If you’re thinking of buying AirPods any time soon, you’ve got a few options to choose from. Apple currently has four models in the range, but how do they compare in terms of features? In this article, we take a look at which AirPods are the best for your needs, not to mention your bank balance.
What types of AirPods are there?
Apple sells various types of AirPods. These range from the standard AirPods right up to the over-the-ear AirPods Max and as the models vary quite a bit in terms of construction and features, the range also encompasses a wide span of pricing.
In September 2024 Apple announced a hearing aid update for the AirPods Pro 2, two different versions of the new AirPods 4 and an update to the AirPods Max that refreshed the color options and added USB-C. More about those updates below.
Read: AirPods 3 vs AirPods 4 to find out what’s changed.
Apple’s AirPods lineup as of September 2024:
- AirPods 4: $129 at Apple U.S./£129 at Apple U.K.
- AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancelation: $179 at Apple U.S./£179 at Apple U.K.
- AirPods Pro (2nd Generation, with USB-C): $249 at Apple U.S./£229 at Apple U.K.
- AirPods Max: $549 at Apple U.S. / £499 at Apple U.K.
Apple
Those aren’t the only earphones that Apple sells.
Apple also sells the $19 Apple EarPods/£19 Apple EarPods (either with Lightning connector, USB-C connector, or 3.5mm plug).
Plus, Beats is a subsidiary of Apple, so Beats headphones often include Apple-specific features.
If you are happy to consider alternatives to AirPods, take a look at our roundup of the best earbuds for iPhone, best USB-C headphones and best over-ear headphones.
Complete list of all the AirPods models by year
Apple sells four distinct AirPod models right now, but, in the past, the range has included the following AirPods, many of which are no longer sold by Apple. We mention them here because you might still find one of these older models on sale elsewhere, so you should be aware of them:
- AirPods (1st generation): Launched in December 2016, discontinued in March 2019.
- AirPods (2nd generation): Launched in March 2019, discontinued in September 2024.
- AirPods (3rd Generation) with Lightning or MagSafe charging case: launched in October 2021, discontinued in September 2024.
- AirPods Pro (1st generation): Launched in October 2019, discontinued in September 2022.
- AirPods Pro (2nd generation): Launched in September 2022 with Lightning connectivity. Were updated in September 2023 to add USB-C connectivity.
- AirPods Max with Lightning: Launched in December 2020. Were updated in September 2023 to add USB-C connectivity and refresh the color choices.
You may be able to get any of the above AirPods at a discounted price from an independent reseller, including the generations no longer sold by Apple.
To get the best prices take a look at the best pricing for Apple’s AirPods right now in the sections below, but we also have a separate roundup of the best AirPods deals that we update monthly.
Apple
What can AirPods do?
You may be thinking of Apple’s AirPods as earbuds, earphones, headphones, or whatever you call them. Perhaps all you want to do with your AirPods is listen to music, but there is so much more that they can do.
Here are a few of the benefits of having AirPods:
- Simple setup: the AirPods are easy to set up to use with all your Apple products. You can instantly pair them with every device linked to your iCloud account just by tapping the AirPods once on your iPhone or iPad.
- Bluetooth headphones: that’s not to say AirPods can only be used with Apple products. You can connect to PCs, Android phones, game consoles, and TVs via Bluetooth. See: AirPods compatibility: What Do AirPods work with.
- Automatic switching: You can seamlessly move from listening to audio on your Mac to answering a call on your iPhone.
- They are intelligent: They sense when they’re in your ears, pause when you take them out and resume when you put them back in. They recognize when you’re speaking and filter out external noise so that your voice is clear.
- Audio Sharing: You can share an audio stream between two sets of AirPods. Want to listen to your favorite album or Podcast with a friend? Bring their AirPods near the iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV you’re listening to and they will connect. You can listen together and each of you will have independent volume control.
- Conversation Boost: helps you hear people talking to you.
- Live Listen: helps you to hear people across the room by working with your iPhone to pick up sound from a distance.
- Access to Siri: Siri, your AI assistant, can read your messages or alerts as they arrive. You can even get Siri to reply to messages using voice commands.
- Free Apple Music: if you haven’t previously had a trial you can get 3 months of Apple Music free See How to get Apple Music for free.
- Hearing aid: A software update for the AirPods Pro 2 means they will be able to function like over-the-counter hearing aids.
AirPods compared: Which AirPods are best?
If you are wondering what the main differences between the various AirPods read on. We also cover elements like design, controls, waterproofing, noise cancelling, sound quality, charging times and battery life, below. First we’ll run though the key differences between the various AirPods sold by Apple, starting with the most expensive model. You can also see the best prices right now.
Apple AirPods Max (USB-C, 2024)
At more than twice the cost of the AirPods Pro, the AirPods Max are the definition of a considered purchase. Thanks to the size of the ear-cups, Apple is able to put a H1 chip in each one, as opposed to the single chip that appears in all of the other AirPods.
Like on the Pros, there are features such as Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode and Spacial Audio, but the Max doesn’t have the custom high-dynamic range amplifier found in the 3rd gen and Pro AirPods, or (more surprisingly) any form of waterproofing. The smart case is also different in that you can’t use it to charge the AirPods Max, but this isn’t as bad as it sounds, as the onboard batteries provide around 20 hours of listening time.
Again, thanks to the size of the AirPods Max, controls are handled not by taps but a Digital Crown similar to that found on the Apple Watch, and a dedicated Noise Control button. There are also multiple microphones to aid with noise cancellation, plus updated sensors for better performance.
Since the September 2024 update, the AirPods Max charge with USB-C, but prior to that used the Lightning connector. There is no 3.5mm headphone jack. To listen to lossless audio, or if you’re editing video and want to eliminate the latency of Bluetooth, you can at least now plug them in via USB-C. If you have an older iPhone then you may still be able to buy the older Lightning-equipped version.
The September 2024 update also added new color options of blue, purple, Midnight, Starlight or orange. The price didn’t change.
For a comprehensive look at the AirPods Max, read our full review.
AirPods Pro 2 USB-C
The AirPods Pro had a significant update in 2022, bringing Find My to the charging case, better battery life, improved noise cancellation and enhanced audio quality, new extra small ear tips and so much more.
Then in 2023 Apple switched Lightning on the case for USB-C and added a few new features including a case that charges with USB-C instead of Lightning, the ability to use an iPhone 15 to reverse your AirPods case, better protection against dust, and Lossless Audio with ultra-low latency for Apple Vision Pro.
In September 2024, Apple announced that the AirPods Pro 2 will get a firmware update that will add hearing aid features to the earphones. The update should be available before the end of 2024. Learn more about the hearing aid feature.
The AirPods Pro are better than ever, but the price is still high.
Apple AirPods 4 (with ANC)
The AirPods have been redesigned with each generation, each one promising a better fit. The AirPods 4, according to Apple, has a design with “a natural and secure fit for more people than ever.” The company said it used an “unparalleled data set” to make “the most comfortable AirPods ever.”
The effectiveness of the AirPods 4’s active noise cancelation is heavily affected by the open design. The AirPods 4 don’t absolutely cancel the noise around you, which might be preferable, depending on your situation. If you’re in conditions where you need to muffle as much as possible, you’ll want to turn to the AirPods 2’s snug ear tips.
Like the AirPods Pro 2 case, the $179/£179 AirPods 4 with ANC case has a speaker to play alerts through Find My. It also supports USB-C or wireless charging–it works with the Apple Watch charger as well as Qi chargers.
If you use active noise cancelation, it shortens the AirPods 4’s battery life—when fully charged, Apple states a 4-hour listening time with the earbuds and 20 hours of charge with the case. Turn off ANC, and fully charged earbuds can last 5 hours, and the case adds 30 total hours.
The AirPods 4 with ANC for $179/£179 are a much better value than the 3rd-gen AirPods with numerous pro-level features. They sound great, the active noise cancelation is extremely useful and works surprisingly well, they fit better than previous AirPods, and the wireless charging and Find My speaker on the case are much-welcomed conveniences.
Apple AirPods 4 (without ANC)
Apple offers the AirPods 4 without Active Noice Cancelation for $129/£129, a $50/£50 lower price than the model with ANC. Apple identifies this product as the AirPods 4. The earbud and case designs are the same as the $179/£179 AirPods 4 with ANC. However, the $129 AirPods 4 does not have the following features:
- Active Noise Cancelation (as well as Adaptive Audio and Transparency mode)
- Conversation Awareness
- Wireless charging case
- Speaker on the case for Find My alerts
Otherwise, they’re the same. The AirPods 4 have an H2 chip like the ANC model as well as the same audio quality, fit, and features. So you’ll have to consider if those features listed above are worth the extra $50.
AirPods features: How to choose the best AirPods
We’ll now run through all the differences between the various AirPods, looking at the design, controls, waterproofing, noise canceling, sound quality, compatibility, charging times and battery life to help you decide which AirPods will meet your needs.
Design
All earbud style AirPods are available in white, just like the iPod earbuds that were so iconic. However, if you are willing to spend more on a pair of over-ear Apple headphones then the AirPods Max come in a variety of two-tone colors including (from September 2024) Blue, Midnight, Orange, Purple, and Starlight. The AirPods Max are designed to create an acoustic seal around your ear to aid noise cancellation. There’s a Digital Crown on one side for volume control.
There was an expectation that the AirPods Pro would have shorter stems when Apple updated them in 2022, but this wasn’t the case. This means that to distinguish between the AirPods 4 and the AirPods Pro (2nd generation) you need to look to the earbud. Only the AirPods Pro come with silicone ear tips to create a seal in your ear. There are four sizes: XS, S, M, L included in the box. The extra small size is new with the AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro are the only other AirPods to offer external noise cancellation.
Apple
You might not be keen on pushing something inside your ear, in which case it’s worth noting that the AirPods Pro 2 offer a vent system for pressure equalization so that it feels comfortable to wear them. This vent system combined with the silicon ear tips means you may find the AirPods Pro 2 more comfortable to wear than the standard AirPods with their hard plastic tips that sit in your ear.
The most obvious difference between the new AirPods 4 and the older AirPods 2 and 3 is the size of the stem. There’s a lot else that is visibly different though, as you can see from the image above.
Size is another difference, that may or may not matter to you since it doesn’t really impact comfort or fit. The AirPods 4 are lighter than the AirPods Pro 2, which are 5.3g (0.19oz). The AirPods Max weigh a lot more at 384.8g (13.6oz).
Controls
One of the benefits of using any kind of AirPods is that you can also tell Siri (the artificial intelligent assistant) to do things for you. However, you don’t have to use Siri to control your music playback (luckily). You can use a combination of taps and swipe depending on which AirPods you have.
On AirPods 2nd generation you use a double tap to play, skip or answer the phone.
AirPods 3 and 4 use a force sensor. It’s one press for play, pause or answer call, two presses to skip forward, and three presses to skip back. Press and hold to activate Siri.
AirPods Pro 2 use touch control with different presses for different features. It’s one press for play, pause or answer call, two presses to skip forward, three presses to skip back. You press and hold to switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Adaptive Transparency, swipe up and down to adjust volume, and you Say Hey Siri to trigger the voice assistant.
AirPods Max feature a Digital Crown that you turn to control volume, press to play, pause or answer a call, press twice to skip, three times to go back, and press and hold to activate Siri (or say Hey Siri). There’s also a Noise control button to switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode.
There’s a Noise control button to switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode on the AIrPods Max.
Apple
Waterproofing: Are AirPods waterproof?
Given that a lot of people like to wear headphones when exercising or walking around outside, so the question “can AirPods get wet” is a fair one. The answer to the question is that the AirPods 4 generation and AirPods Pro 2 are sweat and water resistant (IPX4 rated), according to Apple. Which means you can wear then when exercising, in the shower and in the rain, but not in the swimming pool. The AirPods aren’t considered water resistant.
Noise canceling: Are AirPods noise canceling?
The AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4 offer Active Noise Cancelation. Noise cancellation works by using a microphone to detect external sounds and then countering them by playing anti-noise. The AirPods Pro 2 offer better noise cancellation thanks to a new driver and improved acoustic algorithms as well as better microphones and a new speaker grille on top of each earbud to help filter out outside sounds.
Apple also offers the AirPods 4 without Active Noise Cancelation.
Active Noise Cancellation isn’t the only sound related feature in the AirPods. There is a Transparency mode available on the AirPods Pro or AirPods Max that lets the outside noise in when you need to hear what’s going on around you. You can switch between these two modes by tapping on a location on your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max (indicated by the blue arrows in the image above).
There’s a difference between the Transparency Mode on the AirPods Max and the Pro: the AirPods Pro 2 offer Adaptive Transparency, which will minimise the intensity of loud noises like sirens, so you won’t be deafened if an ambulance passes while you are using Transparency Mode.
Conversation Boost is a feature that came to the AirPods Pro in an October 2021 software update. The feature can be used to enhance the voice of the person talking beside you, which could be helpful for the hard of hearing. The feature can be turned on in iOS Accessibility settings, here’s How to use Conversation Boost to turn your AirPods Pro into a hearing aid.
Another related feature is Live Listen, which can be used in conjunction with an iPhone or iPad to help you listen to someone speaking from across the room or in a noisy place. You can use Live Listen with AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and also Powerbeats Pro or Beats Fit Pro. Read How to use Live Listen.
Sound quality: Which AirPods have the best sound quality?
We’ve never had any reason to criticise any AirPods sound quality, although they aren’t necessarily the best sounding headphones you can buy. However, we were glad to find that the AirPods 4 and the AirPods Pro 2 use the same H2 chip that processes sound, so the audio quality is similar in both, which the differences due mostly to the eartips in the AirPods Pro 2.
Another way that AirPods can create personalized sound is via Personalized Spatial Audio, which requires iOS 16 on iPhones with the TrueDepth camera and is compatible with 1st and 2nd generation AirPods Pro, AirPods, and AirPods Max. It can also be used with Beats Fit Pro. A personal profile based on your unique ear shape is set up for you, based on a photo of your head and each of your ears to create a three-dimensional audio experience when you move your head. Dynamic head tracking can also be beneficial in group FaceTime calls.
All AirPods support Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio in Apple Music, but only the 3rd and 4th-generation AirPods, or either generation of the AirPods Pro support Spatial Audio for video with head tracking.
Charging and battery life
Apple
Before we get onto battery life, a few words on charging. The $129/£129 AirPods 4 case charges only through USB-C. The $179/£179 AirPods 4 with ANC has USB-C charging but also can charge wirelessly. The charging case for the AirPods Pro 2 includes USB-C and wireless charging. But perhaps even better, you don’t need to find a power adapter to plug the cable into: you can reverse charge the 2023 version by plugging the case into any iPhone 15. You can also charge the 2nd-gen AirPods Pro and the MagSafe-equipped 3rd-gen AirPods wirelessly.
Here’s how the battery life of the different AirPods Apple sells compares:
- AirPods 4: 5 hours listening or 4.5 hours talking, plus 30 hours listening or 20 hours talking from charging case.
- AirPods 4 with ANC: 4 hours (with ANC on) or 5 hours (with ANC off) listening or 4.5 hours talking, plus 20 hours (with ANC on) 0r 30 hours (with ANC off) listening or 20 hours talking from charging case.
- AirPods Pro 2: 6 hours listening or 4.5 hours talking, plus the AirPods Pro 2 charging case can add a total of 30 hours of listening or 24 hours talking.
- AirPods Max: 20 hrs on one charge, but no charging case boost here.
These battery life measures are claimed by Apple. It’s worth noting that the AirPods Pro 2 battery life if superior to the 1st generation of that model (previously 4.5 hours and 24 hours listening time).
To check the remaining battery life users can hold AirPods next to their iPhone or ask Siri “How’s the battery on my AirPods?”. Should AirPods need charging a notification will appear on the paired iPhone.
Prospective buyers will also want to know how quickly the AirPods will charge – or how quickly you can charge them before leaving the house.
- AirPods 4: 5 minutes in the case provides around 1 hour of battery life.
- AirPods Pro 2: 5 minutes in the case provides around 1 hour of battery life.
- AirPods Max: 5 minutes of charge time provides around 1.5 hours of battery life.
Again, those are the times quoted by Apple.
You won’t always be in a hurry to charge your AirPods of course. Under more usual circumstances the AirPods have a variety of ways in which they can be charged.
All but the AirPods 4 without ANC can come with a wireless charging case. There did used to be a version of the AirPods 2 that came with a wireless charging case, but Apple no longer sells that model.
Compatibility
We mentioned already that AirPods don’t only work with Apple products. They are Bluetooth headphones and as such can connect to any device that supports Bluetooth. In that respect, there might be some difference based on the fact that both generations of AIrPods and the AirPods Max support Bluetooth 5.0 while the AirPods Pro 2 support Bluetooth 5.3, which brings improvements such as less interference and improved sound quality.
So, if you were wondering if AirPods can connect to your PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox, Android or even Samsung phone, the answer is yes. You just need to connect via Bluetooth.
One last thing to note: if you have a really old iPhone and want to use AirPods, only the AirPods 2nd gen work with iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 5s and the iPad mini 3, iPad mini 2 and iPad Air (1st generation) and iPod touch (6th generation). Other AIrPods won’t work with those ageing devices. But we can’t imagine many AIrPod users will have such old Apple devices.
We cover various scenarios separately:
- How to use AirPods with PlayStation or Xbox
- How to pair AirPods with a Nintendo Switch (without an adapter)
- How to connect AirPods to Apple TV
Which AirPods to buy
The AirPods that are right for you will no doubt depend on a variety of factors. Perhaps you want the cheapest option, in which case the AirPods 4 without ANC at $129/£129 might look the most attractive. You will need to really want active noise cancellation to spend $50/£50 more to get it.
But if you are a real music lover the AirPods might not be enough for you. The AirPods Pro offer superior sound and many more benefits. They cost a lot more though, at $249/£229. We think they are worth the extra expense, but you might not.
If you have money to spend though then the AirPods Max, which have a very high price in comparison with the rest of the range, at $549/£499, do have a lot of appeal. But those who would appreciate what they offer can look beyond Apple’s offering and probably find something just as good, or better. See: Best over-ear headphones.
One other factor influencing your decision though is if you find a good deal on a new or old pair of AirPods. Check out the deals below to see if the AirPods you want are discounted – then perhaps you can afford to splash out on the AirPods Pro instead of the AirPods.
For more advice read AirPods vs AirPods Pro. Also read: New AirPods: What to expect from the next-gen AirPods.
Author: Karen Haslam, Managing Editor, Macworld
Karen has worked on both sides of the Apple divide, clocking up a number of years at Apple's PR agency prior to joining Macworld more than two decades ago. Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Having edited the U.K. print and online editions of Macworld for many years, more recently her focus has been on SEO and evergreen content as well as product recommendations and buying advice.