I have the AirPods 4 ANC, and the noise cancellation amazes me

There’s nothing quite like waiting for a new tech product that promises to do something quite different, and then having that wait rewarded by the product actually delivering the goods. Such is the case with me and the new AirPods 4 ANC, and after having them in my hands and my ear canals around them for about 18 hours at this point, I’m still sitting here a little shocked at how good they are.

ANC without ear tips

The main feature of these earbuds, which I still don’t see proper buzz about on the web, is the fact that they claim to provide ANC (active noise cancellation) without the need for intrusive silicone or rubber tips. I wrote about this the day Apple announced the AirPods 4 ANC , hoping they could deliver on their promises, but being completely prepared for them to fail.

Spoiler alert: they don’t fail. In fact, my expectations have already been exceeded with these new earbuds. The first time I squeezed this earbud and turned on the ANC, I really couldn’t believe what I was hearing: or, what I wasn’t hearing, I guess.

Sure, the ANC isn’t as powerful as the AirPods Pro, but I didn’t expect it to be. It’s good. With a set of earbuds that I can simply place in my ear without moving, without constant adjustment to feel the proper seal, and without feeling like the tips I chose aren’t quite right, I can’t believe they have this much ability to block out sound and noise.

Like other ANC headphones or headsets, very high-pitched sounds still come through and I don’t expect anything different. But general noises around the office like refrigerators, quiet conversations, the hum of traffic outside the window, etc. are all canceled out when I turn on ANC.

Even walking on the sidewalk downtown with cars passing and the general din of traffic near and far, the AirPods 4 ANC silence it all. Without music, it’s just a soothing silence. With light music, I’m in my own little world. And these headphones do all this without the need for a waterproof ear tip!

Transparency mode is next level

And since there’s no actual physical blockage in the ear canal, you can imagine how effective Transparency Mode is. When I turn off the music, turn on Transparency Mode, and insert and remove the AirPods 4 ANC from my ears, there’s almost no difference in what I hear.

I expected it, but it’s still a real treat. Don’t get me wrong, the transparency of the iPod Pro and Pixel Buds Pro is superb, but this is on another level. When you mix a well-designed transmission signal with real ambient sounds that are creeping around the earbuds anyway, you get a combination that’s unmatched for making the earbuds feel like they’re not in your ears at all.

The rest of the weekend will be spent seeing what I can and can’t do with my Pixel 9 Pro XL and also a Chromebook. How will switching devices work? What about some of the other features like Conversation Awareness or those nod to ignore options? How does lag work in games? I imagine we’ll see a mix of things that work well and things that don’t, but as long as I can use ANC, Transparency, and keep them solidly connected, I’m good to go.

The cut I missed

This last part will definitely be a bit subjective, but I’ve talked before about how I’ve been missing these types of earbuds for a while. I find the eartips to be finicky, generally uncomfortable for long periods of time, and just a little annoying. I’ve longed for the day when I could go back to my standard AirPods and somehow magically get ANC too.

And if you’re like me and the standard AirPods were fine for you back in the day (I never tried the AirPods 2 or 3), be glad. The AirPods 4 are just as comfortable for longer wear sessions, and you now get all the extras you wanted all along. I have a trip coming up in a few days where I’ll be able to test them on the road and on planes, so I’ll refrain from calling them my favorite earbuds of all time. But I really want to.