That are higher for the value?

Greatest choose total

Apple AirPods Professional (2nd Gen)

Apple’s finest AirPods embody glorious Energetic Noise Cancellation and can quickly supply helpful Listening to Well being options.
Execs

Wonderful ANC

Nice sound high quality

Listening to Well being options coming quickly
Cons

Dearer at full value

Bigger charging case
A real various

Apple AirPods (4th Gen with ANC)

The AirPods 4 with ANC are Apple’s most reasonably priced AirPods but to incorporate Energetic Noise Cancellation, and work seamlessly with Apple units.
Execs

Energetic Noise Cancellation

Wonderful value

Small charging case
Cons

Lack silicone ear ideas for higher ANC

No Listening to Well being options

Alongside the launch of the brand new iPhone 16 models and Apple Watch Series 10, Apple additionally introduced two new fashions of AirPods: the AirPods 4 and the AirPods 4 with ANC. As you in all probability guessed, the largest distinction between the 2 fashions is that the latter contains Active Noise Cancellation, and the previous does not.

The worth of the AirPods 4 with ANC is at the moment $179, which makes them considerably cheaper than the AirPods Professional 2 (which additionally supply ANC) however price $249 from Apple. The AirPods Professional 2 do have some extra advantages over the AirPods 4, however price $70 extra. That being mentioned, a number of main web sites are at the moment providing the AirPods Professional 2 on the market for simply $190, making them just about the identical value because the AirPods 4.

With the value distinction being so small, do you have to nonetheless go for the AirPods 4, or spend the additional ten bucks and plump for the AirPods Professional 2? I will go head-to-head with the AirPods Professional 2 and AirPods 4 that can assist you resolve.

Worth, availability, and specs

Each units of AirPods are unsurprisingly out there to buy from Apple. The AirPods 4 with ANC are $179, and the AirPods Professional 2 are $249. Nonetheless, the AirPods Professional 2 are at the moment discounted on quite a few well-liked web sites. On the time of writing, Amazon, Walmart, and Greatest Purchase are all promoting the AirPods Professional 2 for simply $190, making the distinction in value between the 2 fashions simply over $10.

Let’s check out among the specs to see how the 2 fashions evaluate.

	Apple AirPods Professional (2nd Gen)	Apple AirPods (4th Technology with ANC)
Battery Life	6 hours	As much as 5 hours (30 hours with case)
Charging Case Included?	Sure	Sure
Model	Apple	Apple
Bluetooth	Sure	5.3
Weight	1.79 ounces	1.22oz (34.7g)
Charging Port	USB-C	USB-C
Noise Cancellation	Sure	Sure
IP Score	IP54	IP54
Colours	White	White
Sensors	Pores and skin-detect sensor, movement detecting accelerometer, speech-detecting acceleromter	Optical in-ear sensor, Movement-detecting accelerometer, Speech-detecting accelerometer
Earbud weight	5.3g	4.3g
Charging case weight	50.8g	34.7g

An identical design however a unique match

Silicone ear ideas make the match extra customizable

The general designs of the AirPods 4 and the AirPods Professional 2 are fairly comparable. Each have stems of the same size, and buds that tilt at comparable angles, though the grilles are slightly totally different in form.

There’s one obtrusive distinction between the 2 fashions, nonetheless. The AirPods Professional 2 include 4 totally different sizes of silicone ear ideas that connect to the earbuds. These are designed to suit snugly inside your ear, so not solely does it imply that you just get a more in-depth match than you do with the AirPods 4, nevertheless it additionally means you can create an acoustic seal that blocks exterior sound from getting into your ear.

The AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation superimposed on a purple gradient background

The AirPods 4 do not include silicone ideas, so the match isn’t as tight, and there is extra room across the earbud for exterior noise to get it. Each fashions will also be vulnerable to falling out throughout vigorous train, though this could occur much less regularly with the AirPods Professional due to the silicone ideas.

The charging circumstances are additionally slightly totally different for the 2 fashions. The charging case for the AirPods Professional 2 contains help for MagSafe charging, however is slightly wider with a width of 60.6mm. As compared, the AirPods 4 charging case is simply 50.1mm huge and has the same peak, however does not embody MagSafe help. You may nonetheless cost along with your Apple Watch charger or a appropriate Qi charger. There’s additionally no U1 ultra-wideband chip within the AirPods 4 case, so you possibly can’t monitor it down utilizing Precision Finding on an iPhone.

Each have ANC, however the outcome isn’t the identical

A greater acoustic seal retains out extra outdoors noise

Apple / Pocket-lint

The AirPods 4 with ANC are the primary normal AirPods to incorporate Energetic Noise Cancellation, one thing that had beforehand been restricted to the Professional fashions. In addition they characterize probably the most reasonably priced AirPods to incorporate ANC that Apple has bought thus far. How does the ANC within the new AirPods 4 evaluate to the AirPods Professional 2?

The ANC on the AirPods 4 is nice — beneath the appropriate circumstances — nevertheless it does not evaluate favorably to the ANC on the AirPods Professional 2. This is not stunning; the AirPods Professional 2 have silicone ideas meant to type an acoustic seal to cease outdoors noise from getting in. They make the ANC on the AirPods Professional 2 far simpler than it’s on the extra open AirPods 4.

If the noise is extra variable, comparable to visitors noise or folks speaking, it turns into much less efficient when in comparison with the AirPods Professional 2.

When the background noise is pretty fixed, such because the background noise on an airplane or out of your AC, the AirPods 4 can do an affordable job of blocking out among the sound. Nonetheless, if the noise is extra variable, comparable to visitors noise or folks speaking, it turns into much less efficient when in comparison with the AirPods Professional 2. Each fashions additionally embody Adaptive Audio, which robotically adjusts the settings based mostly in your environment, and Transparency mode, which lets you briefly let the noise of the skin world in.

The sound high quality of the AirPods 4 can be barely affected by the shortage of silicone ideas. On the entire, the audio high quality is nice, however with out the acoustic seal of the AirPods Professional 2, the AirPods 4 lack extra in bass, regardless of having extra bass than earlier non-Professional fashions.

Related software program now, however adjustments are on the best way

Listening to Well being options are on their method

Hearing Aid feature with AirPods Pro 2 on colored background

Apple/Pocket-lint

The software program for each fashions is usually the identical, however there are a couple of variations in how you employ it. The AirPods Professional 2 embody contact controls, permitting you to swipe up and down in your AirPods to vary the amount. The AirPods 4 use drive sensors, so you possibly can’t use the swipe gestures which might be out there on the AirPods Professional 2.

Each the AirPods Professional 2 and the AirPods 4 characteristic Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head monitoring. This tracks the place of your head and adjustments the spatial combine to match. If you happen to’re listening to classical music, for instance, the violins will at all times sound like they’re coming from the identical location, even once you flip your head.

The largest distinction continues to be to come back, nonetheless. Apple is introducing some new Hearing Health options to the AirPods Professional 2, though these will not be out there on the AirPods 4. These options embody Listening to Safety that reduces publicity to loud noises, a Listening to Take a look at characteristic that enables customers to make use of their AirPods and iPhone to precisely check their listening to, and a Listening to Help characteristic that enables customers to make use of their AirPods Professional 2 as listening to aids for gentle to reasonable listening to loss.

Apple has obtained FDA approval for the Listening to Help characteristic, and the replace needs to be launched in some unspecified time in the future this fall.

Battery is analogous, however there is a clear winner

You get slightly extra life out of the AirPods Professional 2

One other slight space of distinction between the AirPods Professional 2 and the AirPods 4 is the battery life. The AirPods 4 are rated for 4 hours of listening when utilizing ANC, however with the noise management turned off, you possibly can stand up to 5 hours between prices.

As compared, the AirPods Professional 2 are rated for six hours of listening with ANC enabled, which drops to five.5 hours if options comparable to Spatial Audio and Head Monitoring are turned on. This implies you can eke slightly extra listening out of your AirPods Professional 2 than you possibly can along with your AirPods 4.

Utilizing the charging case, with ANC turned on, the AirPods 4 can be utilized for as much as 20 hours earlier than the case will have to be plugged in once more. For the AirPods Professional 2, you may get 30 hours of listening till the case wants recharging. Each circumstances can provide round one hour of listening time from a five-minute cost.

Which AirPods do you have to purchase on the proper value?

On the listing value, selecting between the AirPods Professional 2 and the AirPods 4 is a tricky choice. The AirPods Professional 2 have higher ANC, higher sound high quality, higher controls, and can quickly have some helpful listening to options. The AirPods 4 nonetheless have quite a bit to supply, nonetheless, together with ANC at a a lot lower cost level. It is a robust name whether or not it is price paying the additional $70 for the AirPods Professional 2.

Our prime choose

Apple AirPods Professional (2nd Gen)

Apple’s finest AirPods are a no brainer if you may get them for the same value to the AirPods 4.

Nonetheless, with the AirPods Professional 2 at the moment out there for $189 on a number of well-liked web sites, the choice turns into quite a bit simpler. For ten bucks extra, there’s actually no purpose why you would not go for the AirPods Professional 2, until you actually cannot stand the silicone ear ideas, otherwise you desperately desire a barely smaller charging case.