If you are looking at AirPods 4 ANC right now, the box looks like a bargain. Apple launched them at £179, and the big UK retailers have them at £129, with a few marketplace sellers lower still. The problem is that Apple replaced them on 9 September, and the replacement costs £119 with noise cancellation built in.
So the question is no longer "are AirPods 4 ANC good?" They were, and they still are. The question is whether any price makes the old model a better buy than the new one, and at what point the maths flips. I ran the numbers on every price I could find in the UK this week, and the answer is narrower than the "huge discount" headlines suggest.
What happened to AirPods 4 ANC
Apple announced AirPods 5 on 9 September 2026 and they reached shops on 18 September. The headline change is that every AirPods 5 has Active Noise Cancellation as standard, which is exactly the feature you used to pay the £50 premium for on AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. Apple says the new ANC cuts up to 50 percent more noise than AirPods 4 with ANC did.
There are two AirPods 5 models. The standard one is £119 with a USB-C case. The one with a wireless charging case is £139, gets an extra hour of listening with ANC on, and adds a volume swipe on the stem. Both are IP57 rated for dust and water, up from IP54 on AirPods 4.
According to MacRumors' AirPods 4 vs AirPods 5 guide, Apple has stopped selling both versions of AirPods 4 directly. Third-party retailers still have stock, which is why AirPods 4 ANC prices are moving around so much at the moment.
AirPods 4 ANC price in the UK right now
Here is what I found this week. These are live retailer prices, not Apple prices, so they will move.
- Apple launch price for AirPods 4 ANC: £179
- Argos, ao.com, Boots and eBay: £129.00
- Cheapest new listing on PriceSpy: £104.88 (OnBuy, a marketplace seller)
- Lowest PriceSpy has recorded in the last three months: £99.00
- Used from: £79.99
On its own, that looks great. £129 is £50 off launch, which by my arithmetic is 27.9 percent. The £104.88 listing is £74.12 off, or 41.4 percent. If AirPods 5 did not exist, I would be telling you to buy one today.
AirPods 4 ANC vs AirPods 5: the maths
AirPods 5 do exist, though, and they set the ceiling. All the comparisons below are my own arithmetic using the prices above, against Apple's £119 and £139.
At £129, AirPods 4 ANC cost more than AirPods 5
This is the bit nobody on page one of Google is saying. At Argos, ao.com and Boots, the outgoing AirPods 4 ANC are £129. The standard AirPods 5 are £119 at Apple and at Currys. That is £10 more, or 8.4 percent more, for the older model with weaker noise cancellation and a lower water-resistance rating.
What you do get for that extra £10 is a wireless charging case. That is the only hardware advantage AirPods 4 ANC hold over the standard AirPods 5. If you want wireless charging on the new model, it is £139, so the old one undercuts it by £10 there. That makes £129 a fair price only if wireless charging is the thing you care about most and you are happy with last year's ANC.
At £104.88, the gap opens up
Drop to the cheapest listing and the picture changes. £104.88 is £14.12 less than the standard AirPods 5, which is 11.9 percent cheaper. Against the wireless charging AirPods 5 at £139, it is £34.12 less, or 24.5 percent.
That is a real saving, and you still get wireless charging and a Find My speaker in the case. The catch is that it is a marketplace listing, so check the seller, the returns policy and that you are buying a UK unit before you click. I would rather pay a few pounds more at a retailer I can walk a return into.
My break-even point
For me, AirPods 4 ANC only make sense at around £105 or under. At that level you are saving roughly £15 on the standard AirPods 5 and getting wireless charging thrown in. Above about £115, the gap is too small to justify older ANC, IP54 instead of IP57, and a model that has already been replaced.
What you actually give up with AirPods 4 ANC
Apple's own comparison makes the differences fairly clear. Here is the short version for the two models most people are choosing between.
- Noise cancellation: AirPods 5 claim up to 1.5 times the ANC of AirPods 4. On an open-ear design, that matters, because AirPods 4 ANC were always a step behind the Pro models.
- Battery: identical on paper between AirPods 4 ANC and the standard AirPods 5, at 4 hours with ANC and 20 hours with the case. The wireless AirPods 5 stretch to 5 and 22.
- Water and dust: IP54 on AirPods 4 ANC, IP57 on AirPods 5. If you run or train in them, that is worth having.
- Controls: AirPods 5 with the wireless case add a volume swipe on the stem. AirPods 4 ANC have press controls only.
- Charging: AirPods 4 ANC have a wireless case. The standard AirPods 5 are USB-C only.
Both use Apple's H2 chip, so the day-to-day experience of pairing, switching between devices and Adaptive Audio is very similar. This is not a generational leap like going from AirPods 3 to AirPods 4. It is a refinement, which is exactly why the price gap has to be big to make the old one worthwhile.
AirPods 4 vs AirPods Pro 3: where the Pro still earns its money
A lot of people searching for AirPods 4 ANC are really deciding whether to stretch to AirPods Pro 3. On PriceSpy, AirPods Pro 3 start from £167 right now. That is £48 more than the standard AirPods 5, and £62.12 more than the cheapest AirPods 4 ANC.
What you get for it is a sealed in-ear fit with silicone tips, which Apple says gives up to 3 times the noise cancellation of AirPods 5. You also get heart-rate tracking during workouts, the hearing health features including Hearing Aid and Hearing Protection, and 6 hours of listening with ANC on. I covered where to buy them for less in my AirPods Pro 3 UK buying guide.
If you commute on the Tube or fly a lot, the Pro 3 are still the ones to buy. Open-ear ANC, even the improved version on AirPods 5, takes the edge off a noisy office rather than shutting out a train. If you cannot get on with ear tips, that is the whole reason AirPods 4 ANC and AirPods 5 exist.
Should you upgrade from AirPods 4 ANC to AirPods 5?
If you already own AirPods 4 ANC, no. You would be paying £119 or £139 for better ANC and a higher IP rating on earbuds that already do the same job. Keep them until the battery fades.
If you have the standard AirPods 4 without ANC, AirPods 5 are a much bigger step, because you gain noise cancellation for the first time. If your current pair is misbehaving rather than worn out, it is worth trying a reset first, which I walk through in how to reset AirPods.
And if you held off in September because I told you to wait for the new model in my AirPods 5 release date post, the waiting paid off. The new standard model costs £10 less than the old ANC one does at most big retailers.
FAQ
Are AirPods 4 ANC still worth buying?
Only if you find them for around £105 or less and you want a wireless charging case. At the £129 most UK retailers charge, the standard AirPods 5 at £119 are cheaper and better at noise cancellation.
Has Apple discontinued AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation?
Apple replaced them with AirPods 5 in September 2026, and MacRumors reports Apple no longer sells either AirPods 4 model directly. UK retailers such as Argos, ao.com and Boots still had stock this week.
Is the noise cancellation on AirPods 5 better than AirPods 4 ANC?
Apple says yes, by up to 50 percent. Both are open-ear designs, so neither matches the sealed fit of AirPods Pro 3, which Apple rates at up to 3 times the ANC of AirPods 5.
My take
AirPods 4 ANC are good earbuds that are now priced in the wrong place. At £129 they cost more than the AirPods 5 that replaced them, and the only thing they give you for that money is a wireless case. If you can find them for around £105 from a seller you trust, they are a sensible way to save £15. Otherwise, buy the standard AirPods 5 at £119 and put the difference towards a case.
Source: Apple introduces AirPods 5 with best-in-class open-ear Active Noise Cancellation, Apple Newsroom
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