Apple AirPods 4 review: a bit better than basic

Apple’s AirPods are everywhere. The iconic achromatic wireless earbuds are truthful celebrated that I’m guessing astir folks won’t fuss reference a reappraisal earlier grabbing nan latest model: nan AirPods 4.

I get it. At $129, they’re not cheap, but neither do they require a batch of investigation — particularly if you’ve owned AirPods successful nan past. As pinch each erstwhile generations, nan champion portion astir nan AirPods 4 (assuming you’re an iPhone user) is their simplicity. Charge ’em up (or don’t — they travel pinch astir of a complaint successful nan box), flip unfastened nan lid, and watch arsenic your telephone instantly recognizes them and lets you link them pinch a azygous tap. Pop ’em successful your ears and commencement listening. Seriously, what could beryllium easier?

There’s a batch much to nan AirPods 4 story, but earlier I excavation into nan afloat review, I want to connection immoderate humanities perspective.

The AirPods 3 (middle) were a large alteration from nan AirPods 2 (left), pinch a style and sound that was overmuch person to nan AirPods Pro (right). Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

When I reviewed nan AirPods 3 successful 2021, I gave them a 4.5/5. In hindsight, that was astir apt excessively generous, but 2 highly influential factors contributed to my enthusiasm. First, nan third-gen really were a large betterment complete nan second-gen. Fit, sound quality, controls, spatial audio, wireless charging, h2o guidance … location was a batch to like. And while $179 still felt for illustration a batch of money for what you were getting, astatine slightest it was accordant pinch Apple’s AirPods pricing astatine nan clip if you included wireless charging.

Second, I support that location are 2 large groups of wireless earbuds buyers: those who for illustration (or who are astatine slightest OK with) silicone tips that seal your receptor canals, and those who dislike them.

If you were successful that 2nd campy successful 2021, you had very fewer options. Semi-open models for illustration nan AirPods were difficult to travel by, and those that existed weren’t awesome (though they were often very affordable). The open-ear earbud category, which has grown by leaps and bounds, had hardly begun.

Given those 2 realities, I concluded that moreover if nan AirPods 3 weren’t perfect, they were nan evident prime for iPhone owners who don’t for illustration nan emotion of silicone crammed successful their ears.

The Apple AirPods 4 (left) and AirPods 3 Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

OK, fast-forward to 2024. If you’re upgrading from a first- aliases second-gen model, nan AirPods 4 are a large measurement up successful each nan ways I described above, positive they connection a fewer much perks I’ll talk successful a moment. However, third-gen owners will beryllium little impressed. The style is astir identical, sound value is truthful adjacent it’s difficult to prime a winner, and you whitethorn not moreover announcement nan much important changes for illustration Personalized Volume, nan H2 chip, and nan USB-C-equipped case. OK, nan lawsuit is really mini — you’ll astir apt announcement that.

My proposal to third-gen owners is to instrumentality pinch what you person aliases walk a spot much to get nan AirPods 4 pinch ANC. They’re nan only semi-open earbuds pinch progressive sound canceling that really useful — it’s rather an accomplishment. Plus you get wireless charging, thing that nan AirPods 4 lack.

I’d besides for illustration to constituent retired that open-ear earbuds are a awesome replacement to nan AirPods semi-open design. Most usage an earhook shape, truthful that could beryllium a deal-breaker for immoderate people, but that besides makes them perfect for moving aliases workouts. You’ll perceive moreover much of nan extracurricular world and they won’t activity themselves loose aft a fewer minutes. I cognize you’ll astir apt extremity up buying nan AirPods anyway, but I deliberation you’ll beryllium impressed by nan immense assortment of options.

Design and shape

The AirPods 4 (left) and AirPods 3 Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

At a glance, it’s astir intolerable to show nan third-gen and fourth-gen AirPods apart. Look cautiously and you whitethorn announcement that nan AirPods 4 person somewhat thicker stems, a somewhat thinner in-ear profile, and that nan speaker opening is aimed somewhat upward erstwhile compared to nan third-gen.

About nan only alteration I noticed while wearing them is that nan third-gen feels fractionally much unafraid acknowledgment to its larger profile. But I tin spot this going nan different measurement too, wherever immoderate group find nan AirPods 4 much comfortable. But we’re talking astir a very mini quality either way.

The caller charging case, by contrast, is noticeably smaller and it now (finally) has USB-C for charging. The charging/pairing LED is still there, but now you can’t spot it unless it’s lit. And Apple has removed nan beingness fastener from nan rear of nan case. Instead, you now pat correct beneath that invisible LED for pairing and mill resets.

One mini note: In nan box, you get nan AirPods and their charging case. That’s it. Apple has stopped shipping its earbuds pinch charging cables. Most folks, nan institution reasons, already ain a USB-C charging cable. I’m 100% connected committee pinch that accuracy for nan AirPods 4 pinch ANC and higher arsenic these models person wireless charging cases. But fixed nan modular AirPods 4 only complaint via USB-C, it would beryllium bully if Apple fto you adhd a cablegram to your bid for a mini fee.

Controls

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

I really for illustration Apple’s pinch controls — they’re nan cleanable equilibrium betwixt nan seamlessness of touch controls and nan tactile feedback of beingness buttons. They activity conscionable arsenic good connected nan newest AirPods arsenic connected nan different models that usage this design. Still, I’m going to chirp astatine Apple for not including nan AirPods Pro’s swipe motion measurement control. It’s crazy that you still request to scope for your telephone aliases talk to Siri to alteration nan measurement connected nan non-Pro AirPods.

On nan different hand, you now get optional caput gestures for answering aliases declining an incoming call. At first, I wasn’t judge if I’d ever usage them, but past I received respective spam calls successful a statement and — I’m not gonna dishonesty — it was really satisfying to shingle my caput and make them spell away.

As pinch each AirPods, nan AirPods 4 person deterioration discovery should you take to usage it. However, Apple has abandoned nan skin-sensing tech it utilized connected nan third-gen earbuds, opting for nan infrared type it utilized connected nan original models. Does that matter? It depends connected if you for illustration to shove your buds successful a pouch (instead of nan case) erstwhile you region them from your ears. If you do, it matters.

Bluetooth quality

The AirPods 4 person Bluetooth 5.3, an upgrade from nan third-gen’s 5.0. In applicable terms, you astir apt won’t announcement a difference. Bluetooth 5.3 is supposedly much stable, pinch less dropouts, but I haven’t recovered this to beryllium a problem pinch 5.0.

Apple remains steadfastly opposed to offering Bluetooth Multipoint for simultaneous instrumentality connections. Instead, it uses its iCloud-based handoff characteristic for seamless switching among Apple devices. As agelong arsenic you’re all-in connected Apple, it’s a bully alternative.

With Bluetooth 5.3, Apple could person added support for LE Audio and Auracast connected nan AirPods 4, but sadly, these 2 useful technologies are besides no-shows connected nan caller buds.

Sound quality

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

With nan objection of nan AirPods 4 pinch ANC (see above) there’s a beingness limit to really bully a group of semi-open earbuds tin sound. The creation will ever fto successful immoderate outer noise, degrading item (and usually nan low-end bass frequencies) of your music.

Apple’s Personalized Volume attempts to compensate for noisy environments by adjusting nan volume, but it tin only do truthful much. If you manually push measurement higher, that whitethorn help, but it comes pinch its ain risks (noise-induced proceeding nonaccomplishment is simply a very existent danger).

Still, nan AirPods 4 sound arsenic good, if not better, than immoderate different semi-open earbuds I’ve tried. Bass — typically nan Achilles’s bottommost of semi-open designs — has a coagulated beingness and comes crossed arsenic lukewarm and resonant. I can’t observe immoderate meaningful quality betwixt nan third-gen and fourth-gen, truthful I’ll quote myself because this is still existent astir nan Airpods 4: “As agelong arsenic you’re successful a quiet location, nan AirPods 3 sound each spot arsenic bully arsenic nan AirPods Pro.”

Of course, if you’re not successful a quiet location — gyms, nationalist transit, java shops, etc. — beryllium prepared for a less-than-hi-fi experience.

Spatial audio

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Not everyone likes really spatial audio sounds (especially for music), but since it’s wholly optional, I spot it arsenic a nosy other connected nan AirPods 4. Again, it useful precisely nan aforesaid arsenic connected nan AirPods 3, which is to opportunity you tin make stereo tracks sound much unfastened and airy. Some tracks use from this, while others don’t — it’s a very subjective thing.

The disposable caput search is simply a awesome feature, but again, it useful amended successful immoderate situations than others. While listening to spatial audio music, I recovered it distracting. But utilizing it to make nan location theatre acquisition much realistic when watching movies connected an iPhone aliases Apple TV 4K is really cool. And erstwhile it comes to FaceTime calls, I deliberation caput search is simply a crippled changer.

Call quality

Speaking of FaceTime calls, sound calling connected nan AirPods 4 is simply a bully news/bad news situation. The bully news is that Apple has made further improvements to its inheritance sound cancellation algorithms. During my testing, I walked down immoderate very engaged streets, pinch plentifulness of postulation and construction. None of these sounds were captured successful my recordings, truthful your callers whitethorn ne'er recognize you aren’t indoors. More bully news: The semi-open creation really benefits you connected calls because it lets you perceive your ain sound naturally, unmuffled by silicone eartips. However, that’s a double-edged sword. That aforesaid transparency lets successful everything other too, truthful you whitethorn extremity up asking your callers to repetition themselves.

Battery life

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

By now, astir AirPods fans cognize nan woody erstwhile it comes to artillery life. It’s fine, but it won’t triumph immoderate awards for endurance. Apple says you’ll get up to 5 hours of listening clip connected a azygous charge, pinch up to 30 hours erstwhile you see nan case’s capacity. That’s really a small worse than nan AirPods 3, which were rated for up to 6 hours connected a azygous charge. On nan agleam side, nan fast-charge characteristic useful well: 5 minutes successful nan lawsuit buys you an other hr of listening time.

So I’ll wrap up wherever I started: For a batch of folks, nan AirPods 4 are a no-brainer purchase. They whitethorn not triumph immoderate invention prizes, but they’ll activity seamlessly pinch each of your Apple devices, they’re comfortable, and if you must person a group of semi-open earbuds, they supply very bully sound and telephone quality.

I’m irritated that astatine $129, Apple couldn’t propulsion successful wireless charging. Though I suppose — fixed what it was charging for nan AirPods 3 ($179) arsenic precocious arsenic August 2024 — nan AirPods 4 are really a bully woody by Apple’s standards. You get almost each of nan third-gen’s features (plus a fewer extras), minus nan wireless charging, for 27% little money. In fact, possibly nan AirPods 4’s value is their biggest innovation.

For everyone else, I promote you to research nan galore awesome wireless earbuds alternatives that are retired there.