The Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are a 2024 addition to Apple's ubiquitous, monochromatic earbud line. When it comes to appearances, there are no radical departures from the 2021 Apple AirPods (3rd generation), but there's more going on under the hood than meets the eye. For one, they feature the unlikely marriage of an open-back design and noise cancelling technology. While other open-back buds opt to make their lack of noise isolation a selling point, the new AirPods double down in the opposite direction, introducing features like Conversation Awareness and Adaptive Audio into a format that will appeal to those who fear the in-ear fit. At a price point that undercuts the AirPods Pro 2, are these open-back buds worth a gander?
Our Verdict
The Apple AirPods 4 ANC are good for sports and fitness. They have a lightweight, portable design that will provide a comfortable and stable fit in most ears. However, there's no scope for adjustment, so some users might find they fall out without much prompting. Their IP54 rating means these buds will survive jogs along dusty trails, even if you find yourself in the odd rain shower. The control scheme, though hampered by a lack of volume control, is intuitive and somewhat impervious to accidental presses. Their ANC does a solid job of blocking out distractions at the gym, and outdoor runners will appreciate the 'Transparency' mode for its ability to keep you aware of your surroundings. While 4.5 hours of continuous battery life won't suffice for longer endurance events, these buds charge quickly in their case, which houses an extra four charges.
Lightweight, portable design.
Well-built and decently comfortable.
Solid ANC performance for open-back buds.
Don't leak very much audio.
4.5 hour continuous battery life lags behind the competition.
No dedicated volume controls.
Mic struggles with loud environmental noises.
The Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are decent for travel. Their one-size-fits-all design will be comfortable for most people, although those with particularly large or small ears will have no way of adjusting the fit and will find they fall out of their ears all too easily. They're very lightweight and portable, too, with a case that's even smaller than previous iterations. Their noise isolation performance is surprisingly good in common scenarios, considering their open-back design. While they won't hermetically seal you from the external world, they can effectively attenuate against low engine rumbles and nearby conversations. Even though their continuous battery life is on the shorter side, at 4.5 hours, they can fully charge in about 30 minutes, and their case carries an extra four charges.
Well-built and decently comfortable.
Solid ANC performance for open-back buds.
Don't leak very much audio.
4.5 hour continuous battery life lags behind the competition.
No dedicated volume controls.
Mic struggles with loud environmental noises.
The Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are satisfactory for office use. Most people will find their fit to be comfortable, especially those who dislike in-ear fits. Their open-back design defies expectations, as these buds are able to attenuate well against a variety of common office noises and leak very little audio. It's not quite on par with the Apple AirPods Pro 2 and their passively isolating fit, but enough to relegate sounds like scraping chairs and water cooler talk to the peripheries of your hearing. Their 4.5-hour battery life isn't quite enough to get you through the average workday, but their 30-minute charge time means you can easily re-up on your lunch break.
Lightweight, portable design.
Well-built and decently comfortable.
Solid ANC performance for open-back buds.
Don't leak very much audio.
4.5 hour continuous battery life lags behind the competition.
No dedicated volume controls.
Mic struggles with loud environmental noises.
Limited sound customization options.
The Apple AirPods 4 with ANC aren't a suitable choice for wireless gaming given their high latency performance via Bluetooth.
The Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation can't be used wired, so they're not suitable for this usage.
The Apple AirPods 4 ANC have decent audio reproduction accuracy. They generally follow their own warm sound profile well, with few peaks and dips. The left and right drivers are also amazingly well-matched, so objects are accurately placed in the stereo field. Despite their open-back design, they have good bass extension and flat mids, though a large dip in the treble dulls sibilants and the upper harmonics of higher-pitched vocals. There's some scope for adjustment via the 'Accessibility' tab of your iOS device, but nothing resembling a graphic EQ.
The Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation have a fair noise isolation performance. That said, it's still a tier above the performance we expect from open-back designs, which is a testament to the strength of their ANC. This design offers very little passive attenuation against low- and mid-range frequencies, which is where the ANC is able to offer some improvements. The Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation do a good job of attenuating noise in common scenarios. They filter out much of the low roar of airplane engines and the rumble of passing buses. While they fare worse when it comes to office noises, like scraping chairs and chatting co-workers, they still noticeably tamp down on these frequencies. For a more powerful ANC performance, see the Apple AirPods Pro 3, which provide better noise isolation and ANC.
The Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation have an alright microphone. The mic's recording quality ensures your voice is understandable, though it can sound a little boxy and thin. It also does a good job of blocking out low-level background noise, like the din of a bustling coffee shop. It fares less well with sudden, loud sounds though, so the screeching of a train's brakes can be quite unpleasant for someone on the other of the line.
The Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation have great frequency response consistency. Their sound hardly changes across wears and wearers. Once you get a good fit, you can expect consistent audio with every listen.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Nov 27, 2025:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.0, which adds the following tests: Stereo Mismatch, Group Delay, Cumulative Spectral Decay, PRTF, Harmonic Distortion, and Electrical Aspects. We've added new performance usages and updated the text throughout the Sound tests and side-by-sides.
- Updated Nov 25, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.1, which features minor updates to our sound tests.
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Updated Oct 14, 2025:
This review has been updated to mention the Apple AirPods Pro 3 in the Popular Headphones Comparisons and Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios boxes.
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Updated Aug 26, 2025:
The Build Quality box was updated with a link on how to clean your AirPods.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Apple AirPods 4 ANC come in one color variant: 'White.' See a picture of their label. There's also a variant that doesn't feature ANC: the Apple AirPods 4.
If you encounter a different variant, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Apple AirPods 4 ANC are a fairly unique product within the current earbud market. While there's a range of open-back earbuds on the market that cater to users who dislike in-ear fits, like the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds or even the Apple AirPods (3rd Generation), very few feature ANC systems that are capable of tamping down on external noise. Consequently, the AirPods 4 ANC are more versatile than any of their open-back competitors. If you need a better isolation performance than what these are able to provide, you'll need to look to in-ear options, like the Apple AirPods Pro 3, the Apple AirPods Pro 2, or the Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless. Users who don't own an iOS device will want to look elsewhere, too, given that a large portion of the AirPods' features are only available via iOS.
If you're assessing your options, check out our recommendations for the best wireless Bluetooth earbuds, the best wireless earbuds for iPhone, and the best AirPods alternatives.
The Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are more flexible in more situations than the Apple AirPods 4. They're the same generation of earbuds; besides noise cancelling tech, there are slight differences, such as the AirPods 4 with ANC having a speaker on the case for the Find My Network, and the case can charge wirelessly. You get more listening modes, such as Conversation Awareness and Adaptive Audio, too. On the other hand, the standard AirPods 4 lack these features but otherwise perform similarly regarding sound, connectivity, and iOS integration. For most people, it'll come down to whether ANC is desirable or not.
Although they share many features in the iOS suite, such as Spatial Audio and Live Translation, the Apple AirPods Pro 3 are better earbuds for most people than the Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. The swappable ear tips for the AirPods Pro 3 ensure a more reliable and stable fit and class-leading isolation. Their continuous battery life is twice as long, too. Still, for the less invasive fit, you might prefer the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation for the combination of an unsealed fit promoting natural awareness and decent noise filtering. Their mic system sounds a bit better with non-Apple devices offering a more consistent performance, while the AirPods Pro 3 sound better with iOS specifically. However, the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation's short continuous 4.5-hour battery life is a real detriment for many people's habits.
The Apple AirPods Pro 2 and the Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation have similar feature sets and comparable performance, considering they're very different designs. The AirPods Pro 2 have an in-ear fit, which uses silicone ear tips to secure a seal, while the AirPods 4 ANC have a one-size-fits-all, open-back design that sits in your ear canal without sealing it. You might find either one more comfortable, depending on your preferences. The in-ear fit results in the AirPods Pro 2 having better bass reproduction and a better noise isolation performance due to their tight seal. That said, the AirPods 4 ANC aren't that far behind in both categories, which is quite the feat considering their open design. Otherwise, the AirPods Pro 2 have a slightly longer battery life and support Apple's new hearing aid technology with firmware update 7B19. The AirPods 4 ANC have a better quality mic, though.
The Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless are the manufacturer's premium earbud offering, with a few features that give them the edge over the Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. They have an in-ear fit, with different ear tip sizes to choose from, that forms a comfortable, stable fit. That said, many users will gravitate towards the Apple's one-size-fits-all design, which is comfortable without going into your ear canal. However, this difference in approach means that the Sony outperform the Apple when it comes to noise isolation due to the tighter seal formed with their memory foam tips. The Sony also have a longer continuous battery life. While the Apple have a better performing mic, a lot of their features are available for iOS users only, so Android users won't have the same experience.
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