Apple’s AirPods 4 are down to $99 at Amazon right now, a $30 drop from the $129 list price. One thing to know upfront: This is the model without Active Noise Cancellation. The ANC version is also on sale at Amazon for $149. Whether that matters depends on where and how you use earbuds, and for a lot of people, scoring high-quality $99 buds outweighs the added cost of ANC.
Open-ear earbuds — the kind without a silicone tip sealing the ear canal, not to be confused with open-ear sports headphones like Shokz — are designed to let ambient sound through. That’s not a defect to be patched with ANC circuitry. If you run outside, commute on foot, work somewhere you need to hear what’s around you, or just find a fully isolated listening environment uncomfortable, the non-ANC model is the correct choice.
See at Amazon
The H2 Chip Takes Charge
The H2 chip is central to the AirPods 4’s outstanding performance. Voice Isolation on calls uses the chip’s computational audio processing to analyze and suppress background noise while preserving the clarity of your voice on the other end. Turning down the wind, street noises, or office chatter while you’re on a call is not a small thing. Most earbuds at $99 handle music fine and handle calls acceptably. The AirPods 4 handle calls well, which is a different and harder thing to pull off.