Apple’s first AirPods – the company's true-wireless in-ear headphones – were released in 2016 and ever since, they have been widely embraced as the most practical way to listen to music or make calls wirelessly. The original AirPods were supplanted by a second-generation model that looked pretty much identical – and which stayed in the range until last month. A third-gen model (that has also now been retired) was redesigned featuring a shorter stalk. 

Apple has just released two new versions of its iconic entry-level AirPods – AirPods 4, with a brand-new design for the earbuds, a conspicuously more compact battery case, and with active noise cancellation (ANC) as an optional extra. There’s no visible difference between the two versions of earbuds, though the case is different, both inside and out, and is the smallest in the industry with wireless charging capabilities.

We tested a pair of the new AirPods 4 with ANC. Until now, active noise cancellation has been the exclusive preserve of the AirPods pro and AirPods max designs (both of which are still available), so this feature is a major boon. Set up is intuitively simple. The ANC model can be charged wirelessly on a MagSafe charger, for example, or an Apple watch charging puck. And because it has MagSafe built in, the case will snap satisfyingly in place with either of these. There’s also a speaker on the bottom of the case, so if you misplace it, you can use Apple’s nifty Find My app to make the case emit a sound to help you find it. 

Appearance wise, the buds themselves look different from previous generations. Whilst they don’t feature the silicone ear tips of the AirPods pro, the stem is shorter and has a flat edge, which you can squeeze to turn noise-canceling on or off. Moreover, the grilles and speakers on the bud are different, and whilst testing them I certainly found the new