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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Apple AirPods (3rd generation) Truly Wireless vs Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple AirPods (3rd generation)
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
Tested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Jan 17, 2025 08:32 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Apr 21, 2025 03:11 PM
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Amazon.com
TypeEarbuds
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeEarbuds
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Variants
- AirPods (3rd generation) (Lightning Charging Case - White)
- AirPods (3rd generation) (White)
- AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (White)
Our Verdict
Apple AirPods (3rd generation) Truly Wireless
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
The Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are the newer generation of the Apple AirPods (3rd generation), and they feature improvements across the board. Both buds have a similar, one-size-fits-all. open-back design and a decent build quality, but the AirPods 4 ANC form a more stable fit. The newer version also has a better bass extension and delivers audio more consistently, which is quite the feat for open-back buds. The biggest selling point of the AirPods 4 ANC is their ANC system, which does a solid job of isolating against common scenarios. That said, the 3rd generation have a longer continuous battery life and retail for a little less, so they're still an okay option if you're looking for budget buds and don't care about noise isolation.
Main Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.1
7.3
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
6.3
9.3
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
7.5
3.3
Passive Soundstage
2.9
1.2
Peaks/Dips
7.5
8.5
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Earbuds
Earbuds
Enclosure
Open-Back
Open-Back
Wireless
Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.0
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.02 lbs
0.02 lbs
Clamping Force
N/A
N/A
Controls
5.5
6.8
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Great
Great
Feedback
Good
Good
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
No
No
Microphone Control
No
Mute/Unmute
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
No
On/Off
Talk-Through
No
On/Off
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Breathability
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
Portability
9.7
9.6
Portability Picture
L
1.2" (3.1 cm)
1.3" (3.3 cm)
W
0.8" (2.1 cm)
1.0" (2.6 cm)
H
0.6" (1.6 cm)
0.7" (1.7 cm)
Volume
0.62 in³ (10.20 cm³)
0.88 in³ (14.49 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.5
9.0
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
2.1" (5.4 cm)
1.8" (4.6 cm)
W
1.8" (4.6 cm)
2.0" (5.0 cm)
H
0.8" (2.1 cm)
0.8" (2.1 cm)
Volume
3.28 in³ (53.80 cm³)
2.95 in³ (48.30 cm³)
Build Quality
8.0
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
6.5
7.5
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
1,200 Hz
500 Hz
Bass Amount
-5.1 dB
-1.0 dB
Treble Amount
-2.3 dB
-6.2 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
7.5
9.4
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.5 dB
0.13 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
6.3
9.3
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
7.8 dB
2.5 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
40.02 Hz
20.74 Hz
Low Bass
-10.47 dB
-2.81 dB
Mid Bass
-1.36 dB
0.47 dB
High Bass
-0.53 dB
0.3 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
9.0
9.4
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.13 dB
0.81 dB
Low Mid
-0.09 dB
0.17 dB
Mid-Mid
-1.29 dB
-0.75 dB
High Mid
1.06 dB
-0.48 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
7.5
3.3
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.9 dB
6.55 dB
Low Treble
-1.79 dB
-6.97 dB
Mid Treble
-2.93 dB
-5.28 dB
High Treble
-9.72 dB
-3.27 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.5
8.5
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.39 dB
0.8 dB
Dips
2.08 dB
1.51 dB
Imaging
9.2
9.3
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.25
0.23
Weighted Phase Mismatch
1.69
0.78
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.24
0.44
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.18
0.53
Passive Soundstage
2.9
1.2
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
N/A
Openness
9.3
3.1
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.4
1.9
Virtual Soundstage
2.9
5.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
On/Off
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
On/Off
On/Off
Virtual Surround
Spatial Audio
Personalized Spatial Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.6
7.6
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.405
0.239
WHD @ 100
0.127
0.153
Test Settings
Firmware
6F21.
7B19
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
AAC, 16-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Adaptive EQ
Adaptive EQ
ANC
No ANC
On
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
1.7
6.9
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
No
Yes
Overall Attenuation
-3.75 dB
-17.68 dB
Bass
-0.02 dB
-16.68 dB
Mid
-0.95 dB
-21.98 dB
Treble
-11.36 dB
-14.15 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
1.9
7.6
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-3.32 dB
-18.69 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-3.35 dB
-17.67 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-3.57 dB
-19.17 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
Leakage
7.0
8.3
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
39.46 dB
31.95 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.0
6.7
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
67.27 Hz
285.09 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.25 dB
4.61 dB
HFE
1,659.96 Hz
4,902.93 Hz
Weighted THD
3.887
1.163
Gain
18.34 dB
27.43 dB
Noise Handling
5.5
6.7
SpNR
12.16 dB
31.12 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
5.5
7.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
5.5
5.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
7.2
6.7
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
6.8 hrs
4.5 hrs
Additional Charges
5.0
4.0
Total Battery Life
40.8 hrs
22.5 hrs
Charge Time
0.8 hrs
0.5 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Standby mode
Standby mode
Audio While Charging
Yes
Yes
Passive Playback
No
No
Charging Port
Lightning
USB-C
App Support
5.0
7.0
App Picture
App Name
iOS Interface
iOS Interface
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
No
No
macOS
Yes
Yes
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
No
No
ANC Control
No
On/Off
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
Yes
Surround Support
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
0.0
0.0
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
No
No
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
No
No
Length
N/A
N/A
Connector
No Wired Option
No Wired Option
Latency - Analog
N/A
N/A
Latency - USB
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency Connection
No Wired Audio
No Wired Audio
Bluetooth Connection
7.2
7.3
Bluetooth Version
5.0+H1 chip
5.3+H2 chip
Multi-Device Pairing
No
Yes (Apple Ecosystem)
Quick Pair (Android)
No
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
Yes
Yes
Line Of Sight Range
205.05 ft (62.50 m)
250.33 ft (76.30 m)
Latency - SBC
184 ms
243 ms
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
SBC
AAC Support
Yes
Yes
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
No
No
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
No
No
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
No
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
2.2
2.2
Type
Charging Case
Charging Case
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
Yes
Yes
Power Supply
Lightning
USB-C
Apple AirPods (3rd generation) Truly Wireless
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
Comments
Apple AirPods (3rd generation) vs Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation: Main Discussion
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