The world can be very exciting. So, I figured the best way to test the Apple AirPods 4 with ANC would be to hear how well they can block noise. While many people enjoy noise cancellation because of the way it makes their music sound, I prefer to wear it to drown out the noise and chaos of the outside world. Sometimes, it’s the only way I can work.
I took the AirPods 4 with ANC on a busy day in the city. I live in the suburbs, so it was a trip. But the adventure featured many encounters with the kind of high-decibel noise you’d want to avoid: screeching trains, screeching buses, and people yelling at each other about all kinds of things I wanted to be private about without being caught. to. The AirPods 4 and ANC were more than up to the job, though I remembered why I still prefer the AirPods Pro 2s to this new pair of earbuds with the updated chip. My ears aren’t built for AirPods, but at least now, there’s another earbud with noise cancellation for Apple diehards.
Small, smart AirPods
Apple’s AirPods 4 with ANC are new to its range of accessories. They cost $180, $60 more than the regular AirPods 4. For extra money it has a case that can charge wirelessly and has a speaker to help find it when it inevitably falls between sofa cushions.
AirPods 4 with ANC and regular AirPods 4 introduce the H2 chip, Apple’s new processor that enables features such as Adaptive Audio, Transparency Mode, and Conversation Awareness. The chip also helps the standard AirPods 4 with voice separation and Personal Spatial Audio, which is part of the package with AirPods 4 and ANC.
Apple has reduced the case on AirPods 4 by about 10%. All those silly AirPods cases you bought on a whim at Five Below probably won’t fit this pair. But since it is so small, it is easy to hold. I have this shirt jacket—a “shack,” if you will—with chest pockets. The AirPods 4 with ANC case fit nicely in one of my pockets when I was roaming the noisy world.
Apple touts the new AirPods 4 design as “a single shape that fits naturally with many users around the world.” This generation’s pair is much flatter in my ear canal than the AirPods of the past. But I still felt sore after wearing them for six hours straight. If you use them for self-monitoring, have spare earplugs.
I’m always afraid that the wind will blow the AirPods out of my ears. I can testify that even though it didn’t happen when I went out with the AirPods 4 with ANC, I still prefer the AirPods Pro 2 with the silicone tip. Regular AirPods and other earbuds with a stem, even Samsung’s new Galaxy buds, always feel like they’re falling out of my ear. It was the same situation with AirPods 4 and ANC. As much as I tried to be embarrassed about where the AirPods were resting, I felt almost overwhelmed by making sure they were secure there.
The popular AirPods, now with ANC
The tricky thing about AirPods 4 with ANC is that if both ears are not properly covered, the sound will leak out, sometimes piercing. If you’ve never heard the high-pitched sounds of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), I’ll tell you this much: they’re revered for their loudness, especially when they go around the Transbay Tube. On the way into town, I turned on the AirPods 4 with ANC, and chat awareness and personalized volume ticked in the settings. The loud impact of the BART doors closing managed to hit my ears through the muffles. I wrote down enough of the noise that scares me.
By the time we hit the screeching Transbay Tube, I had adjusted the AirPods enough that they were well closed on both sides, and I was more comfortable. I was impressed with how the AirPods 4 and ANC handled changing conditions. On BART, I was able to listen to the elderly couple in front of me as they talked about someone who had died without the loud noise of the tracks running down the creek. (To be clear: I wasn’t listening to music. I was deliberately taking in the sounds of my surroundings to help ease my anxiety. It just so happened that the conversation in front of me sounded good from what I picked up.)
AirPods 4 and ANC helped to cancel noise in indoor areas. At the Japantown shopping mall, I could carry on a conversation next to the artists setting up their wares without being interrupted. Then, on the bus ride back to the main bus station, I was listening to some music while listening to a man yelling at a young couple on the bus. Whenever I started talking, either to myself or to ask someone else a question, Conversation Awareness would dim to let the sound out so I could talk without sounding like I was shouting.
AirPods 4 with ANC make sure to deliver sound where it matters most. At home, with my family upstairs and the HVAC echoing, the AirPods muted them enough that I couldn’t hear the giggling going on. At BART, I enjoyed the quiet ride home at the back of the train. The ANC made room for me to enter the music rather than the deafening sound of the bell ringing in the tunnel.
AirPods 4 with ANC give you new gestures that let you nod your head to say yes or shake your head to say no when Siri asks a question. Sadly, I wasn’t able to replicate that kind of Siri interaction in my few days with the AirPods 4 so I could test them.
Best way to spend $180
Previous versions of Apple AirPods cost between $160 and $180 without active noise cancellation. With this generation, you get ANC, a case with wireless charging capabilities, and a way to make the case bell sound so you can find it hidden in the pages. It’s also nice to know that AirPods 4 and ANC can act as a natural buffer for people like me who get easily frustrated by unsolicited decibel increases.
We’ll take a closer look at the Apple AirPods 4 with ANC, including how the music sounds, whether it lives up to Apple’s battery promises, and how it compares to similar prices on the market soon. Stay tuned.
Source link
