AirPods 4 with ANC

A new design and Active Noise Cancellation make these a must-have

- Rob Mead-Green

£179 FROM apple.​com/uk FEATURES H2 headphone chip, Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), dust, sweat and water resistant to IP54, charging case with USB-C and wireless charging, up to 5 hours battery life (AirPods)/30 hours (Charging Case) with ANC off

While Apple added new hearing health features to the existing AirPods Pro 2 at its ‘Glowtime’ event in September, it was the company’s cheaper AirPods that got the biggest overhaul. Still only available in de rigeur white, the new AirPods 4 are available in two different guises: regular AirPods 4 for £129 and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) for £179. It’s the latter we’re looking at here.

While it looks familiar, the design of the AirPods 4 is all-new. Apple has tweaked the AirPods’ contours, shape and size to make them more comfortable to wear for longer periods, and they’ve now been fitted it with Apple’s next-gen headphone chip, the H2, promising improved sound quality with better sound separation, deeper bass and clearer highs. You can see whether that holds true later on in this review.