Apple’s cheapest AirPods 4 aren’t sonically superb, but one great perk keeps me coming back

Not long after their September announcement, I got my mitts on some entry-level Apple AirPods 4. To clarify, I didn’t get the step-up set with ANC (that would be the Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation) but someone did grant me a pair of Apple‘s latest entry-level option.

I’ve linked to our full review in the paragraph above but my potted review is this: using my iPhone and Apple Music for Apple’s Personalised Spatial Audio (you can toggle it on or off in iPhone settings, via the AirPods tab) is great fun. It opens out Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club like you wouldn’t believe, making it feel as if the keys are below my chin as Roan snakes between each ear. Sadly, to get this effect, you pay a hefty price: detail. The AirPods 4’s performance often feels bloated through the mids, a little flat dynamically and occasionally too warm to be considered good.

As any listener (or reader) using an AirPods-and-iPhone combo knows, the sound is only part of the story, though. They pair perfectly with my Apple phone with a pop-up as soon as I flip open the case. They pause the music when I remove one bud, and actually, I quite like the new gesture controls – even though you have to be quite pronounced with your movements (and I used to be a dancer, I know about pronounced movement).