Apple AirPods 4 Active Noise Cancellation

I hesitated for a long time between AirPods 4 (ANC) and AirPods Pro 2. Ultimately, I chose the AirPods 4 because of the wearing comfort and the better microphone. I mainly use them while working.

This is my first set of AirPods and I am very impressed. They are very comfortable and sound good. Especially under the transparency and noise cancelling modes they work very well. I find the transparency mode especially impressive. The music sounds normal and at the same time you can hear the surroundings very well, as if you are not wearing earphones. If no one is talking to you, you forget after a while that it is on.

The ANC is fine. Of course not as good as in-ear or over-ear headphones, but just good enough. I once cycled with them and the ANC blocked a lot of wind noise. Not everything, but enough to be able to understand a podcast well.

The quality of the microphone is also very good.

After much hesitation I chose these Airpods. The active noise cancellation works well. You can hear when someone is talking to you, so you are not completely isolated, although temporarily switching off the noise cancellation works with a slight delay. The pods are very easy to insert and, to my surprise, they stay in place very well. I am glad I chose these airpods, because the version without noise cancellation is a lot cheaper, but I think you still get a lot of ambient noise with it, and that can become annoying in the long run.

It works much better than expected. Sound is also with Samsung phone, much better than my ear buds. ICM iPad works great. The ANC is or the volume is turned down. If you walk in the supermarket with noisy air freshening, music, etc. and you turn on noise control then it is suddenly a serene peace. It was a bit of a gamble but above expectations good.