AirPods 4 review: Smart features, low price

It’s hard to overstate how successful Apple’s AirPods have been. Thanks to their white body design, they went from being a laughing stock to an absolute icon in just a few years. AirPods are now in their fourth generation, and this time they launched in two models: AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation.

I will look at the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation separately, as I think the standard AirPods 4 is a pretty interesting version. These headphones are designed to be the entry point to the AirPods series, offering a solid feature set and a lower price than most competitors. They also have a new design. AirPods 3 before them. How do they perform? I use them to learn.

More portable and more comfortable

As mentioned, AirPods 4 brings a new design to the entry-level AirPods. They still have an open-style design that doesn’t create a complete seal on your ears when you wear them, and they have a body that has become the signature design element of AirPods in general.

However, this stem is shorter than before, and the bud at the end of the stem has a different shape than AirPods 3. According to Apple, this shape is the result of millions of ear scans and efforts to ensure AirPods 4 are compatible. fits well in as many ears as possible.

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

The AirPods actually fit my ears very well. It was comfortable to wear for long periods of time, and I found that I never experienced much discomfort. However, they don’t fit as tightly as the AirPods Pro, and as a result, they can move around a bit and even become dislodged during heavy movement. If you’re looking for a pair of headphones to run with, it’s probably worth opting for the AirPods Pro or another pair of headphones.

The AirPods 4 offer mostly the same controls as before, and that’s a good thing. I found the squeeze controls on the AirPods to be very easy to use and generally responsive. However, I wish you could customize these beyond just customizing the call controls. And unfortunately, they only offer pinch controls, not scroll controls. This means you can’t control the volume on the headphones like you can with the AirPods Pro.

The design of the case is also different. The case that comes with AirPods 4 is quite different from the case that comes with AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. The good news is that the case is smaller than before, if you can believe it. AirPods already offer some of the smallest charging cases overall, and it’s nice to see them getting even smaller and more pocketable. A USB-C port may be present at the bottom.

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

But there is some bad news about the case. Unlike the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, the base AirPods 4 charging case does not support wireless charging. This seems like something Apple has missed a bit. Many alternative headphones in this price range support wireless charging, and it seems a bit silly to hold that back as a feature. This bag also doesn’t have built-in speakers for status alerts. Still, I like the LED light hidden under the front of the case, and it’s really nice to see that not only the earbuds but also the charging case are IP54 water resistant.

Overall, the design of the AirPods 4 provides a more comfortable fit and more portability. I wish Apple hadn’t rolled back so many features.

Limited battery and no wireless charging

I was a little disappointed with the battery life offered by the AirPods 4. They have 5 hours of continuous listening time; This is lower than any headphone I’ve tested recently. The charging case will give you an additional 25 hours, bringing the total listening time to 30 hours. To be fair, it’s probably unusual for you to listen to music for 5 hours straight.

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

However, again, the majority of competitors offer longer battery life. This is a problem made worse by the lack of wireless charging. It seems logical that Apple will try to differentiate the AirPods 4 with some features such as Active Noise Cancellation technology. But I think ANC is enough to do this. I find the lack of wireless charging a bit confusing for customers who assume ANC isn’t the only thing they can’t get with lower-end headphones.

Apple-y features

But overall, they offer a wide range of features as we’ve come to expect from AirPods. Some of these are holdovers from previous generation models, but others are new and all run on the H2 chip.

For starters, they support Apple’s Auto Switch technology, as you’d expect. This feature can be a little annoying at times, but it’s a feature I love and have come to rely on over the years. For example, my wife and I gave birth to our first child at the beginning of this year. Being able to easily connect my AirPods Max to the Apple TV in my bedroom or the Apple TV in my living room, or keep it connected to my phone or Mac when needed, has been a lifesaver when quiet is necessary at home. To be clear, this technology only works with Apple devices; There’s no standard Bluetooth Multipoint here.

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

There are many new smart features too. AirPods 4, for example, offer personalized audio that automatically adjusts the volume of your voice based on your environment. This may be annoying for some, especially those who want to control the volume based on the vibration of the music rather than the environment. However, you can turn it off if you wish.

AirPods 4 also feature personalized spatial audio that uses head tracking and provides a more immersive listening experience. I’ve never been a fan of using spatial audio when listening to music, but I quite like it when watching TV shows or movies. Although I don’t actually do this on my phone, it also works on Apple TV.

Finally, the AirPods 4 have a built-in accelerometer inside that allows you to interact with Siri by nodding or nodding your head. This is a nice way to respond to Siri without speaking, for example, when you’re in an elevator. That said, I didn’t find myself using it that much beyond testing, but it’s nice that it’s an option and one you can disable if you want.

Better sound in every way

AirPods 4 sound much better than this too AirPods 3 before them. They offer better bass on the low end, better clarity on the top end, and sound good overall, especially for a pair of headphones in this price range.

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

Bass response has been particularly improved. This helps the kick drums sound much stronger, and the bass guitars and synths help round out the music. They even managed to produce plenty of bass undertones; This is something that is not very common in headphones in this price range.

While the bass is probably more beneficial to the majority of listeners, I particularly enjoyed the better clarity in the high end. This helped percussion such as cymbals sound clearer and generally provided a more natural sound response. Top-end frequencies are generally on par with cheaper headphones, but I was pleasantly surprised – although there’s still a bit of bass forward, to be frank.

Results

AirPods 4 is a great entry point to the AirPods series. It’s completely reasonable for the headphones to not have Active Noise Cancellation unless you pay more. I wish some other features like wireless charging were also available here. Regardless, if you’re looking for a pair of headphones in Apple’s ecosystem and want to spend as little as possible, the AirPods 4 are perfect, offering access to features like improved audio and auto switching.

rivalry

If you are an Apple user, these are the best headphones in their price range. They sound good, fit perfectly, and offer advanced features. However, it’s worth considering upgrading to the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, not just for ANC but also for features like wireless charging.

If you don’t care much about Apple-focused features and just want the best-sounding headphones you can get in your price range, then consider Nothing Ear(a) headphonesThey offer ANC, a great transparent design, and more, but they lack Apple features like Auto Switch.

Should I buy AirPods 4?

Yes, these are excellent Apple-focused headphones at a low price.