With the recently released AirPods 4, Apple introduced two models, one with ANC, built-in speakers in the case, and wireless charge support. The other one lacks those functions but also shares the same H2 audio chip and an improved design.
What makes the model with ANC support so unique is the fact that it lacks ear tips, which most earbuds rely on to create a better active noise-cancelling experience. So far, reception for AirPods 4 has praised the ANC feature, saying it works pretty well when music or a podcast is turned on.
To Engadget, Apple’s Vice President of Hardware Engineering, Kate Bergeron, explained the magic surrounding the ANC feature without ear tips. She tells the publication that in 2021, she and AirPods marketing director Eric Treski met up at one of the company’s acoustic labs for a demo, which was AirPods without ear tips but with ANC support.
“We were just blown away,” Bergeron recalled. “We said ‘we absolutely have something here, we need to go after this and we’ve got to make it happen.’” According to Engadget, acoustic and computational work is required for an effective ANC algorithm, and Apple had to put an extra effort on these earbuds. “It’s even computationally more intense in many ways than it is with the AirPods Pro,” Bergeron said. “The ear tip gives you a fit that’s pretty consistent.”
Eric Treski explained how they could crack this technology: “It’s really, really hard to create this great ANC quality in a non-ear-tip product,” he said. “The power of the H2 allows that, so we’re actually doing a lot with the H2 chip to manage ANC quality and listen from the mics for environmental noise to make sure we’re canceling as much as possible.”
Still, if you’re looking for the best ANC on AirPods, Apple still recommends AirPods Pro 2. The full interview is worth reading. Below, you can learn what reviewers have said about these earbuds.
