Apple AirPods 4 with ANC review: Improved AirPods in every way

Last month when Apple launched the iPhone 16 phones, one surprise appearance at the launch event was the AirPods 4. A surprise because it comes with active noise cancellation (ANC), something that until now Apple had reserved for the AirPods Pro. Another key bit is that this ANC comes even though the AirPods continue to have an open design — in other words a design that lacks the silicon tips that can go into ears and create a seal and fit that complements noise cancellation? So, how does the ANC in the AirPods 4 work? Quite compellingly given its design limitations. In fact, it is better than expected.
ANC is not the only bit that is noteworthy about the AirPods 4. It also gets an upgrade in its sound, and it now offers certain features that we usually associate with the Pro series Pods.
Now, before I dive into the AirPods 4 with ANC, which is what I am reviewing today, a brief note on the difference between the regular AirPods 4 and the one with ANC. First is the price. The regular AirPods 4 costs Rs 12,900 whereas the AirPods 4 with ANC seeks extra Rs 5000 with its price being Rs 17,900. For this extra money, you not just get ANC but also a case that supports wireless charging — for example with the Apple Watch charging puck — and has a tiny speaker so it can chime. In terms of sound quality, both the AirPods 4 variants are the same with both using the H2 chip, which is borrowed from the Pro line. Both also have the case with a USB-C port.
Personally, I am not a fan of earbuds with open design. These are the buds that lack the silicon tips, the tips that can create a snug fit and seal. In contrast, the open design doesn’t go as deep in the ears and fit is not always as secure as it is with buds like the AirPods Pro that have silicon tips. But there are some people who prefer the open design: it makes the inside of the ears less sweaty, it doesn’t always put a bit of pressure inside the ears and it is, in a way, more hygienic and easier to clean.
If you are among the people who like open design buds, you will love the AirPods 4. These are kind of perfect buds in terms of fit and finish. In my ears, understandably, they were not fitting as snugly as the AirPods Pro but they sat well enough to not slip out even when I shook my head vigorously.
As it is the case with AirPods, these still come in one colour — milk white. They are also made of shiny and glossy plastic, which would collect scratches as you use them. The case is made of the same plastic. Build quality is, of course, fantastic and you do get a sense there is a lot of tech wizardry going on inside the buds as well as in the charging case.
The charging case is now smaller than ever. It also has the USB-C charging port, and the more expensive AirPods 4 with ANC comes with a case that has a tiny speaker to make chimes and it supports wireless charging.
The buds come with IP54 rating, which should allow them to handle a bit of water splashes, wet hands and gym sweat. The stems are touch-sensitive, although in my use I found the touch controls to be finicky. But that is on me because I have never been comfortable with controlling earbuds — any of them — from their stems or the surface of buds. I just find it too cumbersome. But if you don’t, on the AirPods 4 using touch spots you will be able to control: music play and pause and skip back and forward, summon Siri, answer and disconnect calls.
The AirPods 4 also come with a ton of sensors. This means the buds can sense when they are in ears and can pause music when you take them out, or start playing it again when you put them back on. They also support head tracking — required for spatial audio and for features like shake your head to reject a call.
The big news with the AirPods 4 is that they now have the H2 sound chip, the same chip that Apple also uses in the AirPods Pro. In a way, this is an upgrade for the vanilla AirPods. And it reflects in the sound they produce. It is fuller, slightly meatier sound with more bass — I could easily get a sense of it in songs by Eminem. The AirPods 4 also has somewhat more refined mids and highs as I experienced while listening to the Amelie soundtrack with its Accordion-heavy sound.
The sound signature of the AirPods 4, despite their diminutive size, is crowd-pleasing. Irrespective of what you are listening to, from classics like Bohemian Rhapsody to latest Bollywood craze such as Tauba Tauba, the AirPods 4 do a fantastic job.
A lot of this is also because of the active noise cancellation, which is surprisingly good considering the design of the AirPods 4. Of course, the design also means that purely as ANC buds, the AirPods 4 doesn’t work all that well. As in they can’t silence a crowded room around you as soon as you put them in your ears, something that AirPods Pro 2 or a few other earbuds and headphones can do. Instead, the ANC in the AirPods 4 muffles the din and chatter around you, even if the voices still reach your ears. But once I turned on the music on it, the ANC combined with the sound from the music was enough to keep the office gossip from my colleagues out of my ears.
Just like the AirPods Pro, there are a number of smart features in the AirPods 4. The transparency mode is there and it recognises dialogues. So, if you turn your head towards your office colleague and say something, the AirPods 4 immediately reduces the music volume and you can have a conversation. When the conversation ends, the volume goes back to regular level. In calls, the AirPods 4 offer features like “dual beam-forming microphones” that can reduce the background noise. Spatial Audio is supported. In use, I found it to be quite effective, but not as immersive and strong as what I get with the AirPods Pro 2.
Overall, in terms of performance I find that the AirPods 4 offer almost 90 per cent of what you get with the AirPods Pro 2, but at a relatively lower price point.
With case, the AirPods 4 ANC variant has battery life of around 20 hours, with around 2 hours of continuous music playback. These figures match what I got in use from the AirPods 4 that I reviewed. The regular variant, without ANC, offers around 30 hours of battery life.
When I started reviewing the AirPods 4, I didn’t have that much expectation. This is because I never liked the regular AirPods. But this one, particularly the AirPods 4 with ANC, is different. The sound performance of these buds, more so as it was bolstered by the ANC, pleasantly surprised me.
I feel the AirPods Pro 2, with their silicon tips, have a design that more people will find superior. And the ANC on the AirPods Pro 2 is certainly, in a very measurable way, better than what the AirPods 4 can offer with their open design. But if you don’t mind the design, and are just looking for a pair of buds that provide solid sound quality and that you can pair with your iPhone or the MacBook, the AirPods 4 is a slightly more affordable, and yet perfectly capable, option. Having said that, the AirPods Pro 2 is somewhat old now and can also be found on sale with discounts. And if you can snag that for closer to Rs 20,000, it is definitely a superior option compared to the AirPods 4 with ANC.