Apple fans who want the best wireless earbuds with an open design should look to the AirPods 4 with ANC. We might have only awarded them four stars, but with solid sound and very capable active noise canceling, they're well worth a look.
For those on the fence, there's a $20 discount bringing them down to just $159 at Walmart. It's not the lowest price they've ever been, but it still represents great value for money.
Discounts on Apple accessories are rare and often reserved for big sales events, so a $20 discount is well worth considering.
The AirPods 4 with ANC are the current 'standard' AirPods on the market and comfortably take the mid-range crown in our best AirPods guide.
Eyebrows were certainly raised when it was announced that the next set of AirPods would feature ANC but still maintain an open (no tips) design, but once again, Apple has seemingly done the impossible. Utilising low-level frequencies to cancel out external noise, the AirPods 4 offer surprisingly effective sound blocking.
"Slip the AirPods 4 on, toggle on noise-cancelling and you’ll hear those low-level sounds immediately melt away," our AirPods 4 with ANC review reads. "The rumble of engines on the road, the grinding hum of trains, the exhaust fan in the kitchen – it all disappears. It’s quite impressive."
This being an Apple product, however, there are of course plenty more features packed in. Spatial audio, dynamic head tracking, Bluetooth 5.3 support and an IP54 dust and waterproof rating all come as part of the package.
We also found the sound to be more detailed, powerful and entertaining than the previous AirPods 3, sounding more similar to the premium AirPods Pro 2.
Battery life is advertised as 30 hours, though we were disappointed to learn that this dropped to 20 hours with ANC turned on.
If you have an iOS device, AirPods offer a seamless, user-friendly experience, and this model is no different. Offering a little bit of everything and now active noise cancellation too, the AirPods 4 with ANC for $159 at Walmart should be considered before stock runs out.
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