Which are better for the price?

• Best pick overall

  Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen)

  Apple’s best AirPods include excellent Active Noise Cancellation and will soon offer useful Hearing Health features.

  Pros

  • Excellent ANC
  • Great sound quality
  • Hearing Health features coming soon

  Cons

  • More expensive at full price
  • Larger charging case

• 

  A genuine alternative

  Apple AirPods (4th Gen with ANC)

  The AirPods 4 with ANC are Apple’s most affordable AirPods yet to include Active Noise Cancellation, and work seamlessly with Apple devices.

  Pros

  • Active Noise Cancellation
  • Excellent price
  • Small charging case

  Cons

  • Lack silicone ear tips for better ANC
  • No Hearing Health features

Alongside the launch of the new iPhone 16 models and Apple Watch Series 10, Apple also announced two new models of AirPods: the AirPods 4 and the AirPods 4 with ANC. As you probably guessed, the biggest difference between the two models is that the latter includes Active Noise Cancellation, and the former doesn’t.

The price of the AirPods 4 with ANC is currently $179, which makes them significantly cheaper than the AirPods Pro 2 (which also offer ANC) but cost $249 from Apple. The AirPods Pro 2 do have some additional benefits over the AirPods 4, but cost $70 more. That being said, several major websites are currently offering the AirPods Pro 2 for sale for just $190, making them virtually the same price as the AirPods 4.

With the price difference being so small, should you still go for the AirPods 4, or spend the extra ten bucks and plump for the AirPods Pro 2? I’ll go head-to-head with the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 to help you decide.

Price, availability, and specs

Both sets of AirPods are unsurprisingly available to purchase from Apple. The AirPods 4 with ANC are $179, and the AirPods Pro 2 are $249. However, the AirPods Pro 2 are currently discounted on a number of popular websites. At the time of writing, Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy are all selling the AirPods Pro 2 for just $190, making the difference in price between the two models just over $10.

Let’s take a look at some of the specifications to see how the two models compare.

• 	Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen)	Apple AirPods (4th Generation with ANC)
  Battery Life	6 hours	Up to 5 hours (30 hours with case)
  Charging Case Included?	Yes	Yes
  Brand	Apple	Apple
  Bluetooth	Yes	5.3
  Weight	1.79 ounces	1.22oz (34.7g)
  Charging Port	USB-C	USB-C
  Noise Cancellation	Yes	Yes
  IP Rating	IP54	IP54
  Colors	White	White
  Sensors	Skin-detect sensor, motion detecting accelerometer, speech-detecting acceleromter	Optical in-ear sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer, Speech-detecting accelerometer
  Earbud weight	5.3g	4.3g
  Charging case weight	50.8g	34.7g

A similar design but a different fit

Silicone ear tips make the fit more customizable

The overall designs of the AirPods 4 and the AirPods Pro 2 are reasonably similar. Both have stems of a similar length, and buds that tilt at similar angles, although the grilles are a little different in shape.

There’s one glaring difference between the two models, however. The AirPods Pro 2 come with four different sizes of silicone ear tips that attach to the earbuds. These are designed to fit snugly inside your ear, so not only does it mean that you get a closer fit than you do with the AirPods 4, but it also means that you can create an acoustic seal that blocks external sound from entering your ear.

The AirPods 4 don’t come with silicone tips, so the fit is not as tight, and there’s more room around the earbud for external noise to get it. Both models can also be prone to falling out during vigorous exercise, although this should happen less frequently with the AirPods Pro thanks to the silicone tips.

The charging cases are also a little different for the two models. The charging case for the AirPods Pro 2 includes support for MagSafe charging, but is a little wider with a width of 60.6mm. In comparison, the AirPods 4 charging case is only 50.1mm wide and has a similar height, but doesn’t include MagSafe support. You can still charge with your Apple Watch charger or a compatible Qi charger. There’s also no U1 ultra-wideband chip in the AirPods 4 case, so you can’t track it down using Precision Finding on an iPhone.

Both have ANC, but the result is not the same

A better acoustic seal keeps out more outside noise

Apple / Pocket-lint

The AirPods 4 with ANC are the first standard AirPods to include Active Noise Cancellation, something that had previously been limited to the Pro models. They also represent the most affordable AirPods to include ANC that Apple has sold to date. How does the ANC in the new AirPods 4 compare to the AirPods Pro 2?

The ANC on the AirPods 4 is good — under the right circumstances — but it doesn’t compare favorably to the ANC on the AirPods Pro 2. This isn’t surprising; the AirPods Pro 2 have silicone tips meant to form an acoustic seal to stop outside noise from getting in. They make the ANC on the AirPods Pro 2 far more effective than it is on the more open AirPods 4.

When the background noise is fairly constant, such as the background noise on an airplane or from your AC, the AirPods 4 can do a reasonable job of blocking out some of the sound. However, if the noise is more variable, such as traffic noise or people talking, it becomes less effective when compared to the AirPods Pro 2. Both models also include Adaptive Audio, which automatically adjusts the settings based on your surroundings, and Transparency mode, which allows you to temporarily let the noise of the outside world in.

The sound quality of the AirPods 4 is also slightly affected by the lack of silicone tips. On the whole, the audio quality is good, but without the acoustic seal of the AirPods Pro 2, the AirPods 4 lack more in bass, despite having more bass than previous non-Pro models.

Similar software now, but changes are on the way

Hearing Health features are on their way

Apple/Pocket-lint

The software for both models is mostly the same, but there are a few differences in how you use it. The AirPods Pro 2 include touch controls, allowing you to swipe up and down on your AirPods to change the volume. The AirPods 4 use force sensors, so you can’t use the swipe gestures that are available on the AirPods Pro 2.

Both the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4 feature Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking. This tracks the position of your head and changes the spatial mix to match. If you’re listening to classical music, for example, the violins will always sound like they are coming from the same location, even when you turn your head.

The biggest difference is still to come, however. Apple is introducing some new Hearing Health features to the AirPods Pro 2, although these won’t be available on the AirPods 4. These features include Hearing Protection that reduces exposure to loud noises, a Hearing Test feature that allows users to use their AirPods and iPhone to accurately test their hearing, and a Hearing Aid feature that allows users to use their AirPods Pro 2 as hearing aids for mild to moderate hearing loss.

Battery is similar, but there’s a clear winner

You get a little more life out of the AirPods Pro 2

Another slight area of difference between the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4 is the battery life. The AirPods 4 are rated for four hours of listening when using ANC, but with the noise control turned off, you can get up to five hours between charges.

In comparison, the AirPods Pro 2 are rated for six hours of listening with ANC enabled, which drops to 5.5 hours if features such as Spatial Audio and Head Tracking are turned on. This means that you can eke a little more listening out of your AirPods Pro 2 than you can with your AirPods 4.

Using the charging case, with ANC turned on, the AirPods 4 can be used for up to 20 hours before the case will need to be plugged in again. For the AirPods Pro 2, you can get 30 hours of listening until the case needs recharging. Both cases can give around one hour of listening time from a five-minute charge.

Which AirPods should you buy at the right price?

At the list price, choosing between the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4 is a tough decision. The AirPods Pro 2 have better ANC, better sound quality, better controls, and will soon have some useful hearing features. The AirPods 4 still have a lot to offer, however, including ANC at a much lower price point. It’s a tough call whether it’s worth paying the extra $70 for the AirPods Pro 2.

Our top pick

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen)

Apple’s best AirPods are a no-brainer if you can get them for a similar price to the AirPods 4.

However, with the AirPods Pro 2 currently available for $189 on several popular websites, the decision becomes a lot easier. For ten bucks more, there’s really no reason why you wouldn’t go for the AirPods Pro 2, unless you really can’t stand the silicone ear tips, or you desperately want a slightly smaller charging case.

Worth a look

Apple AirPods (4th Gen with ANC)

The AirPods 4 are Apple’s cheapest ANC AirPods yet, and have a lot of features for the price.

That said, the AirPods 4 have a lot going for them. The ANC may not be to the same standard as the AirPods Pro 2, for obvious reasons, but it’s still a very nice feature to have, and can work well in the right circumstances. Personalized Spatial Audio with head tracking is also a great feature to have in these affordable AirPods. The slightly smaller charging case makes the AirPods 4 a little more portable than the AirPods Pro 2, as well. If you have to decide between both models at full price, then you may decide that the additional features in the AirPods Pro 2 aren’t worth the extra $70.