Đánh giá chi tiết AirPods 4 trên chuyến bay: Hiệu quả của tính năng chống ồnượ

The design isn’t a complete reinvention — they’re close to the flagship AirPods Pro 2 — as they’re still small white earbuds that you keep in a white charging case.

The case has a built-in speaker for use with the “Find My” app on an iPhone and it also has wireless charging support, and can recharge itself on an Apple Watch charging puck.

It’s worth noting, though, that the built-in speakers and wireless charging support are exclusive to the noise-cancelling model of AirPods 4, not the standard AirPods 4.

Both AirPods 4 models, however, include a USB-C port for recharging and, when it comes to the buds themselves, they have a similar look and feel to previous AirPod models — although they’ve been refined for a better fit for more users.

They have the same intuitive “squeeze” controls as the AirPods Pro too, but they lack the volume swipe gesture on the stem, which I found super handy.

Although the white colour is synonymous with Apple, I’d now argue that there are so many knock-offs that it would be the right time to introduce more colour options, ideally to match the AirPods Max or the iPhone range.

Also, a big downside of white plastic is that dust is highly visible, and these end up covered in the stuff, even after their first day of use.

The fit of the standard AirPods range isn’t for everyone. Earphones with interchangeable soft silicone ear tips existed long before hard plastic AirPods, and there’s a good reason why. The fit of that style is more customisable, more secure and can adapt to a wide variety of ears.

However, if you’re certain you don’t get along with ear tips, these new AirPods do fit better. To me, they feel more comfortable than previous AirPods have. For this iteration, Apple has worked to map thousands of ears and 50 million data points, and I can feel the slight optimisations in comfort.

But, they still “perch” in your ears rather than “locking” securely in place. That means they can easily be dislodged, as they did when a fellow commuter bumped into me during testing.

They stayed put during a walk in the park and while working at my desk, but this loose fit is unlikely to be suitable for running or vigorous exercise, and may slip out during even light activity.

To find a good fit, make sure you try several different tips and, crucially, that may include different sizes for each ear. Everyone’s ears are unique and there isn’t a “one size fits all option”, no matter how much Apple would like there to be.

It may not surprise you that I set out on this review with scepticism; it’s not possible to defy physics. Noise-cancelling works by blocking out sounds while monitoring both the inside and outside of your ears with microphones and creating an inverted sound wave for the predictable ambient sounds that remain.

In some of the best earbuds and over-ears, it’s fantastic. But how can it work without the buds sealing off your ears in the first place? And is it still noise “cancellation” or more of a noise “suppression” feature? Well, I took the AirPods 4 on a flight to find out.

On takeoff, I was able to hear my music clearly but the engine roars did still get through. Once the “fasten seatbelt” signs turned off and we were at cruising altitude though, the rumbles were just a dull background tone.

Impressively, throughout the flight, I didn’t need to turn my music or podcasts up above 70-80% of the volume slider, so I think you can be confident you wouldn’t need to blast your eardrums with these.

They’re impressive at tackling low-frequency noises within the 75-80 decibel range and pretty good at silencing high-frequency conversations too, but struggle with much louder or more sudden sounds.

It’s also worth noting that there is a slight background hiss compared to almost all other noise-cancelling earbuds. It’s mostly fine but will become noticeable if you plan to wear them for longer periods of time.

I compared them to the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 during the flight too. Unsurprisingly, the Jabra noise-cancelling is better in every way. The Jabras delivered near silence during takeoff and landing, and handled all the conversational noise around me. They’re also, at least for me, far more comfortable to wear for a long time.

But the good news is that for earbuds the AirPods 4 are genuinely good at noise-cancelling. And it’s a feature that this earbud style didn’t have before now.

Sound quality is another area where I’d expect the AirPods to be affected by the design because a more open fit makes it harder to deliver low bass frequencies and can mean that others around you hear your playlists due to sound leakage.

But I was once again much more impressed than I expected to be. They have newly designed 11mm low-distortion drivers for improved audio performance, and they’re meant to have richer bass and crisp highs with better instrumental separation compared to their predecessors.

In my time using them so far, I’m impressed, and I’d wager much of that is down to Apple’s Adaptive EQ technology. They sound well-tuned and lively for all content, and I don’t find myself needing to turn up the volume to hear nuances. And, thankfully, I don’t have to worry about everyone around me getting to enjoy my Pop Hits playlist either!

But what exactly is “Adaptive EQ”? It’s a feature that adjusts the sound in real-time based on how the AirPods fit in your ears and the type of content you’re playing. Because of this tech, the AirPods 4 will sound slightly different in my ears compared to how they’d sound in yours.

Whether I listened to music or podcasts, I was consistently impressed by a balanced sound with clear vocals and a detailed soundstage.

These also have personalised spatial audio support like the AirPods Pro 2, enhancing tracks mastered for this immersive mode in Apple Music, as well as Dolby Atmos films and TV programmes in streaming apps like Netlifx, Disney+, Apple TV+ and more.

As a result of having noise control abilities and the new processor, the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation have a suite of features typically reserved for the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max.

They have a transparency mode, which is essentially the complete opposite of noise-cancelling, to amplify external sounds around you for awareness. I’ve found it more than effective enough to use while holding a conversation.

There’s also “Conversation Awareness”, which detects when you’re speaking and automatically lowers the volume of music and turns on transparency.

The ground between noise-cancelling and full transparency is Apple’s “Adaptive Audio” mode, which mixes both ANC and awareness, auto-adjusting the levels needed based on your surroundings.

In my experience, the Adaptive Audio works well and is worth using, but Conversation Awareness is too easily triggered by a cough or singing along to your tunes. If you don’t need it, turn it off.

Compared to rivals, the AirPods with ANC aren’t top tier. They offer up to four hours of listening time with noise-cancelling on, which is relatively modest compared to rivals.

And using them without noise-cancelling only rewards you with an extra hour of listening time on a single charge (so five hours in total). It’s not going to be enough for a long-haul flight but the case provides an additional 16 hours of lift, bringing the total up to 20 hours.

And they recharge quickly – five minutes in the case should deliver around an hour of listening time or about 45 minutes of talk time.

Of course, this battery life might be enough for your needs but it’s not on par with other ANC earbuds like the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, the Technics AZ80 or Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.

It is a benefit, though, that they come with wireless charging support – you can pop them down on any Qi-enabled charger or an Apple Watch charging puck to refuel. This convenience goes some way to offset the downside of the comparatively shorter battery life.

In the UK, the Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are priced at £179, positioning them as a mid-range option between the standard AirPods 4 and the premium AirPods Pro 2.

However, the AirPods Pro 2 are sometimes discounted, so these top-tier buds are still our pick for best value as they have a more customisable fit and more features.

The AirPods 4 with ANC are the ones to pick though if you want advanced features like noise-cancelling, Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness.

For more robust noise cancellation and longer battery life, there are several competitive options at this price and lower. For example, Sony’s WF-C700N, JBL’s Live Beam 3, the Nothing Ear (a), Nothing Ear and Soundcore Liberty 4 NC are all options I’d recommend that won’t cost as much.

Apple has spent years refining the fit and feel of its AirPods lineup. Even if the second or third-generation AirPods fell out of your ears, I have a feeling the latest AirPods 4 won’t.

I don’t typically get along with semi-open ear fit buds, but I’m happy to report that the comfort of the latest AirPods is greatly improved. I find these don’t bother me when I’m wearing them for hours at a time, and it would take a proper shove to get them to come loose.

But this fit and design still isn’t for everyone. While impressive, the AirPods 4 aren’t as good as my favourite pair: the AirPods Pro 2. The flagship buds have a more comfortable fit and one that’s more customisable.

The Pro 2 also sound far better and deliver better noise-cancellation and upgraded features. Overall, they’re a more advanced pick for not much more price-wise.

If you’re sure that a silicone ear tip design isn’t going to suit you, though, the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are the best standard AirPods pair to date.

They’re the first pair to fit me comfortably and their noise-cancellation is much better than I expected. It’s effective enough for the environments where you’ll want to use it most.

They also sound excellent with the Adaptive EQ feature and have some smart noise control modes in addition to a super-pocketable charging case.

If I have any quibbles, it would be that the battery life isn’t great and I’d love to see alternative colour options. But, overall, I think AirPods fans are going to be highly satisfied by these capable new buds.

Apple AirPods 4: Other models to consider

Unsurprisingly, I’d encourage most Apple fans to consider the AirPods Pro 2 instead. The fit is much more accommodating with four different sizes of ear tips to secure the buds in place, and third-party brands offer foam ear tips if you’re certain it’s the silicone material you have an issue with.

It’s not only the additional passive isolation and better noise-cancellation that’s a benefit, but they’ll stay in better and won’t go hurtling down the nearest drain.

The Pro model also delivers better sound, better noise-cancelling and a couple of extras like improved “Find My” support and all the new hearing protection features that are coming soon (more on those below).

If you’re prepared to look beyond Apple models, you can make a saving by going for wireless earbuds that pack in just as many features for a lower cost.

I rate the Sony WF-C700N as some of the best-sounding and most convenient buds under £100, and they’re closely matched by the Nothing Ear (a) or the slightly pricier Nothing Ear.

All of these options include noise-cancelling and extra smart features via their apps too.

Simon Cocks is Hearst UK’s Technology Ecommerce Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy across a range of titles including Good Housekeeping UK, Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.

Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, ebook readers and smartphones. He’s reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.

A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.

He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and money-saving advice guides and edited thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.

He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.You can follow Simon on Instagram at @simonrcocks, on Threads at @simonrcocks, and on Twitter/X at @simoncocks.