Before yesterday, I wasn’t expecting new AirPods at the iPhone Duo event. When Bloomberg Finally committing to a prediction about the AirPods 5 the morning of the show, I knew the updates would be minor at best. For a variety of reasons, including the lack of spicy rumors, it just didn’t seem like Apple had anything revolutionary to add to its core AirPods lineup. It turned out not.
I admit that the upgrades to the model that Apple now calls AirPods 5 with wireless charging case are notable. And doing it for $149 when the comparable AirPods 4 model cost $179 is commendable. I already know how much the swipe gestures for volume control will improve the experience. I say this as someone who constantly tries to get the AirPods 4 stems to slide out every time I wear them. I definitely got raided by AirPods Pro there. Live translation is also a substantial addition, no doubt about it.
My problem isn’t that AirPods 5 with wireless charging case exist, it’s that Apple also sells the “regular” AirPods 5 for just $20 less. Of course, the more affordable model now has active noise cancellation (ANC), live translation, and the same increased water resistance (IP57) as the new $149 set. (I’ll save any arguments about 50% better ANC performance for my next review, but on paper this improvement seems modest at first glance.) There’s simply not enough differentiation between the two models to justify the existence of the base set. And if you don’t want ANC at all, the AirPods 4 have already disappeared from Apple’s website.
Since this is the hill I’m willing to die on, I’ll also say that $20 isn’t enough of a difference to make it a tough decision. Just spend the extra money for all the extra features offered by the new model with the extremely silly name. Trust me, the first time you have to adjust the volume and swipe on an unresponsive AirPod stem, you’ll regret not doing it. At some point, that extra hour of battery life will probably come in handy, and it’s much more convenient to put an AirPods case on top of a MagSafe or Apple Watch charger than using a USB-C cable. You also never know when you’ll want your AirPods case to have a speaker to help you with Find My search and rescue missions.
The entry point should be a standard AirPods 5 option for $99. A $50 difference makes more sense, and that was the variation between the two models in the AirPods 4 line. I would be totally fine with this base version without ANC to bring the price down. In fact, I’d say Apple would have a more compelling lineup of AirPods earbuds with the regular non-ANC AirPods 4 at $99, the ANC AirPods 5 with wireless charging case (which could happily just be called AirPods 5) at $149, and the AirPods Pro 3 at $249. Three sufficiently different models at three sufficiently different prices would form a trio where customers would have a decision to make. Plus, it would set things up nicely for the camera-equipped AirPods Pro expected to arrive early next year.
And Apple, please don’t call them AirPods Pro 4 with visual intelligence.
