Why Apple’s New AirPods 4 Are Dated—and Definitely Not Magical

It seems like the launch of Apple’s new iPhone 16 and Apple Watch has everyone on Earth excited. Amidst all the hype, we’ve seen the more low-key launch of the new AirPods 4 and the updated AirPods Max, Cupertino’s latest effort in consumer audio. However, some are criticizing the lack of innovation despite the high MSRP.

Let’s start with the AirPods: This year, Apple is offering two offerings: the regular AirPods 4 and a model with active noise cancellation (ANC). Aside from ANC, a quick glance at the design and factory specs essentially shows a superficial upgrade — or perhaps more accurately, an update — over the AirPods 3. The new AirPods 4 carry over the previous generation’s spatial audio support and supposedly offer the same “up to 30 hours” of battery life, packaged in a design that barely moved the needle.

That said, Apple engineers have given the new earbuds an IP54 ingress resistance rating (instead of IPX4) and a more powerful H2 chip that runs all the processing and AI functions in the background. Apple specifically notes that the noise cancellation of the aforementioned ANC model brings it closer to the noise isolation available on the AirPods Pro 2. This isn’t a criticism of the technology; the AirPods Pro 2 are in-ear (“earbuds”) while the standard models sit on the outside of your ear (“buds”). We’re glad to see Apple finally bringing this feature to its earbuds, which better meets the needs of users who sometimes prefer to hear their surroundings but would like the option to actively cancel noise.

As for the AirPods Max, fans who were waiting for Apple to bring something new to the flagship headset were probably collectively disappointed. The four-year-old device now has USB-C charging (which the AirPods 4 also has, by the way), custom spatial audio, and new colors… and that’s it. There’s no improvement in battery life or weight reduction, two things that are often cited as the biggest downsides to these earbuds.

The refreshed AirPods Max are available now for the same $550 price as the previous model. The standard and ANC versions of the AirPods 4 are also available for preorder at $130 (same as the AirPods 3) and $180, respectively. Apple says it expects first shipments by September 20.