Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST Apple AirPods Pro 3 vs AirPods 4 ANC comparison, as someone who has purchased both pairs of earbuds with my own money.
I’ve conducted thorough testing of both wireless earbuds, and I will break down a winner for each category including:
- Comfort and Fit
- Features
- Battery Life
- Microphone Quality
- Noise Cancelling Performance
- Sound Quality
- Value
I’ll be sharing my critical opinion with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, audio engineer, and tech journalist. I also run the RecordingNOW YouTube channel with over 18,000+ subscribers and over 4 million+ views, where you can watch the video versions of all of our reviews and comparisons.
Let’s dive right in!
AirPods Pro 3rd generation vs AirPods 4th generation ANC Comparison in Short
The Apple AirPods Pro 3rd Generation is the superior product across the board compared to the AirPods 4 ANC, boasting more features, better noise cancelling performance, mic quality, and sound quality. The AirPods 4 ANC is surprisingly better-than-expected for both noise cancelling and sound quality considering its “open-ear” design, but the “in-ear” design of the AirPods Pro 3 gives it many advantages, at the cost of less overall comfort.
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Comfort, Features, Microphone Quality, and Battery Life
Comfort
The Apple AirPods Pro 3 comes with 5 pairs of foam-infused silicone eartips.
The AirPods 4th generation with ANC does not have any eartips since they are “open” and don’t enter the inner ear canal to form a seal like the Pro 3.
Fundamentally, the AirPods 4 ANC will likely be more comfortable for most people since they don’t require an eartip to enter the ear canal like the AirPods Pro 3.
The AirPods 4 ANC has been newly-redesigned with a more streamlined and secure fit, which I quite like.
Overall, the AirPods 4 ANC is the better choice for “all day comfort”, but the AirPods Pro 3 is pretty ergonomic and more secure-fitting due to the eartip insertion into the ear canal.
Features
Features-wise, the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 ANC share a lot in common, notably their seamless Apple ecosystem connectivity due to sharing the same H2 chip from Apple.
Due to this, both earbuds have Personalized Spatial Audio with head-tracking capabilities. This is a nifty feature that I do enjoy.
For water resistance, the AirPods 4 ANC is rated at IP54 (dust, sweat, and splash resistant), while the AirPods Pro 3 is higher rated at an impressive IP57 (submersible in water and rain).
The more premium AirPods Pro 3 has more features including heart rate sensors for fitness and health tracking, “Live Translation”, and doubles as a clinical-grade hearing aid.
Neither earbuds currently support the “mainstream” high-res codecs of LDAC or aptX Adaptive, but the new Pro 3rd gen supports a proprietary “SPR-AVS” lossless audio that requires an iPhone 17 or Apple Vision Pro.
Microphone Quality
One significant area of improvement for the new AirPods Pro 3rd generation is microphone quality, which is in a league above the AirPods 4 ANC.
The AirPods 4 ANC mic quality is serviceable, but the Pro 3 is seriously impressive for the class, catapulting it to #1 for mic quality for the wireless earbud category.
The Pro 3 is simply much better at isolating the human voice against the background noise and wind compared to the regular AirPods 4 ANC.
Battery Life
AirPods Pro 3 Battery Life
- With ANC on: 8 hours of battery life on a single charge / 24 hours total with charging case
- With ANC off: 10 hours on a single charge / 24 hours total with charging case
- Fast Charge: 20 minutes = 2 hours of playback
AirPods 4 ANC Battery Life
- With ANC on: 4 hours of battery life on a single charge / 20 hours total with charging case
- With ANC off: 5 hours on a single charge / 30 hours total with charging case
- Fast Charge: 5 minutes = 1 hour of playback
The AirPods Pro 3 has a significant battery life advantage over the AirPods 4 ANC, pretty much doubling the battery life on a single charge.
AirPods Pro 3 Score: 9.5 out of 10
AirPods 4 ANC Score: 9.5 out of 10
Winner: Tie
AirPods Pro 3 vs AirPods 4 ANC Noise Cancelling Performance Compared
Apple claims that the AirPods Pro 3 has twice the noise cancelling effectiveness of the previous AirPods Pro 2, and my testing backs up that claim.
The AirPods 4 ANC has a physical disadvantage due to being an “open” earbud, and not having that passive noise isolation from a physical seal with in-ears like the AirPods Pro 3.
I’m actually quite impressed with the AirPods 4 ANC’s noise cancelling despite its disadvantages. It’s better than you would expect for an open earbud.
Also, one advantage to the open design of the AirPods 4 is increased awareness of ambient-noise and your surroundings.
That said, the in-ear AirPods Pro 3 is on another level for noise cancelling performance across the spectrum, especially since it’s been much improved over the Pro 2.
The AirPods Pro 3 has helped Apple to get back near the top for noise cancelling performance, although there are a couple competitors that I think are slightly better such as the Sony WF-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen.
Other those two, however, the AirPods Pro 3 is one of the best options for ANC available today.
Both earbuds have Transparency Mode which works quite well and sounds pretty natural. Again, the AirPods 4 ANC’s open design has a natural advantage for hearing outside noise even without Transparency Mode.
AirPods Pro 3 Score: 9.0 out of 10
AirPods 4 ANC Score: 6.5 out of 10
Winner: AirPods Pro 3
Sound Quality
Historically, the “regular” line of AirPods have sounded decent for their convenient open-ear design, while the “Pro” series’ in-ear design has naturally been the higher sound quality emphasis.
I think where Apple made a big jump in sound quality was in the AirPods Pro 2, that I’ve praised for its audiophile-friendly tuning and charming sound profile.
Like with noise cancelling performance, the AirPods 4 ANC is at a disadvantage due to its open design, having to contend more with the elements versus the AirPods Pro 3 that is naturally quieter due to the physical seal.
But like with noise cancelling, I actually find the AirPods 4 ANC to sound a lot better than I expected.
Starting with sound profiles, I find the AirPods Pro 3 to be more “consumer-friendly” compared to the AirPods 4 ANC, as it benefits from that physical seal with a much deeper bass response and more detailed treble. The AirPods 4 ANC pushes forward a lot of mids which makes it excellent for vocals and dialogue-based media like YouTube and podcasts.
Now when it comes to pure sound quality, I do think the AirPods Pro 3 is in a level above the AirPods 4 ANC.
I really do think the AirPods 4 ANC sounds a lot better than most would expect, and I enjoy using them on an almost-daily basis for casual media consumption like YouTube, podcasts, etc.
But for music listening, I much prefer the higher-fidelity and more complete-sounding AirPods Pro 3.
Across the frequency spectrum, the AirPods Pro 3 is simply able to deliver more detail in the bass and treble regions, emphasized even more thanks to its physical seal.
Although I wouldn’t categorize the AirPods Pro 3 in the true “audiophile” segment of the wireless earbud class, it’s much closer to being considered audiophile than the AirPods 4 ANC which has to contend with physics, especially since it also has to balance active noise cancelling at the same time.
AirPods Pro 3 Score: 8.2 out of 10
AirPods 4 ANC Score: 7.5 out of 10
Winner: AirPods Pro 3
Value
The AirPods Pro 3rd Generation retails at $249 USD, but is currently available for $229 market price brand new.
The AirPods 4 ANC retails at $179 USD, but can be found on sale for around $157 market price.
I believe you’re getting what you pay for with each product, with a slight advantage to the cheaper AirPods 4 ANC that shares the same H2 chip at the core.
Although not packing quite as many features as the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4 ANC has the inherent benefit of being an open-earbud design that could be a dealmaker depending on the customer. It’s simply more comfortable not having to be inserted into the ear canal like the Pro 3.
So in a sense, this isn’t really a true apples-to-apples comparison.
If your use case is a more casual, daily convenience earbud primarily used for YouTube, podcasts, and non-critical music listening, the the AirPods 4 ANC is an appealing choice.
But if you want next-level noise cancelling, mic quality, better sound quality, and more features, the AirPods Pro 3 does a good job to justify paying a premium.
AirPods Pro 3 Value Score: 8.5 out of 10
AirPods 4 ANC Value Score: 9.0 out of 10
Winner: AirPods 4 ANC
Overall Scoring Breakdown
- World-class noise cancelling performance
- One of the most comfortable fits
- Excellent microphone quality
- Decent sound quality
- There’s better pure sound quality options
- No native Android app
- Better comfort and fit than previous generations
- Improved sound quality over 3rd generation
- Noise cancelling is surprisingly effective
- Sweat and Water Resistant
- Bass can be overpowering at times
- In-ears have better noise cancelling
Our Verdict: Apple AirPods Pro 3
The AirPods 4 ANC is a fine product, and arguably perfect for its intended use case as a comfortable and convenient daily driver, but the AirPods Pro 3 is “Pro” for a reason.
Across the board, the Pro 3 offers more features, much better noise cancelling performance, much better microphone quality, and better sound quality.
But what it really boils down to is the open-ear design of the AirPods 4 ANC versus the in-ear design of the AirPods Pro 3.
Bottomline, the AirPods 4 ANC is the more comfortable and convenient option, at the cost of not having as good noise cancelling performance and sound quality.
The AirPods Pro 3 is for those who want one of the best all-around wireless earbuds available today.
Lastly, if you’d like to save some money and keep supporting RecordingNOW.com’s 100% independent, unbiased reviews, do consider using some of our affiliate links below to shop and even just compare prices. We purchase all products we review with our own money to maintain the highest level of integrity, and your support goes into that plus a continuously improving site experience.
Order HERE for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂
How We Tested and Our Methodology
RecordingNOW.com is a 100% independent publisher with over 10 years of experience testing and reviewing consumer electronics and headphones.
We currently purchase the products we test with our own money, and are not paid by any company or manufacturer to influence our opinions or decisions.
After purchasing the product, we conduct up to hundreds of hours of detailed hands-on testing in a controlled, acoustically-treated environment.
ODi Productions is our resident expert and author of this article, with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, tech journalist, and audiophile.
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