AirPods 5 are out in the UK, and both models now have Active Noise Cancellation. The standard pair is £119 and the version with a wireless charging case is £139, so noise cancelling that cost £169 on AirPods 4 this summer now starts £50 cheaper.
So should you still buy AirPods 4? Not at £129, which is what Argos and ao.com were still asking on 1 October. At that price AirPods 5 do more for less. AirPods 4 only make sense well below £110, and only if you want a wireless case for the least money.
AirPods 5 release date and UK price
Apple announced AirPods 5 at its iPhone event on 9 September 2026 and opened pre-orders the same day. They went on sale on Friday 18 September. That is the date I guessed in August from the AirPods 4 pattern, which is about the only part of the original version of this post that survived the launch.
Apple's UK store now lists:
- AirPods 5: £119, with Active Noise Cancellation and a USB-C charging case
- AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case: £139, adding wireless charging, volume swipe on the stems and, Apple says, longer battery life
- AirPods Pro 3: £219, unchanged
AirPods 4 are gone from Apple's shelf in both versions. The AirPods 4 buy page now redirects to AirPods 5, and Apple's comparison tool lists AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation as not available.
What changed from AirPods 4
Less than the price change suggests. Apple's own comparison page gives both the same H2 chip, the same earbud size and weight, and the same four hours of listening with noise cancelling on. The real differences:
- Noise cancelling on every model. AirPods 4 came as a £119 pair without it and a £169 pair with it. Both AirPods 5 have it.
- Stronger noise cancelling. Apple claims up to 1.5 times the cancellation of AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation.
- Better water resistance: IP57, up from IP54.
- A little more battery with noise control off: up to six hours on one charge, against five.
- A plainer case on the cheaper model. The £119 AirPods 5 case charges over USB-C only. AirPods 4 with ANC came with a wireless case that has a speaker for Find My, and on AirPods 5 wireless charging costs £139.
In August I expected AirPods 5 to split like AirPods 4 did, one pair with noise cancelling and one without. Apple split the range by case instead. That is the more useful change for buyers, because the feature most people paid £50 extra for is now standard.
Should you still buy AirPods 4?
Mostly no. On 1 October PriceSpy's listing for AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation showed £129 at Argos, ao.com and Boots, with the lowest price £104.88 from OnBuy, a marketplace seller.
Not at £129
£129 is £10 more than AirPods 5. For that extra £10 you get weaker noise cancelling, lower water resistance and an hour less battery with noise control off. The one thing AirPods 4 give back is the wireless case, and AirPods 5 with the wireless case is only another £10 at £139.
Maybe, well under £110
Under £110 the sums change. At £104.88, AirPods 4 with ANC are £14.12 less than AirPods 5 and £34.12 less than AirPods 5 with the wireless case, which is about 25% off the like-for-like model. That is my own arithmetic. If you buy from a marketplace, check the listing says new and UK stock, and accept that you are buying the weaker noise cancelling.
Skip both if quiet is the point
Open-ear AirPods do not seal your ear canal, so their noise cancelling has a ceiling. AirPods Pro 3 are still the ones to buy if you want a quiet train or plane, and at street prices the gap is smaller than Apple's £219 suggests. I went through where to buy AirPods Pro 3 for less than Apple charges.
Should you replace the pair you have?
If you already have AirPods 4 with ANC, no. Same chip, same battery with noise cancelling on, and a modest gain in cancellation is not worth £119. If you have plain AirPods 4 or anything older, AirPods 5 at £119 is the first time Apple has put noise cancelling in its cheapest AirPods, and that is a real upgrade.
If you are thinking about over-ear headphones instead, the original AirPods Max costs £150 less than AirPods Max 2 and lasts as long on a charge. And if your old pair is acting up rather than worn out, try resetting your AirPods before you replace them.
AirPods 5 FAQ
When did AirPods 5 come out in the UK?
Apple announced AirPods 5 on 9 September 2026 and opened pre-orders the same day. They went on sale on Friday 18 September.
How much are AirPods 5 in the UK?
£119 for AirPods 5 and £139 for AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case on Apple's UK store. Both include Active Noise Cancellation.
Should I buy AirPods 4 or AirPods 5?
AirPods 5, unless you find AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation well under £110. At the £129 Argos and ao.com were charging on 1 October, AirPods 4 cost more than AirPods 5 and do less.
My take
In August I said not to buy AirPods 4 at full price because something better was a fortnight away. That advice held, but for a different reason than I expected. The upgrade is not really the earbuds. It is that noise cancelling, which cost £169 on AirPods 4, now comes on the £119 pair.
So buy AirPods 5 at £119 if you want open-ear AirPods. Pay the extra £20 for the wireless case only if you already charge other things on a Qi pad. Buy AirPods 4 only if you find them far below AirPods 5, and if noise cancelling is the whole reason you are buying, look at the Pro 3 first.
Source: AirPods 5 Announced With Improved Noise Cancellation, Audio Quality, and More, MacRumors. UK prices from apple.com/uk and PriceSpy on 1 October 2026; all percentages are my own arithmetic.
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