I was originally an AirPods sceptic because I feared the design would not work for people with large ears like me. I could not have been more wrong. And since the first AirPods came out in 2016, I have never left home without one in my pocket. After every new truly wireless earphone I review, I always come back to my AirPods for regular use, because at the end of the day it is a natural extension of my iPhone and in a way my personality. In 2024, Apple seems to believe more users need to experience this and that seems to be the guiding principle behind the two new AirPods.
The AirPods 4 comes in a very compact package and if the AirPods 3 borrowed the design of the Pro, this one goes back to the original thinking. These will fit easily into the watch pocket of any jeans thanks to what I think could be the smallest footprint for any truly wireless device I have seen of late.
The ear plugs have the same design as before and don’t come with silicone tips like the Pro models. I prefer using the AirPods Pro because of the silicone tips that counter my paranoia that these will fall off from my extra large ears. But they have never fallen off my ears in all these years and that’s the beauty of this design which uses a mix of shape and weight to keep them in place. No wonder generations of EarPods have followed this cue from Apple.
Onboarding is easy if you are an Apple user and the iPhone or iPad detects the new AirPods the moment you flip the case open. You are then asked for consent for personalised volume and if you want to use a nod of the head to accept calls.
The ear plugs have the same design as before and don’t come with silicone tips like the Pro models. (Image Credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)
The moment you play your first song you are sucked into the familiar comfort of the AirPods, which for a first time user will appear a huge audio upgrade from whatever earphones they are using. Afreen Afreen by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Momina Mustehsan on Coke Studio 9 took me back to the first time I heard the original version of the song by the one and only Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan over three decades back on my BPL music system. The AirPods offer a very balanced sound profile that’s rich and not partial to bass. You feel the soul of the vocals without getting drowned in the music arrangements.
You do hear a bit of the environment around you as there is no silicone tips to block them out. But you can always raise the volume to drown the hum of the fan. The AirPods offer spatial music with head tracking, so the direction of the voice can move with you or stay where you want it to be. Call quality is good as it has always been.
At Rs 12,900, the AirPods are now the most affordable it has ever been. Apple clearly wants to make the most popular earphones in the world more popular. It knows that once a person uses AirPods the sheer convenience of using it, especially with other Apple devices, will make them keep buying these or upgrading to a Pro in a few years. This is the best truly wireless earphones for Apple users. Now, however, there is a choice on which AirPod you finally want to pick up.
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Apple AirPods 4 with ANC review
I mentioned the choice with AirPods because Apple now has a new AirPods with active noise cancellation, but one that does not cost as much as the AirPods Pro. The new AirPods 4 with ANC are exactly the same as the new AirPods in design and sound profile, but the moment you wear it the noise cancellation impresses you. And remember this is without the silicone tips in the Pro.
In fact, I was impressed by the noise cancellation way before I got the device for review. Soon after the Apple event, I was in the crowded core of the Steve Jobs Theatre, jostling to get my hands on the new iPhones when an Apple product person walked up to me and asked if I wanted to check out the new AirPods. The moment I wore these, I was suddenly sucked into a vacuum which was devoid of the buzz created by around 500 journalists and content creators milling around the latest tech in town. That was maybe the best introduction you could get to a new product.
While in markets like India the AirPods are still considered premium, in places like the US, these are almost ubiquitous and you see everyone uses these all the time from cab drivers, commuters on the New York Subway to people municipal workers using blowers to clear leafy California avenues. And this is exactly why the noise cancellation will be a huge upgrade for regular AirPods users.
The AirPods come with both Adaptive and Transparency mode. I use the former when I am on the move and earphones adjust to the environmental noise levels by itself. But when I’m say in an airport where I need to hear announcements or fellow passengers I would keep the transparency mode on. There is also conversation awareness where the audio level lowers when you are speaking. I am not a big fan of this feature though and it cuts the audio every time you clear your throat or cough.
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While the AirPods 3 borrowed design elements from the Pro model (in the middle), the AirPods 4 return to the original design philosophy. (Image Credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)
Thanks to the noise cancellation, the audio quality comes out much better on these AirPods. There is no more fan drone in the ears as I soak in the silken voice of Yesudas rendering Souparnikamrutha, the perfect morning number to start your day. The audio profile is more on the neutral side and there is a perfect balance of all the elements. When you step up to something younger like Ed Sheeran’s The A Team, the Spatial Audio impresses you even more. You feel like walking around with a globe around your head with small Ed Sheerans floating around in this bubble. You are cut off from the world in a space of your own.
This is one of my favourite use cases with the AirPods. Just wear them on so that no one bothers you in the office, thinking you are on a call, while you are finding a mind space of your own aided by noise cancellation. In office, you are reminded of the convenience of using an AirPods as the device seamlessly hands over from the iPhone to the iPad and MacBook as you switch from calls to zoom meetings and YouTube videos.
At Rs 17,900, I would recommend these AirPods for those who are looking to upgrade from their earlier AirPods as this will feel like a real upgrade. Of course, you can buy the AirPods Pro, but then these are much more affordable. For those considering their first AirPods, buy these if you really love what noise cancellation can bring to your life, with or without the music.
