Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation vs Apple AirPods 5

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AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation compared with AirPods 5

	AppleAirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation	AppleAirPods 5
Overview
Released
Released	September 2024	September 2026
Sound
Type
Type	Open-ear	Open-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	Yes
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	Yes
Spatial audio with head tracking
Spatial audio with head tracking	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC and AAC	SBC and AAC
Lossless over USB-C
Lossless over USB-C	No	No
Chip
Chip	H2	H2
Drivers
Drivers	Custom high-excursion Apple driver and custom high dynamic range amplifier	Custom high-excursion Apple driver and custom high dynamic range amplifier in a new multiport acoustic architecture
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	Active Noise Cancellation with Adaptive Audio, Transparency mode and Conversation Awareness	Up to 1.5x more Active Noise Cancellation than AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation; Adaptive Audio, Transparency and Conversation Awareness
Audio features
Audio features	Personalised Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking; Adaptive EQ; Voice Isolation; Live Translation (with an iPhone 15 Pro or later running iOS 26 or later and Apple Intelligence); lossless audio with Apple Vision Pro	Personalised Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking; Adaptive EQ; Voice Isolation; studio-quality audio recording; Live Translation; lossless audio with Apple Vision Pro
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 4 hours	Up to 4 hours
With the case
With the case	Up to 20 hours	Up to 20 hours
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	Yes	No
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 5 hours per charge and 30 hours with the case with noise control off	Up to 6 hours per charge with noise control off
Charging case
Charging case	Charging Case (USB-C) with speaker for Find My; charges with a USB-C cable, Apple Watch charger or Qi-certified charger	Charging Case (USB-C), charged by USB-C cable only
Fast charging
Fast charging	5 minutes in the case gives around 1 hour of listening	5 minutes in the case gives around 1 hour of listening
Design
Weight (each earbud)
Weight (each earbud)	4.3 g	4.3 g
Water and sweat resistance
Water and sweat resistance	IP54	IP57
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	5.3
Controls
Controls	Force sensor on the stems (press once to play, pause or answer a call; twice to end a call or skip forward; three times to skip back; press and hold for Siri); “Hey Siri” or just “Siri”; Siri Interactions by nodding or shaking your head	Force sensor on the stems (press to play, pause, answer calls and skip; press and hold to switch listening modes); camera remote; “Hey Siri” or just “Siri”; Siri Interactions by nodding or shaking your head
Microphones
Microphones	Dual beamforming microphones and an inward-facing microphone; speech-detecting accelerometer	Dual beamforming microphones and an inward-facing microphone; speech-detecting accelerometer
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Open-ear design with no ear tips	Open-ear design with no ear tips
Case weight
Case weight	34.7 g	32.3 g
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	IP54 (IEC 60529) for the AirPods and charging case	IP57 (IEC 60529) for the AirPods and charging case
Works with
Works with	Full features with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro on the latest software; works as Bluetooth headphones with other devices, with limited features	Full features with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro on the latest software; works as Bluetooth headphones with other devices, with limited features
Colours
Colours	White	White
In the box
In the box	AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation and Charging Case (USB-C) with speaker, documentation; USB-C cable sold separately	AirPods 5 and Charging Case (USB-C), documentation; no USB-C cable or power adapter