AirPods 4 Reviews Are In: Here’s What They Are Saying
Initial reviews for the newly released AirPods 4 have been released on YouTube by the major tech reviewers. Here's what they have to say about them.
For reference, The AirPods 4 consist of a base model which retails for $129 as well as a higher end variant with the primary difference being the inclusion of Active Noise Cancellation which costs $179.
Fitment
Both variants of the AirPods have a plastic ear tip, no silicone. The shape of the ear tips has not changed--so if you experienced fitment issues with non-silicone AirPods in the past, you are unlikely to have a better experience this time around.
If you are one of those people and would still like to use AirPods, we recommend going with the AirPods Pro (On sale for $189) instead, these have both the silicone tip as well as better Active Noise Cancellation than the AirPods 4 w/ANC.
ANC and Sound Quality
The Active Noise Cancellation on the higher end AirPods 4 does not completely cancel out background noise, it's more of a noise reduction feature. As a result, the ANC feature works best in especially loud environments such as being out in public in a busy city, however, they will not be very useful in a quieter setting such as library or a park.
The sound quality of both the AirPods 4 variants are best described as Jack of all trades, master of none. Which is to say that they will work well in a wide variety of listening activities ranging from audiobooks, movies, to classical music. However, don't expect the AirPods 4 to please hardcore audiophiles—they're not designed for picking out the subtle nuances, like individual baritones in a choir. But it should be noted, that the ANC variant will provide a clearer sound than base model due the background noise reduction.
The AirPods 4 don't have an EQ or any kind of customization to how they sound.
Battery Life
Here a chart of AirPods 4 battery life as claimed by Apple. They are very similar to the battery life reviewers are reporting.
Left side is for the base model, and right side is for the ANC variant.
Other changes
There are other smaller but notable changes to discuss.
Both charge cases now use USB-C instead of the lightning port.
The pairing button is now a capacitive button located at the front LED notification light.
Previously, it was a physical button located on the back of the case.
The case of the ANC variant has a small speaker which helps in locating the AirPods if they are lost by emitting a "chiming" sound, the base model does not have the speaker.