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.
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.
Personalized Spatial Audio uses the TrueDepth camera on your iPhone to build a head-tracking profile matched to your ear geometry, then adjusts the stereo field dynamically as you move your head. It’s genuinely better than the non-personalized version: The sound stage tracks with your head rather than rotating with it, which is the difference between a theater-like experience and just a wide stereo image.
Upgraded Battery, Better Fit
The AirPods 4 provide five listening hours per charge, 30 hours total with the case. The case charges via USB-C, and it’s more than 10% smaller than the previous-gen case to reduce pocket bulk. IP54 dust and water resistance on both the earbuds and the case covers outdoor workouts and rain.
Apple’s redesign put real effort into fit: a refined contour, shorter stem, and an updated geometry that’s meant to work across a wider range of ear shapes without a silicone tip. And if you’re already in the Apple ecosystem, the Find My integration, automatic pausing when you pull out a bud, and one-tap pairing across iPhone, iPad, and Mac all remain. At just $99 during this Amazon deal, these are among the best “entry-level” earbuds on the market.
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