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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Profile: Target Compliance
    5. Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
    6. Treble Profile: Target Compliance
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation - Full Range
    2. Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
    3. Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
    4. ANC Wind Handling
    5. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Wired Connection
    2. Bluetooth Connection
    3. Wireless Connection (Dongle)
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) vs Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation

Tested using Methodology v1.8

Updated Feb 14, 2025 09:02 PM

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Tested using Methodology v1.8

Updated Jan 28, 2025 06:06 PM

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Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Picture

Variants

  • AirPods Pro (2nd generation) (White)
  • AirPods Pro (2nd generation) (USB‑C) (White)
  • AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (White)

Our Verdict

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation)

Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation

The Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Truly Wireless and the Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Truly Wireless have similar feature sets and comparable performance, considering they're very different designs. The AirPods Pro 2 have an in-ear fit, which uses silicone ear tips to secure a seal, while the AirPods 4 ANC have a one-size-fits-all, open-back design that sits in your ear canal without sealing it. You might find either one more comfortable, depending on your preferences. The in-ear fit results in the AirPods Pro 2 having a better bass extension and a better noise isolation performance due to their tight seal. That said, the AirPods 4 ANC aren't far behind in both categories, which is quite the feat considering their open design. Otherwise, the AirPods Pro 2 have a slightly longer battery life and support Apple's new hearing aid technology with firmware update 7B19. The AirPods 4 ANC have a better quality mic, though, and their mid-range is more aligned with our target curve. 

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AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
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AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
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AirPods Pro (2nd generation) (USB‑C)
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AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
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AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
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Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.4
7.3

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance 
 

8.4
9.4

Treble Profile: Target Compliance 
 

4.6
3.3

Bass Profile: Target Compliance 
 

9.9
9.3

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Design Picture 2
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Design Picture 2

Type  

In-ear
Earbuds

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Open-Back

Wireless  

Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.0

Comfort Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Comfort Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.02 lbs
0.02 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0 lbs
N/A

Show text

Controls 
 

8.2
6.8

Controls Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Controls Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Great

Feedback  

Great
Good

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
No

Microphone Control  

Mute/Unmute
Mute/Unmute

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

On/Off
On/Off

Talk-Through 
 

On/Off
On/Off

Additional Controls  

Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant

Show text

Breathability 
 

Breathability After Picture  

Avg.Temp.Difference  

Portability 
 

9.6
9.6

Portability Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Portability Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Portability Picture

 

1.2" (3.0 cm)
1.3" (3.3 cm)

 

0.9" (2.3 cm)
1.0" (2.6 cm)

 

0.9" (2.3 cm)
0.7" (1.7 cm)

Volume  

0.99 in³ (16.20 cm³)
0.88 in³ (14.49 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

9.0
9.0

Case Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Case Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Case Picture

Type  

Hard case
Hard case

 

1.8" (4.5 cm)
1.8" (4.6 cm)

 

2.4" (6.1 cm)
2.0" (5.0 cm)

 

0.9" (2.2 cm)
0.8" (2.1 cm)

Volume  

3.67 in³ (60.10 cm³)
2.95 in³ (48.30 cm³)

Show text

Build Quality 
 

8.0
8.0

Build Quality Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Build Quality Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

7.5
7.5

Stability Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Stability Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Angled Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Side Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Front Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Rear Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Top Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) In The Box Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Sound Profile  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Normalization Frequency 
 

600 Hz
500 Hz

Bass Amount 
 

0.1 dB
-1.0 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-5.2 dB
-6.2 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

9.3
9.4

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.15 dB
0.13 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Profile: Target Compliance 
 

9.9
9.3

Bass Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

0.4 dB
2.5 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

20 Hz
20.74 Hz

Low Bass 
 

0.23 dB
-2.81 dB

Mid Bass 
 

-0.55 dB
0.47 dB

High Bass 
 

0.41 dB
0.3 dB

Show text

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance 
 

8.4
9.4

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

1.56 dB
0.81 dB

Low Mid 
 

1.04 dB
0.17 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-0.43 dB
-0.75 dB

High Mid 
 

-2.26 dB
-0.48 dB

Show text

Treble Profile: Target Compliance 
 

4.6
3.3

Treble Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

5.4 dB
6.55 dB

Low Treble 
 

-5.55 dB
-6.97 dB

Mid Treble 
 

-4.73 dB
-5.28 dB

High Treble 
 

-8.22 dB
-3.27 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

8.5
8.5

Peaks/Dips Graph 
 

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

0.93 dB
0.8 dB

Dips 
 

1.04 dB
1.51 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

9.3
9.3

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.08
0.23

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

1.65
0.78

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.44
0.44

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.03
0.53

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

0.8
1.2

PRTF  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) PRTF
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Distance 
 

N/A
N/A

Openness 
 

0.9
3.1

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

1.9
1.9

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

5.0
5.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Virtual Soundstage
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

On/Off
On/Off

Speaker Modeling 
 

On/Off
On/Off

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

On/Off
On/Off

Virtual Surround 
 

Personalized Spatial Audio
Personalized Spatial Audio

Show text

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.1
7.6

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.224
0.239

WHD @ 100 
 

0.086
0.153

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

7B21
7B19

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Bluetooth
Bluetooth

Codec 
 

SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz
AAC, 16-bit, 48kHz

Test Instrument  

Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B

EQ 
 

Adaptive EQ
Adaptive EQ

ANC 
 

On
On

Tip/Pad 
 

Silicone (small)
Default

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Integrated

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation - Full Range 
 

9.1
6.9

Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Noise Cancelling  

Yes
Yes

Overall Attenuation 
 

-24.48 dB
-17.68 dB

Bass 
 

-20.83 dB
-16.68 dB

Mid 
 

-26.68 dB
-21.98 dB

Treble 
 

-26.47 dB
-14.15 dB

Show text

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios 
 

9.6
7.6

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Airplane Noise Attenuation 
 

-23.48 dB
-18.69 dB

Airplane Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Office Noise Attenuation 
 

-21.63 dB
-17.67 dB

Office Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Street Noise Attenuation 
 

-25.52 dB
-19.17 dB

Street Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Show text

Noise Isolation - Voice Handling 
 

Female Voice 1 
 

Male Voice 1 
 

Female Voice 2 
 

Male Voice 2 
 

ANC Wind Handling 
 

ANC Wind Handling Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

ANC Wind Noise 
 

Show text

Leakage 
 

8.3
8.3

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

31.85 dB
31.95 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Recording Quality 
 

5.3
6.7

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

216.68 Hz
285.09 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

4.98 dB
4.61 dB

HFE 
 

3,466.89 Hz
4,902.93 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

57.033
1.163

Gain 
 

-4.91 dB
27.43 dB

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

6.4
6.7

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

10.15 dB
31.12 dB

Noise Gate 
 

No
No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

7.0
7.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

5.5
5.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

7.0
6.7

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

5.9 hrs
4.5 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

4.0
4.0

Total Battery Life 
 

29.5 hrs
22.5 hrs

Charge Time 
 

0.9 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

Show text

App Support 
 

6.5
7.0

App Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) App Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation 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 
 

On/Off
On/Off

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

Yes
Yes

Surround Support 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Connectivity

Wired Connection 
 

0.0
0.0

Cable Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Cable Picture
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation 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

Show text

Bluetooth Connection 
 

8.0
7.3

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.3+H2 chip
5.3+H2 chip

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

Yes (Apple Ecosystem)
Yes (Apple Ecosystem)

Quick Pair (Android) 
 

No
No

Quick Pair (iOS) 
 

Yes
Yes

Line Of Sight Range 
 

334.65 ft (102.00 m)
250.33 ft (76.30 m)

Latency - SBC 
 

160 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

Show text

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

Show text

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

Show text

Check Price

White
AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
Searching
Finding store
White
AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
AirPods Pro (2nd generation) (USB‑C)
Searching
Finding store
White
AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
White
AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation)

Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation

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Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) vs Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation: Main Discussion

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