Amazon has discounted the entire Apple lineup of wireless earbuds as part of its Prime Day Sale that kicks off today. The Apple AirPods Pro 2nd generation noise canceling earbuds is down to $149, which is a phenomenal price and the lowest I've seen. However, the Apple AirPods 4 with noise cancelation just dropped to an even better price of just $119. As a comparison, last year's Black Friday price was $150. Both earbuds offer active noise cancelation and seamless synching with your iPhone, but they wear, feel, and sound very differently.
Amazon Prime Day AirPods Deals
The Apple AirPods 4 is an open air earbud design
The Apple AirPods 4 was released on September, 2024 in two variants: one with noise canceling and one without. This is an open air earbud design that doesn't sit inside and seal your ear canal. It is rare for an open air earbud to offer effective active noise cancelation, but somehow Apple did it. The AirPods 4 features several other updates over the AirPods 3 which brings it in-line with modern day standards. These improvements include the new Apple H2 chip, Bluetooth 5.3 support, IP54 resistance rating which now protects against dust intrusion, USB Type-C charging, and an optical in-ear sensor.
The AirPods Pro 2 is a traditional in-ear design
The AirPods Pro is the best-sounding "truly wireless" earbuds for iPhone users thanks to its passively isolating in-ear design combined with excellent active noise cancelation, low-distortion driver and amp, and the Apple H2 chip. It also has useful features like Adaptive Transparency Mode, which lets you better hear your surroundings without removing your earbuds, and Conversation Mode, which automatically enhances the voices of people you're talking to. The second generation AirPods Pro replaces the Lightning port with a more universal USB Type-C port so you don't have to mix and match cables, and also includes a MagSafe charging case as standard.
Should you get the AirPods 4 with ANC or the AirPods Pro?
The AirPods 4 with active noise cancelation is quite different from the more expensive AirPods Pro 2 because of the way it is worn: the AirPods 4 is an open-ear earbud with non-adjustable tips that sits just outside your ear canal, whereas the AirPods Pro is an in-ear earbud that sits inside and seals your ear canal with adjustable tips. If you were to base this decision on the current price of the two earbuds, the AirPods 4 would certainly be the way to go. A $30 price difference is pretty significant. But it's just not about the price. You also have to consider what you prioritize more: comfort or performance. In-ear earbuds will provide better noise cancelation and audio quality by nature of its passive isolation, but open-ear earbuds are less intrusive and thus many people find them more comfortable to wear. Still can't decide? Then heck out our recommendations for the best AirPods models to buy.
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Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
