Is There a Noticeable Difference in Active Noise Cancellation Between AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2?

Question

While searching for earbuds with excellent active noise cancellation, I came across the question: how does the AirPods 4’s ANC measure up against the AirPods Pro 2’s?

Answer 1

The second-generation AirPods Pro are more efficient when it comes to active noise cancellation than the AirPods 4. This is not to say that the AirPods 4 don’t have active noise cancellation, as they do, but the power of contradiction will prevail in this case. This is because the second-generation AirPods Pro have a better active noise cancelling feature due to their in ear design which helps to block noise. If active noise cancellation is important to you then the second generation AirPods Pro would be your better option.

Comments

I just bought Airpods 4 ANC. Can’t complain. great sound and comfort

---

I bought the AirPods 4 ANC. They are comfortable and work great. Sound with music, content, and podcasts are what you would expect from AirPods.

ANC in quiet environments works really well. In louder environments, it works to reduce the loud noises to a more comfortable volume that does not drown out the sound of any media you are listening to.

Overall, they are great buy if you don’t like the silicone tips on the APP2

---

The only reason I switched from the 3rd generation to the 2nd generation Pros is precisely because of the really good noise cancellation, thanks also to the ear tips. Both AirPods, with or without ear tips, are comfortable to wear and don't cause any discomfort.

---

I’ll just use my pro 2 till they break. They’re still my favorite AirPods. I appreciate the tips on them and they don’t move around too much like a design like the 4 would

---

Got the 4’s with ANC, to replace my pro’s v1, just because I could no longer stand the silicone tips. I hear a difference in quality, the pro (even the 1st gen) being slightly better, but not enough to warrant the hassle of the tips. I’ll keep them for flights because of the better noise cancelling, but other than that, the 4’s are now my go-to.

---

I have the AirPods 4 and he is right the NC is not near as good as the pros.  I bought then just to test out the NC and even though it is less it is still pretty amazing what the can do with no ear seal.

---

I’ve been having some kind of bug with the AirPods 4 and the ANC version. Tried both and they’re all muddy and the high end is almost non existent. It seems to be related to software somehow. I had them briefly sounding excellent after installing iOS 18 but then next time I put them on they went back to sounding bad again. I’ve tried nearly everything to figure out what bug my phone is experiencing. Today I’ll try pairing to a family member’s device to see if the problem persists there but the fact it happened on two different AirPods suggests it’s related to connecting to this particular iPhone.

Anyone else having an issue like this? Where the sound goes off and it’s all low end and not enough of the other bands?