Apple AirPods 4
The AirPods 4 offer a more comfortable fit, more portable build, and better audio quality — all for a relatively low price.
Pros
- Comfortable fit
- Solid audio quality
- Apple features like Automatic Switching
- Reasonably-priced
Cons
- No wireless charging
- Limited continuous battery life
| Buy From | List Price | Sale Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | $129 | $119 | See It |
It’s hard to overstate how successful Apple’s AirPods have been. They’ve gone from a bit of a laughing stock, thanks to their white stem design, to an absolute icon in the span of only a few years. Now, the AirPods are on their fourth generation, and this time they have been released in two models: the AirPods 4 and the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation.
I’ll be looking at the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation separately, as I think the standard AirPods 4 are a pretty interesting release. These earbuds are built to be the entry point to the AirPods line, offering a lower price than much of the competition, with a solid feature set. They also have a new design compared to the AirPods 3 before them. How do they perform? I’ve been using them to find out.
More portable and more comfortable
As mentioned, the AirPods 4 bring a new design to the entry-level AirPods. They still have an open-style design that doesn’t fully create a seal in your ears when you put them in, and they still have a stem, which has become a signature design element of the AirPods in general.
However, that stem is shorter than before, and the bud at the end of the stem is a different shape than the AirPods 3. According to Apple, the shape is the result of millions of ear scans and an effort to ensure that the AirPods 4 fit well in as many ears as possible.
Indeed, the AirPods fit very well in my ears. They were comfortable to wear for long periods of time, and I found that I never really experienced much discomfort. They don’t fit quite as snug as the AirPods Pro, though, and the result is that during heavy movement, they can move around a little and even dislodge. If you’re looking for a pair of earbuds to run with, it’s probably worth going for the AirPods Pro or another pair of earbuds altogether.
The AirPods 4 offer mostly the same controls as before, which is a good thing. I found the squeeze controls on AirPods to be very easy to use and responsive overall. That said, I wish you could customize them beyond simply customizing call controls. And unfortunately, they only really offer squeeze controls, not swipe controls. That means that you can’t control the volume on the earbuds themselves like you can on the AirPods Pro.
The design of the case is different, too. The case that comes with the AirPods 4 is pretty different from that which comes with the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. The good news is that the case is smaller than before, if you can believe it. AirPods already generally offer some of the smallest charging cases, and it’s nice to see them getting even smaller to be more pocketable. A USB-C port can be found on the bottom.
But there’s some bad news related to the case, too. Unlike the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, the basic AirPods 4 charging case doesn’t support wireless charging. That seems like a bit of a miss from Apple. Plenty of alternative earbuds in this price range support wireless charging, and it seems a bit silly to hold it back as a feature. Additionally, this case doesn’t come with built-in speakers for status alerts. I do like the LED light that’s hidden under the front of the case, though, and it’s really nice to see that the charging case is IP54 water-resistant, and not just the earbuds.
Generally, the design of the AirPods 4 makes for a more comfortable fit and a more portable build. I do wish that Apple didn’t hold back quite as many features as it did, though.
Limited battery and no wireless charging
I was a little disappointed in the battery life offered by the AirPods 4. They have a continuous listening time of 5 hours, which is lower than any earbuds I’ve tested in recent memory. The charging case will get you an additional 25 hours, bringing the total listening time to 30 hours. To be fair, it’s probably uncommon that you’ll listen to music for 5 hours straight.
But again, the majority of competitors offer a longer battery life. That’s an issue made even worse by the lack of wireless charging. It makes sense that Apple is trying to differentiate the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation with some features. But I think ANC is enough of a feature to do that. I kind of find the lack of wireless charging a little confusing for customers who might assume that the only thing they’re not getting with the lower-end earbuds is no ANC.
Apple-y features
But they do offer a huge range of features, as we’ve come to expect from AirPods in general. Some of these are held over from previous generation models, but others are new, and they’re all powered by the H2 chip.
For starters, as you would expect, they support Apple’s Automatic Switching tech. This feature can sometimes be a little buggy, but it’s one that I love and have come to rely on over the years. Earlier this year, for example, my wife and I had our first child. Being able to easily connect my AirPods Max to the Apple TV in the bedroom or the Apple TV in the living room, or keep them connected to my phone or Mac as needed, was a lifesaver when quiet in the house was necessary. To be clear, this tech only works with Apple devices, though — there’s no standardized Bluetooth Multipoint here.
There are plenty of other new smart features, too. For example, the AirPods 4 offer personalized audio that automatically adjusts the volume of your audio depending on your environment. For some, this might be annoying, especially for those who want to control volume based more on the vibe of the music than their surroundings. But you can turn it off if you want to.
The AirPods 4 also have personalized spatial audio, which uses head-tracking and makes for a more immersive listening experience. I’ve never loved using spatial audio when listening to music, but I do quite like it when watching TV shows or movies. And while I don’t really do that on my phone, it works on an Apple TV too.
Last but not least, the AirPods 4 have an accelerometer built into them that allows you to interact with Siri by nodding or shaking your head. It’s a nice way to respond to Siri without actually speaking, for example, in an elevator. That said, I haven’t necessarily found myself using it all that much beyond testing, but it’s nice that it’s an option—and one that you can disable if you want.
Better audio in every way
The AirPods 4 also happen to sound a lot better than the AirPods 3 before them. They offer better bass in the low end, better clarity in the high end, and just generally sound good, especially for a pair of headphones in this price range.
The bass response is particularly improved. This helps kick drums sound a lot more powerful, and bass guitars and synths help round out the music. They even managed to produce many sub-bass tones well, something that isn’t all that common in earbuds in this price range.
While the bass is likely to be more helpful for a larger portion of listeners, I particularly enjoyed the better clarity at the high end. This helped percussion, like cymbals, sound more crisp, and generally made for a more natural audio response. High-end frequencies are often sub-par in cheaper earbuds, but I was pleasantly surprised — even though, to be clear, they are still a little bass-forward.
Conclusions
The AirPods 4 are a great entry point for the AirPods line. It makes total sense that the earbuds don’t have Active Noise Cancellation unless you pay more. I do wish that some of the other features were available here, though, like wireless charging. Regardless, if you’re looking for a pair of earbuds in Apple’s ecosystem and want to spend as little as possible, the AirPods 4 are excellent, offering improved audio and access to features like automatic switching.
The competition
If you’re an Apple user, these are the best earbuds in their price range. They sound good, fit great, and offer advanced features. That said, it is worth considering upgrading to the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation — not just for the ANC but also for features like wireless charging.
If you don’t care all that much about the Apple-focused features, and just want the best-sounding earbuds you can get in the price range, then consider the Nothing Ear (a) earbuds, which offer ANC, a cool transparent design, and more — but they don’t have the Apple stuff, like Automatic Switching.
Should I buy the AirPods 4?
Yes, they’re excellent Apple-focused earbuds at a low price.
