Apple’s cheapest AirPods 4 aren’t great sound-wise, but one big advantage keeps me coming back
Not long after their September announcement, I got my mitts on some entry-level Apple AirPods 4. To clarify, I didn’t get the step-up kit with ANC (that would be the Apple AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation), but someone did give me a pair of Apple’s latest entry-level models.
I linked to our full review in the paragraph above, but my best review is this: Using my iPhone and Apple Music for Apple’s Personalized Spatial Audio (you can turn it on or off in the iPhone settings, via the AirPods tab ) is a lot of fun. It opens Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club like you wouldn’t believe, making it feel like the keys are under my chin as Roan wriggles between each ear. Unfortunately, to achieve this effect you pay a high price: detail. The AirPods 4’s performance often feels bloated in the midrange, a bit flat dynamically, and occasionally too warm to be considered good.
As any listener (or reader) who uses an AirPods-and-iPhone combo knows, the sound is only part of the story. They fit my Apple phone perfectly with a pop-up as soon as I open the case. They pause the music when I remove one button, and I actually quite like the new gesture controls – even though you have to be quite pronounced with your movements (and I used to be a dancer, I know what pronounced movements are).
I also like that even though there is no ANC, using Personalized Volume adjusts the volume of my music based on the noise of my immediate environment. And while the on-ear controls aren’t exactly extensive (I struggle to change the volume by stroking the stems no matter how hard I try), you can customize how you answer calls.
But it’s not any of these convenience benefits that have me grabbing them over the selection of other earbuds on my desk just before I leave the house.
When space is limited, small is beautiful
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this earpiece design makes the AirPods 4 as good as some of the best earbuds for small ears, although I do like that there is no earbud hassle; they either fit or they don’t. This is Apple’s latest ‘open-ear’ fit, based on a lot of ear mapping research. For me they are a bit flatter, wider and harder to accommodate comfortably, but this is a personal matter.
What is beautifully small is the housing, which extends into the packaging. And it’s very easy to underestimate how much I want that. I think we all do that. Most of all, we want earbuds that offer some level of comfort, a reliable connection, and a super small but sturdy case that we can slip into a jeans pocket. And voilayou hold the key to the success of AirPods 4.
I can’t tell you how many times my hand has hovered over bigger, better, more expensive earbuds on my testing desk in the past four months. When my brain thought about the jacket I’m wearing or the smaller bag I hope to get away with today, that same hand grabbed the AirPods 4 instead.
I tried to place the case and packaging next to the AirPods Pro 2’s in this piece to increase scale, but it’s still hard to explain until you’ve held the AirPods 4 in your hand. A case this size resembles a box of dental floss; you really should take it with you, it’s good for you and takes up hardly any space.
So despite the noticeable loss of detail in audio tracks, I love AirPods 4. They’re just so nice to use and insignificant when they fit in your pocket! Okay, so they don’t make my best earbud buying guide due to the fuller feature sets, better device-independent support, and the addition of active noise cancellation that other manufacturers offer for the same money. But that doesn’t mean I can’t praise Apple for its bijou design here, which, honestly, I hope other brands try to emulate. (This is Apple again, so they usually do that…)