Apple - AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 5, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
108
43
"And I love the ANC for working in the office! It completely cuts out the air noise, and helps with office chatter too (it sounds like everyone is ~10 feet further away).."
"ANC and transparency are just so good"
"ANC is the best in the market right now for open earbuds."
71
10
"They connect seamlessly with Apple products. ... As I go from room to room, Apple will ask what to connect to with one click."
"I wish I’d gotten AirPods. ... Jabari’s don’t listen for hey siri And I use AI and Siri all the time"
"They connect seamlessly between devices."
75
30
"I have the ear shape where in-ear headphones always make a loud bumping sound when I'm moving, so AirPods 4 give the benefits of noise cancelling and great sound without the in-ear effect. ... AirPods 3 always fell out my left ear but they dialed in the size perfect for the 4's, they sit perfect and I've never had it fall out or shake loose doing sprints and a full marathon."
"Iv had this same issue with in ear buds with the tips but honestly I got the apple aid pods and they never fall out. ... Is there a way you can test with a friend or family as I've found they are the only ones that sit in right. ... Reason why as the normal air pods don't sit all the way in your ears like alot of others that sit half way in which imo is more comfortable for me and doesn't fall out at the gym"
"I couldn't find anything more comfortable than my regular airpods."
48
49
"I put them in my ear, put the helmet on, then do one final “push” with my finger to seat them in my ear for the ride. ... The batteries die before they work out of my ear."
"I have the ear shape where in-ear headphones always make a loud bumping sound when I'm moving, so AirPods 4 give the benefits of noise cancelling and great sound without the in-ear effect. ... AirPods 3 always fell out my left ear but they dialed in the size perfect for the 4's, they sit perfect and I've never had it fall out or shake loose doing sprints and a full marathon."
"Iv had this same issue with in ear buds with the tips but honestly I got the apple aid pods and they never fall out. ... Is there a way you can test with a friend or family as I've found they are the only ones that sit in right. ... Reason why as the normal air pods don't sit all the way in your ears like alot of others that sit half way in which imo is more comfortable for me and doesn't fall out at the gym"
26
13
"the call quality of their Airpods are almost unmatched. ... Look at every single remote interview you see on TV... 99% of the time the person calling in is using Airpods of some kind. It always sounds pretty good too. ... I've tried calling my friends with all my earbuds and they all have said the Airpods sound better on their end. ... My other buds tend to have a slightly muffled or digital sound. ... when I know I'll be on a long call, I'll switch to them."
"If I then switch to FaceTime audio / video it becomes crystal clear."
"the mics are definitely better on the AP4 compared to all the other AirPods I have used."
Disliked most:
44
63
"certainly cannot run in them."
"airpods are way too large and tight, and distort my tragus and cause pain"
"I had them for a week and returned them cause they were really uncomfortable."
75
41
"the ANC in the 4s is just rubbish"
"ANC is not usable IMO"
"they didn’t fit in my ears well enough ... you need a solid seal for ANC to be effective"
9
31
"the bass sounds are nonexistent ... my 30$ EarPods have much better bass sounds ... So if you listen to a lot of bass-heavy music, stay away from these. ... I had to spend a lot of time with equalizer to make them usable."
"not sound quality ... Samsung buds pro 2 sound way better than apple's ... bowers and Wilkins pi6 and pi8 even better sound quality again than this"
"Their sound quality isn't good enough for critical listening and yet they have 0 character. ... Just another pair with poor soundstage, mediocre instrument separation at best, and boosted bass."
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14
"Mine are so degraded at this point though (four years on) that they can’t even hold a charge for 5 fucking minutes. ... Disgusting"
"I killed 2 sets of AirPods with too much sweat."
"True wireless will always be far far worse in terms of sound and lifespan than standard IEM’s. ... A good pair of $80-100 IEM’s will... have a probably 4-5 times longer lifespan (or even longer)."
1
6
"Also the lack of on stem volume rocker on the 4s is a huge downgrade for me in terms of convenience and it sucks that it’s not on them, it’s up to you if it’s enough of a dealbreaker though"
"I just wish they had volume control on the stem like the app2. ... I have no clue why apple removed that feature, it was awesome for the gym."
"I hate that the 4s don't have volume adjust on the stem. Annoying when your phone is tucked away somewhere."
I have both and I ll make it simple for you how much ANC do you need? If you are in flights, trains and want to block lot of noise go with pros if you are going to listen music, calls and at work take airpods 4 with ANC. They are much more comfortable than pros and can wear for a long time.
r/airpods • Help me choose between new airpods ->They’re excellent! Much better than the AirPods 3 and the ANC is way better than I had expected. Of course the Pro’s can do ANC way better, but they are doing a good job. Plus less stressful for some ears.
r/airpods • Are the new AirPods 4 with ANC worth it? ->Pros sound better I have them and don’t use them much (sometimes when I’m outside for an hour or two). I just hate the feeling with silicone tips inside my ears (tried different brands and it was the same or worse). I loved AirPods 2,3 and now just bought 4s with ANC (actually haven’t unpacked yet). I also really like Samsung LiveBuds - I think those are much better than people say.
r/airpods • Airpod 4’s or the Airpods pro 2’s ->I just unpacked and tested my 4s with ANC. They are pretty awesome sounding for my ears. Even ANC seems to work somehow - impressive. If anything - they may have a bit too much bass for my liking. Especially in dialogue.
r/airpods • Airpod 4’s or the Airpods pro 2’s ->Big budget - Sony WH1000XM(x) I still have my original MDR1000x and while the mic leaves a lot to be desired, they're amazing for music and blocking out the outside world. Find a new old stock on sale. Barring that, Bose, Sennheiser, pick your poison/price point, unless you love Apple, then the Airpods Pro2 are amazing for this if you like in-ear. Max if you hate everyone. Airpods4 with ANC are honestly fine for office environments if you have some music going, if you hate over/in ear stuff. If you're on a budget, the Anker ANC stuff is shockingly good for the price, both in sound quality and NC ability. Not 'no music on a plane of crying babies' good, but definitely good enough for an office.
r/sysadmin • What are good picks of Noise-cancelling Headphones that you've used for workplace? ->The ANC is very impressive. Very useful for those of us with sensory issues and reacting to the silicone tips.
r/airpods • Are the new AirPods 4 with ANC worth it? ->I just bought the AirPods 4 with noise cancellation. I have the previous generation of the Pros. The pros do not stay in my ears, very annoying. The 4’s are perfect! Don’t have to worry about them falling out and the noise cancellation is decent.
r/airpods • Which airpods should I buy? ->I’ve had both and prefer the 4s with active noise cancellation simply due to comfort. The ANC is amazing for not being plugged. I can wear them all day without issue.
r/airpods • Airpod 4’s or the Airpods pro 2’s ->I love my AirPods 4’s, haven’t tried the pros but maybe go to the store and try them out before deciding.
r/airpods • Airpod 4’s or the Airpods pro 2’s ->It mostly comes down to whether you like the silicone tips If you like them or prefer them, the Pro 2 are objectively better in, I believe, every other way except price - but if you don’t like them then you’re definitely gonna prefer the Gen4 just for comfort. There’s no point having slightly better ANC and sound quality if they don’t fit you properly or aren’t comfortable to wear I’m wearing my Gen4 with ANC right now, though, and they’re excellent. The ANC isn’t as good as the Pro 2 but it’s still good, I’m on a diesel (DMU) train and it removes almost all the engine noise and most of the general din of other passengers I do find the Gen4 don’t fit my ears quite as well as my old Gen1 AirPods did, but that might just be me
r/airpods • Airpod 4’s or the Airpods pro 2’s ->I have both and have mixed feeling, 4 w/ ANC is more comfortable but ANC is not usable IMO I just got better tips for the AP2 and keep on using these
r/airpods • Which airpods should I buy? ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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