Apple AirPods 5 vs Apple AirPods 4: Which Should You Buy in 2026?

Apple’s AirPods 5 launched at the same $129 starting price as the outgoing AirPods 4, but folded Active Noise Cancellation into every configuration instead of gating it behind a $50 upcharge — the exact upcharge that still applies to the AirPods 4 today. That pricing quirk is the whole story of this comparison: the newer earbud is now the cheaper way to get ANC from Apple, and this guide breaks down whether the AirPods 4 has any real reason left to exist on a shopping list.

Active Noise Cancellation & Fit

Apple’s own newsroom figures put the AirPods 5’s ANC at up to 50% stronger than the AirPods 4’s noise cancellation, in the same open-ear, tip-free housing on both generations. TechRadar had already called the AirPods 4’s noise cancellation seriously impressive for a design with no silicone tips, so the AirPods 5 is building on a design that already performed well rather than starting from a weak baseline.

Early hands-on coverage is mixed on whether Apple’s specific 50% figure will hold up: Gizmodo’s hands-on rated the AirPods 5 better than the AirPods 4 in every respect tested, while an independent measurement from Headphonesty suggests the real-world ANC gain may fall short of that advertised number. Full lab testing on the AirPods 5’s specific ANC improvement hasn’t been published yet, since retail units only begin shipping September 18, 2026 — worth rechecking once RTINGS or SoundGuys weigh in. Neither earbud seals like an in-canal design such as the AirPods Pro 3, so anyone doing serious commuting or gym sessions in loud environments should still weigh that alternative.

Winner: AirPods 5, on Apple’s own published figures — worth re-checking once independent labs publish their own measurements.

Battery Life & Charging

With ANC on, the base AirPods 5 and the AirPods 4 both land at 20 hours of total listening time with the case topping them up; stepping up to the AirPods 5’s $149 Wireless Charging Case configuration adds two more hours to 22. Both generations support a 5-minute quick charge for roughly an hour of extra playback.

SoundGuys flagged the AirPods 4’s battery life as trailing the wider earbud market at its price point, and that critique carries over to the AirPods 5 almost unchanged — Apple hasn’t meaningfully closed the gap against rivals like the Sony WF-1000XM6, which posts around 24 hours total.

Winner: Essentially tied, with a slight edge to the AirPods 5’s Wireless Charging Case configuration.

Software & Apple Intelligence Features

Live Translation, powered on-device by Apple Intelligence, is exclusive to the AirPods 5 — it’s the first time this feature has reached a non-Pro AirPods model, via the same H2 chip generation already doing the work in the AirPods Pro 3. The AirPods 4 uses an earlier H2 chip revision that doesn’t support it, regardless of a future software update.

Both models share pressure-sensitive stem controls for play/pause and calls, and both get Apple’s on-device Siri speed-up. The AirPods 5 also adds Voice Isolation and an improved Adaptive EQ for calls, building on the same call-quality foundation the AirPods 4 introduced first.

Winner: AirPods 5, for anyone who wants Live Translation or simply the newest software feature set Apple ships to non-Pro earbuds.

Price & Value

This is where the comparison gets one-sided: the AirPods 5 with ANC starts at $129, while the AirPods 4 with ANC still lists at $179 — fifty dollars more for a generation with an older chip revision, no Live Translation, and a lower IP rating. In Canada the gap is similar, $179 CAD versus $239.99 CAD.

The only scenario where the AirPods 4 makes sense is a real discount that drops it meaningfully below the AirPods 5’s own price — retailers sometimes clear older Apple stock that way once a successor ships. Paying anything close to full price for the AirPods 4 today means paying more for less.

Winner: AirPods 5, decisively, at anything close to list price.

Our Verdict

For nearly every buyer, the AirPods 5 is the easy call — it undercuts the AirPods 4’s ANC price by $50 while adding Live Translation, better water resistance, and a newer chip revision. There’s no scenario at full price where the older earbud comes out ahead.

The AirPods 4 is only worth considering if a retailer discounts it well below the AirPods 5’s $129 starting price, since the two are otherwise functionally similar in day-to-day use — same open-ear fit, same core Apple ecosystem integration, same battery ballpark.

Buy the AirPods 5 if you’re buying new. Buy the AirPods 4 only if you find it meaningfully cheaper than the AirPods 5 and don’t care about Live Translation.

Read Our Apple AirPods 5 Review → Read Our Apple AirPods 5 Review →    Read Our Apple AirPods 4 Review → Read Our Apple AirPods 4 Review →