First test reports confirm good noise suppression

With the AirPods Pro, Apple offers real in-ear headphones, while the AirPods sit in front of the ear canal. Here you have to decide for yourself which headphones you prefer and try out which AirPods stay better in your ears. Apart from that, the AirPods 4 now offer active noise cancellation for the first time, which testers rate as quite good. However, the cancellation is not as strong as with the AirPods Pro, which seal the ear better with their silicone attachments.

Marques Brownlee, probably the most famous and certainly one of the best technology YouTubers, states in his review that the smaller charging case no longer has MagSafe magnetic rings and thus no longer holds on to a MagSafe charger. In contrast, an Apple Watch charger fits perfectly and the AirPods 4 still hold on to it magnetically. However, the transparency mode is also first-class in the AirPods 4 and the general sound quality is rated as very solid. The headphones do a good job in all areas – whether listening to music, watching films or listening to podcasts.

While the AirPods 4 only offer a charging case with USB-C, the AirPods 4 with ANC also offer the option of wireless charging and speakers for the “Find My” function. The precision search allows the AirPods to be located with centimeter precision, similar to an AirTag.

The testers of The edge Added: “I'm really impressed with what they can do.” If you just put the AirPods 4 in and turn on noise cancellation without any audio playing, you might not be impressed. You hear, well, absolutely everything – but the noise is less overwhelming. The ANC feature is best at canceling out low-frequency noises like airplane cabin noise, city traffic, and the hum of many offices. The AirPods 4 even did a pretty good job of muffling the rumble of ferry engines on the pier near our office.”

Also interesting is the fact that Apple has eliminated the button on the back – we have already reported on this. Tom's Guide Commented: “Both charging cases do not have a pairing button on the back and instead have a hidden capacitive touchpad on the front to initiate pairing.” This surprised me when I wanted to pair the AirPods with a non-Apple device. So I'll save you the Google search: To put the AirPods 4 into Bluetooth pairing mode: Double tap the front of the case, just below the status light.”

The video test from iKnowReview also shows the microphone quality, which is clearly superior to the competition. Kilian also states that the sound quality deteriorates significantly at volume levels of more than 80 percent, although such volume levels are generally not recommended.

AirPods 4 work perfectly in the Apple ecosystem

The AirPods 4 also have the advantage of working seamlessly within the Apple ecosystem. They pair instantly with an iPhone, iPad or Mac and can automatically switch between devices when audio content is playing on another device.

The AirPods 4 without ANC cost 149 euros, while the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation are available for 199 euros. We recommend the more expensive AirPods 4 with ANC, as the benefits are definitely worth the extra cost.

Video reviews of the new AirPods 4

Note: This article contains affiliate links. When you purchase through these links, we receive a commission that we use to finance this blog. The purchase price remains the same for you.