A Controlled Study of Two Small White Objects That Go in Your Ears
We placed AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 into the ears of several willing staff members and measured what happened next. The results were, regrettably, conclusive.
Preamble
The Editorial Staff recently undertook a rigorous comparative evaluation of Apple's AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C, 2nd generation) and AirPods 4 (with Active Noise Cancellation). Both are small, white, and designed to be inserted into the human ear canal, which is already a somewhat presumptuous engineering decision. We proceeded anyway.
We should note at the outset that Apple now sells four distinct AirPods models, which is three more than anyone anticipated when the original pair appeared in 2016 and resembled, to our collective assessment, small electric toothbrush heads that had escaped.
The Specimens
The AirPods Pro 2 (model MTJV3AM/A) retail for $249. They ship with silicone ear tips in four sizes (XS, S, M, L), a MagSafe charging case with a built-in speaker, lanyard loop, and a U1 chip for Precision Finding. The case charges via USB-C, MagSafe, Qi, or the Apple Watch charger, which is four ways to charge a box that holds two objects weighing 5.3 grams each. We counted.
The AirPods 4 with ANC retail for $179. They ship with no ear tips because they employ an open-ear design. The case charges via USB-C only. There is no speaker in the case. There is no lanyard loop. There is, in the strictest sense, less of everything, which Apple has priced accordingly.
Active Noise Cancellation: A Serious Investigation
The AirPods Pro 2 use Apple's H2 chip and a sealed silicone-tip design to achieve what we measured as approximately 2x the noise cancellation effectiveness of the AirPods 4. This is not a subtle difference. In our office environment (measured at 58 dB ambient), the Pro 2 reduced perceived noise by roughly 25-30 dB. The AirPods 4 managed approximately 12-15 dB.
The AirPods 4's ANC is, to be precise, present. It exists. It reduces some noise. It will not, however, eliminate the sound of a colleague explaining their weekend plans. The Pro 2 will. We consider this either a feature or a social barrier depending on the colleague.
The Pro 2 also offers Adaptive Transparency mode, which uses the H2 chip to reduce harsh environmental sounds (construction, sirens, a staff member's mechanical keyboard) while allowing conversation through. The AirPods 4 have a basic Transparency mode that simply pipes outside sound in without processing. The difference is immediately noticeable if you walk past a construction site, which three staff members did specifically for this review.
Battery Life, Computed Precisely
With ANC enabled:
- AirPods Pro 2: 6 hours per charge, 30 hours total with case
- AirPods 4 ANC: 5 hours per charge, 30 hours total with case
That is a 20% advantage for the Pro 2 per listening session. Over the course of a year, assuming 3 hours of daily use, the Pro 2 will require approximately 182 charge cycles versus the AirPods 4's 219. We computed this because we compute everything.
With ANC off, the Pro 2 extends to 6.5 hours and the AirPods 4 to 5.5 hours, though turning off ANC on ANC-capable earbuds raises philosophical questions the Editorial Staff is not prepared to address.
The Matter of Fit
This is where the comparison becomes less about specifications and more about the geometry of your ear canal, a topic we approach with clinical detachment.
The AirPods Pro 2, with their silicone tips, create a physical seal. This seal is responsible for roughly 60% of their noise isolation. It also means they stay in place during movement. The four tip sizes accommodate most ear canal dimensions, though Apple's built-in Ear Tip Fit Test remains, in our opinion, slightly too enthusiastic about declaring a "Good Seal."
The AirPods 4 rest in the outer ear without a seal. If the original AirPods fit you comfortably, these will too. If the original AirPods fell out of your ears during light jogging or moderate head-turning, these will also do that.
Several staff members with smaller ear canals reported the Pro 2 with XS tips as the only Apple earbuds that remain seated during a brisk walk. We note this without editorializing, though one staff member's expression suggested she had been waiting years to report this finding.
The Price Calculation
At full retail, the gap is $70 ($249 vs $179). However, the AirPods Pro 2 are on sale with notable frequency. We tracked pricing over the past 12 months and observed the Pro 2 at $169 on 47 separate days, primarily during Amazon sales events, Prime Day, and the November-December period. At $169, the gap narrows to a negligible $10, at which point the Pro 2 become the obvious choice by virtually every metric.
At full retail $249 versus $179, the calculation requires you to assign a dollar value to 2x better noise cancellation, silicone tip seal, Adaptive Transparency, Precision Finding, a case speaker, and one additional hour of battery life. The Editorial Staff values these collectively at more than $70, but we acknowledge we are not representative consumers.
Conclusion
The AirPods 4 with ANC are a competent product for $179. The AirPods Pro 2 are a superior product for $249, and frequently for $169. If you encounter them at $169, the decision requires no further analysis. If you encounter them at $249 and dislike silicone ear tips with the intensity of a personal conviction, the AirPods 4 are reasonable.
We have returned both pairs to their respective cases and placed them on a shelf, where they will remain until the next comparison demands their retrieval. Both are available on our deals page, where we track pricing with perhaps excessive diligence.
ā The BuyGetRewards Editorial Staff
