Apple AirPods 4

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The $129 AirPods 4 are Apple's entry-level true wireless earbuds. Although they lack the noise cancellation and some other advanced features of the $179 AirPods 4 With Active Noise Cancellation, they share one crucial trait: The AirPods 4 deliver excellent audio performance that's capable of reproducing sub-bass—a notable advancement for an open-ear design (an open design doesn't block your ear canal so you can still hear your surroundings). The in-ear AirPods Pro 2 ($249) still offer the best sound quality and noise cancellation of the bunch, so they remain our Editors' Choice overall, while the noise-cancelling AirPods 4 are our top pick for open earbuds. But if you don't need noise cancellation, the standard AirPods are an excellent alternative that sound just as good.

Design: You've Seen It Before

As mentioned, there are two distinct models of the AirPods 4, one without active noise cancellation for $129 and one with it for $179. This review covers the former. The biggest difference, other than noise cancellation, is that the entry-level AirPods lack Conversation Awareness and Transparency modes, and the case doesn’t support wireless charging or have a built-in speaker for Apple's Find My feature.

The AirPods 4 closely resemble the AirPods 3 in that they are white, shiny, and have stems that protrude downward. Apple has redesigned the buds with a more angled contour to improve fit security, shifted the position of the black vents, and narrowed the oval grilles. The updated shape succeeds in being secure and lightweight. They shouldn't fall out of your ears if you place them properly, but they can still fit inconsistently from ear to ear, which creates potential sound imbalance issues.

Internally, custom 11mm high-excursion drivers work with high dynamic range amplifiers to deliver the sound. The redesigned venting system and relocated H2 chip, which is now in the stem, assist in improving airflow and acoustics. The AirPods 4 are compatible with Bluetooth 5.3 and support the AAC, AAC-ELD, and SBC Bluetooth codecs, the same as the noise-cancelling model.

The capacitive control strips on the stems are easy to operate. Audible clicks and haptic feedback go a long way toward making it feel like you’re pressing or holding buttons. A single-press handles playback and call management (answering a call and mute/unmute), a double-press skips forward a track (or ends a call), a triple-press skips backward a track, and a press-and-hold summons Siri. You can also access Siri by voice prompt if you prefer.

The AirPods 4 have an IP54 rating, which applies to both the earbuds and the case. The 5 means they’re protected against dust ingress, and the 4 means they’re protected against splashing water from any direction. This is a modest IP rating, but there’s at least a moderate degree of water resistance. That the rating extends to the case is a plus.

The charging case is small and slick. The AirPods can be difficult to remove from it but are easy to put back in. The case doesn't charge wirelessly. Instead, it houses a USB-C port on the bottom, but Apple doesn't include a cable in the box.

Apple estimates the AirPods 4’s battery life to be roughly 5 hours, with the case holding another 25 hours for a combined 30 hours. Talk time is slightly lower: 4.5 hours with 20 hours in the case. These numbers are on the modest side. The AirPods 4 with noise cancellation get just 4 hours with ANC on, while the AirPods Pro 2 get 6 hours with noise cancellation activated. Your results will also vary with your volume levels. Apple claims a 5-minute charge should get you about 1 hour of playback or 45 minutes of talk time with spatial audio off.

iOS Integration: Seamless as Ever

AirPods work natively with iOS 18, which means there is no dedicated app. iOS includes a full Settings menu for AirPods.

Tap on the menu and the screen shows a graphic of the AirPods and case, along with a battery life readout. Below this, you can rename the AirPods by tapping on the name. The next tile is for Call Controls where you can choose whether you want End Call or Mute/Unmute handled by a single press when calls are in progress. By default, End Call uses two presses, but you can swap them by pressing on either control in the menu.

Below this, the Personalized Volume function can be enabled or disabled, and you can also disable Automatic Ear detection (on by default) and change whether the AirPods connect to your iPhone automatically. Other aspects you can manage include Personalized Spatial Audio, the Microphone, Head Gestures, and Optimized Battery Charging, which can be switched off for 24 hours or indefinitely.

The Accessibility menu allows you to adjust the speed of presses and press-and-hold duration, disable Follow iPhone (for head tracking), and adjust Tone Volume with a slider. An iPhone Audio & Visual Settings tile on this page navigates to precise controls embedded deeper in iOS 18.

When the AirPods 4 are paired with your iOS device, the Control Center’s volume fader calls up an AirPods graphic. Tapping on the volume fader when playing music takes you to a screen with Spatial Audio controls (Off, On, Head Tracking).

Generally speaking, the integration with iOS 18 is as seamless as ever. The only thing missing is an EQ section with multiple bands to adjust. The Apple-made EQ presets you can choose from in iOS are nowhere near as useful as being able to adjust bass response, mids, and highs yourself. Given how user-adjustable EQs are available to many competing earphones, this continued exclusion remains disappointing.

Adaptive EQ and Personalized Volume

The AirPods 4’s Adaptive EQ can’t be disabled, so we can’t say how much work it is doing in any given listening scenario. When it isn’t working, you’ll notice a slight ear-to-ear imbalance. For example, the right earbud might sound lighter on bass response or quieter than the other.

Adaptive EQ uses mics that constantly measure the placement of each earbud to adjust the audio in real time to balance out the sound. If your AirPods are dramatically mismatched in their fit, Adaptive EQ won’t be able to save the audio balance entirely. Most of the time, it works pretty well, and the AirPods sound well matched ear to ear without requiring you to make constant adjustments to their positioning. Apple is doing a lot of math here to ensure you get as balanced an experience as possible, no matter how you cram the buds into your ears.

The Personalized Volume function adjusts the volume level depending on your environment. If you’re in a place with lots of noise, the volume will rise. Thankfully, this feature raises the volume slowly and never to dangerous levels. I would understand if some users prefer to leave this off since part of the allure of open earbuds is being able to hear your surroundings.

Siri and Head Gestures

In testing, Siri understood everything I said without issue and never failed to wake up when I said, “Hey, Siri.” If you enable Head Gestures in the AirPods Settings menu, you can alternatively shake or nod your head when Siri asks you a question. So, if Siri asks whether you want a text read, you can nod “yes,” and it’ll begin reading. If, after hearing some of the text, you want Siri to stop, you can shake your head “no,” and the reading will end.

At first, you have to be pretty deliberate with nods and shakes in a way that might be obvious to people around you. Over time, Siri is supposed to learn your movements with more nuance, and you can likely be a bit more subtle with your head shakes and nods. It makes for a solid feature when you’re in situations where you can’t or shouldn't speak.

Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos

Spatial audio remains a gimmicky effect that has nothing to do with audio quality. It is disabled by default. When it’s on, it adds another processing layer between your ears and the original audio mix. Head tracking with spatial audio works reliably well and the audio will move around you as you turn your head. Sometimes, the audio almost seems to be behind you, depending on where your iPhone is relative to your position.

Personalized Spatial Audio involves taking a quick video measurement of your head and ears. Then, iOS creates a personalized spatial audio experience to match. I cannot discern a difference between the standard spatial audio profile and my Personalized profile. You may hear things differently.

Dolby Atmos can be more interesting since a growing number of artists mix their audio in Dolby Atmos. When it’s engaged along with head tracking, moving your head around can change the virtual positioning of various mix elements—say, the lead vocals—while the others might remain stationary.

Atmos is not equivalent to surround sound, and on earbuds, it’s more or less another gimmick. The same Atmos track played through a true 5.1 speaker array will likely have a more sensible and interesting layout, thanks primarily to the availability of rear speakers.

Audio Performance: Impressive Bass for an Open Design

We tested the AirPods 4 with spatial audio and Personalized Volume off. On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the AirPods deliver palpable bass depth. The previous AirPods 3 created good bass, but this new generation takes things a step further—a notable achievement considering the open-ear design. The lows are full-bodied, and at high volumes, they don’t distort, nor does digital signal processing thin them out.

The AirPods 4 have no issues reproducing the sub-bass beginning at the 34-second mark of Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty.” This is perhaps the most impressive sonic feat Apple pulls off with the AirPods. Bass alone is problematic for open earbud designs, but it’s almost a given that sub-bass will be missing from the equation. It’s not missing here, however. Every note of the sub-bass synth progressions is delivered with a thick subwoofer-like rumble. Only the last and deepest note drops off in volume, but that happens with nearly every other pair of headphones or speakers we test. The vocal performances on the track are delivered with solid high-frequency clarity and never feel overpowered by the deep lows.

Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the general sound signature. The drums on this track can sound overburdened with extra low-frequency response on bass-forward earphones, but here, they enjoy a boost that adds depth and body without sending things into unnaturally thunderous territory. Callahan’s baritone vocals display a pleasant blend of low-mid richness and high clarity. Generally speaking, there's a solid balance between the lows and the highs. The acoustic strums are particularly crisp. This is definitely a sculpted sound signature, however, which makes the lack of a user-adjustable EQ my biggest complaint.

On orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, the AirPods 4 receive some added low-frequency presence, pushing the lower register instrumentation forward in a lively way that doesn’t upset the overall balance of the mix. The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals are bright, crisp, and defined. Stereo recordings of live music like this tend to benefit from the open earbud design, which can add a greater sense of space and widen the stereo image. Indeed, it works well here.

The voice mic array offers strong intelligibility when tested in quiet to moderately loud scenarios, but the quieter, the better. We measured the mic’s performance against a nearby fan blowing air to simulate wind and music played in the room at various volumes.

The mic array successfully isolates a noisy background and removes it so callers won't hear that nearby jackhammer. That said, the mics often eliminate the loud background noises but garble your voice at the same time.

Verdict: An Appealing Step Up in Sound Quality

The AirPods 4 are the best-sounding open earbuds we’ve tested. Their sub-bass capabilities are a game changer for open earbuds, and the overall audio balance is solid thanks to Apple's Adaptive EQ. If you have $129 to spend and want an open-ear design, the AirPods 4 deliver pleasing audio for the price and a good mix of features. However, for $50 more, the AirPods 4 With Active Noise Cancellation offer a more well-rounded experience thanks to their titular noise cancellation, personalized audio settings, and wireless charging case, which is why they earn our Editors' Choice for open earbuds. For the absolute best sound quality and noise cancellation from AirPods, meanwhile, we continue to recommend the even pricier AirPods Pro 2.