Apple AirPods 4 review: Surprisingly excellent

Apple has come a long way since the days of the original AirPods – those spindly white wireless earbuds used by millions but ridiculed by those who cared about audio. Nowadays, the company’s in-ear and over-ear headphones range is much improved, both in terms of audio quality and features. Indeed, for most people who own an iPhone, the AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C are probably the best all-round headphones to buy.

The regular AirPods have always been the poor relation. They don’t have silicone rubber tips that seal them into your ear canals like the Pro model, and those preferring them over the AirPods Pro for reasons of comfort, have had to put up with a certain amount of background noise.

At least they have until now. With the launch of the AirPods 4, Apple has taken the opportunity to add ANC (active noise cancellation) to its “cheapest” headphones in a bid to improve the lot of those who just don’t get on with silicone tip headphones. To a large extent, they have succeeded.

Apple AirPods 4 review: What do you get for the money?

It’s important to note at this point that there are, in fact, two versions of the AirPods 4 you can now buy. There’s the enhanced version with ANC, wireless charging and a speaker in the case, which costs £179 – and a cut-down basic pair without those features, which cost £50 less at £129.

Both versions, however, share the same physical design, which Apple has re-engineered to improve both fit and stability. The earbud body has been narrowed so it fits more securely in your ear and the angle of the stem has been altered, too.

Apple has also redesigned the internal layout of both models, moving the chip and battery down inside the stem. Both models are fitted with the new Apple H2 chip, enabling personalised spatial audio, Siri interactions, improved microphone quality and gesture controls (you can nod or shake your head to accept and reject calls, for instance). Sound quality has been boosted, too – bass especially is notably better than the previous model.

Look closely at the spec sheet, however, and you’ll see that it isn’t all positive news for the new AirPods 4. While the charging case is a touch more compact than before, battery life has fallen. The AirPods 4 with ANC only deliver four hours of listening time per charge, with ANC enabled, or five hours with it disabled. The case for this model delivers up to a total of 20 hours of listening time with ANC on and 30 hours with it turned off. The AirPods 4 without ANC deliver the same battery life (five hours in-ear, 30 hours total) as their noise-cancelling siblings with ANC disabled.

That’s considerably shorter than the third-generation AirPods, which managed up to six hours for the buds themselves and 30 hours for the case. Fast charging means you can get up to an hour of extra listening from just five minutes in the case but that’s no consolation if you run out of juice mid-movie.

Apple AirPods 4 review: What do they do well?

While that’s undoubtedly disappointing, the AirPods 4 do have plenty of other things going for them. The new design, for instance, feels super comfortable and they sit in my small-ish ears far more securely than other open-fit headphones I’ve tried. I’ve worn them out on a couple of runs, too, and they’ve stayed put without shifting around or feeling as if they were on the brink of doing so.

In fact, I think these are the ideal workout headphones. Because they’re open-fit, they don’t amplify your breathing like earbuds with silicone rubber tips can and, when ANC is turned off, they don’t block out external noise, either, so you can hear what’s going on around you. Then, when you’d prefer to immerse yourself in the audio a bit more – say you’ve moved from a hazardous urban environment to a quieter, more relaxed park – you can switch on the ANC with a long squeeze of the stem on either bud and enjoy a quieter listening environment.

Of course, you don’t have to be working out to fully appreciate how comfortable the AirPods Pro 4 are; they’re also great for wearing all day at your desk. They’re super light, and I found they didn’t induce ear ache like other earbuds can.

The ANC is surprisingly effective, too. I haven’t had the chance to test them out on a real aeroplane yet, so I simulated one instead, by playing some cabin noise from YouTube through my big desktop speakers and turning the volume up loud.

Do they cut background noise as effectively as the AirPods Pro 2 or a pair of over-ear headphones like the Sonos Ace or the AirPods Max? No, they do not, but they do cut down on that rumble significantly enough that you don’t need to turn up the volume to dangerous levels in order to enjoy your music or hear podcasts. This is no tick box feature – it really does work and, in my view, it makes the ANC version well worth the extra £50 over the standard model.

There are other features worth having too, although none are quite as useful as the ANC. Spatial Audio works well enough, lending a tangible sense of three-dimensionality to sound, particularly when watching Dolby Atmos-enabled TV and movies. Head tracking is uncannily effective, keeping audio seemingly locked to the device that’s playing it, and adaptive audio proved adept at turning the ANC up and down depending on how raucous the environment around you is. The latter is tunable, too: you can leave it on default, or adjust a slider to let in more or less noise, depending on your preference.

Apple AirPods 4 review: What do they sound like?

In isolation, I’ve been very impressed with the audio quality the AirPods 4 kick out, too. In a quiet environment, in fact, there’s little to separate the AirPods 4’s audio quality from that of their more expensive siblings, the AirPods Pro 2 USB-C.

They won’t come close to challenging a pair of Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 for sound quality, of course, but neither are they obviously flawed in any one particular way. What’s particularly impressive about them is how solid and well-defined bass is. Firing up Weval’s Days and Aphex Twin’s Ageispolis in quick succession left me in no doubt as to the artists’ intentions, the bass line delivered with a convincing and enjoyable level of heft.

No, there isn’t enough in the low frequencies to satisfy bass heads – there is a touch missing at the very low end, and there’s also a lack of attack and aggression evident in tracks like Rammstein’s Deutschland. And if you’re seriously into your music, you will want a pair of headphones capable of reproducing tracks like Melody Gardot’s My One and Only Thrill with more of a sense of space, detail and urgency

However, the AirPods 4 are great all-rounders and most people will be perfectly happy with the way they present music. Ultimately, if you prefer open-fit headphones or don’t get on with silicone ear tips, then you probably won’t care that other, non-open fit headphones sound better. The mere fact that these sound so good without being fatally flawed in any particular way is reason enough to consider a purchase.

Apple AirPods 4 review: What could be improved?

I’m a regular user of the AirPods Pro 2 USB-C and I love the fact that you can swipe up and down the stem to quickly tweak the volume levels. Alas, that’s not something you can do with the AirPods 4 and I really missed this feature while wearing them, constantly reaching up to swipe up or down, but ultimately having to reach for my phone instead.

I’m also not a huge fan of conversation awareness mode. It works fine if you are in relatively quiet surroundings, or you initiate the conversation. But I’ve always found with my AirPods Pro 2 that I’m simply more comfortable taking them out – or giving either bud a long squeeze to enter Transparency mode – before carrying out a conversation in person.

That short battery life is a disappointment, too, and it’s something that’s thrown into even sharper relief by how comfortable these things are to wear. It’s no exaggeration to say that you could simply leave the AirPods 4 ANC in your ears all day, leaving the adaptive noise cancellation to do its thing, protecting your delicate ears from loud noises, listening to podcasts on your commute and calming music while working without ever feeling significant levels of discomfort. Except you can’t, because they will probably run out of charge before lunch. I suppose it’s just as well they charge quickly.

And, finally, I’m not entirely sure why you don’t get the full version of Nearby Find with these earbuds, but it’s annoying, especially since they run the same chip as the AirPods 2 Pro, which do. Instead, Apple is serving up a slightly cut-back version, called “Find My with proximity view”. Here, if you select Nearby Find in your iPhone’s Find My app, it will only tell you if you’re near or far away from your earbuds while you’re looking for them. With AirPods Pro 2, the Find My app displays an arrow and the distance you are away, making it easier to find your headphones without having to ping the speaker.

It’s also worth noting that the non-ANC basic AirPods 4 don’t come with any version of Nearby Find; in fact, the lack of a speaker in the case means if you lose them at home, you’re going to have to track them down the old-fashioned way.

Apple AirPods 4 review: Should you buy them?

If you don’t get on with silicone tip earbuds, and you’re an iPhone owner, then absolutely yes, the answer is you should absolutely splash the cash. The sound quality is great, the ANC is effective, and most of the headphones’ various smart features work well. For everything from workouts and video calls to music and movie watching, the AirPods 4 are a smash hit.

For everyone else, the key question is why they wouldn’t be better off spending £40 more and buying the superior AirPods Pro 2 instead or opting for a pair of, say, Sony WF-1000XM5 for a mere £10 more, both of which block sound out more effectively and sound better overall.

Ultimately, regardless of whether you should buy them or not, the Apple AirPods 4 are a major improvement and a superb pair of headphones in their own right. The ANC works remarkably well, they sound good, they’re comfortable and they’re convenient to boot. The price is a little high, but iPhone owners should be well used to that.