Good news for the many millions of people who bought Vision Pro as their primary Apple Music device: the new AirPods 4 deliver lossless audio with ultra-low latency when you connect them to your headphones. This feature was previously only available on the USB-C version of AirPods Pro 2.
That means Apple’s cheapest $129 AirPods now outperform the $549 AirPods Max with USB-C, which aren’t lossless. Though, to be fair, the Max aren’t exactly the ideal shape to stick on a headset.
That’s not the only new feature in the new AirPods 4. There’s also a change to the button on the charging case. Where the button used to be just a button, it’s now a capacitive button. Not only that, but where the previous buttons were on the back, this one is now on the front of the case, just below the status light. If I were Tim Cook, I’d be using words like “magical,” “amazing,” and “incredible” right now.
What does the new AirPods 4 button do?
As before, the button is there so you can easily pair your AirPods with your iPhone, iPad, or Mac if they don’t pair automatically. According to MacotakaraPairing is simply a matter of double-tapping when you open the case and see the status light. And Gear Patrol adds that you can use it to factory reset your AirPods 4 with a long- or triple-press of the new button. The site also says that the status light on the new AirPods is much more discreet than before, and appears to disappear completely when you close the charging case.
We’re impressed with what we’ve seen and heard from the AirPods 4 so far: If you’re not into earbuds or the price of the AirPods Pro 2, the $179 ANC version of these new earbuds is a good value; if you’re not into ANC, $129 for the more basic model is a pretty good price for AirPods sound. And because they share the same H2 chip with the AirPods Pro 2, they benefit from the same AirPods update we wrote about yesterday, with gesture controls for hands-free Siri.
AirPods Pro 4 are available for pre-order now and will be available in stores from September 20.