’s actually a little worse than the AirPods 3. You can get up to 5 hours of battery life with the noise cancellation feature off and 4 hours with it on. The case gives you an additional 25 hours of use with ANC off and 16 hours with it on».

Video review by Marcus Brownlee