Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation vs Apple EarPods (USB-C)

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AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation compared with EarPods (USB-C)

	AppleAirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation	AppleEarPods (USB-C)
Overview
Released
Released	September 2024	September 2023
Sound
Type
Type	Open-ear	Open-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	No
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	–
Spatial audio with head tracking
Spatial audio with head tracking	Yes	–
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC and AAC	None (wired)
Lossless over USB-C
Lossless over USB-C	No	Yes
Chip
Chip	H2	–
Drivers
Drivers	Custom high-excursion Apple driver and custom high dynamic range amplifier	–
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	Active Noise Cancellation with Adaptive Audio, Transparency mode 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	Lossless audio over USB-C (TechRadar); Apple does not publish supported bit depths or sample rates on its product page
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 4 hours	No battery (wired)
With the case
With the case	Up to 20 hours	–
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	Yes	–
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 5 hours per charge and 30 hours with the case 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	–
Fast charging
Fast charging	5 minutes in the case gives around 1 hour of listening	–
Design
Headphone cable
Headphone cable	–	No
Weight (each earbud)
Weight (each earbud)	4.3 g	–
Water and sweat resistance
Water and sweat resistance	IP54	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	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	Inline remote for volume, music and video playback, and answering or ending calls
Microphones
Microphones	Dual beamforming microphones and an inward-facing microphone; speech-detecting accelerometer	Inline microphone
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Open-ear design with no ear tips	Non-sealing earbuds with a fixed shape and no ear tips
Case weight
Case weight	34.7 g	–
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	IP54 (IEC 60529) for the AirPods and charging case	Apple states protection from sweat and water but does not publish an IP rating
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	USB-C Macs with macOS Monterey 12.6 or later; USB-C iPads with iPadOS 16.4 or later; USB-C iPhones with iOS 17 or later
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	EarPods with USB-C Connector