The Apple event intended to promote the launch of the new iPhone 16 series was in itself another historical moment for Apple. Not so much for the new iPhones, but for the technology updates brought to the Apple ecosystem in itself. And in terms of hardware, the biggest news was the launch of the new AirPods 4 which will be available Friday, September 20.
This is a big deal for Apple and the overall industry, because the AirPods are the reference that guides all other designs in this vibrant and fast-growing product segment. True wireless earbuds had been forced to a divide caused by the user experience of those who prefer having in-ears with all the superior sound fidelity and isolation benefits and doesn’t mind the occlusion effects, while for the (estimated) other three quarters of the population, occlusion is a complete deterrent for anything more than an occasional use of earbuds. And unfortunately, until now, using open-ears or loose-fit form factors which don’t close the ear-canal makes having active cancellation and enhancement circuits extremely ineffective.
Recent progress with open ear designs using beamforming and air conduction - such as the audio system that Apple implemented in its Vision Pro AR goggles - have shown that a combination of source separation, multiband dynamic processing and adaptive cancellation/enhancement could still be explored. Several OEMs in China are offering experimental iterations of this in open-ears with little effectiveness. For Apple to launch a new mode of AirPods with ANC, it means that those challenges have now been surpassed, creating “an industry-defining design”, as Apple calls it.
“With AirPods 4, customers can enjoy Active Noise Cancellation and the most advanced audio experience ever in an open-ear design,” says John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering.
There is no doubt that introducing Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features to AirPods Pro, the world’s best-selling TWS earbuds, is an historical event. But bringing active processing to a loose-fit form factor is an essential step to enable the evolution towards hearables, which is what will finally erase the stigma barriers faced by hearing-aids (hearing enhancement and compensation available to everyone in standard consumer electronics products).
According to Apple, AirPods 4 are a completely new design, with “incredible sound quality,” up to 24-hour battery life with the charging case, in the same iconic design that resulted from an exhaustive study and massive dataset of the geometry of human ears. “The new design is built with an unparalleled data set that uses advanced modeling tools, like 3D photogrammetry and laser topography, to precisely map and analyze thousands of ear shapes and over 50 million individual data points in total,” Apple states. This makes the AirPods 4 a refined design that should be even more comfortable to more users - “an entirely new benchmark for fit and comfort, created with an open-ear design,” as Apple adds in the announcement.
And if the original AirPods already offered wireless convenience and seamless pairing with the Apple ecosystem of products, that experience is now greatly expanded with AirPods 4 with ANC, offering a brand-new fit and an array of powerful features and capabilities. AirPods 4 are now the most advanced open-ears in the market. Delivering a massive improvement in sound quality, AirPods 4 feature an entirely new acoustic architecture with a vent system for pressure equalization, and use a low-distortion, high-excursion driver, and high dynamic range amplifier. The AirPods 4 also add Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking, which was another exclusive of the AirPods Pro.
The AirPods 4 use the new H2 chip that is found in the AirPods Pro 2, enabling intelligent features such as Voice Isolation for improved call quality in any noise and wind conditions. The improved microphones and voice separation are also key for voice commands. Gesture detection in Siri Interactions allows users to simply nod their head yes or gently shake their head no to respond to Siri announcements. For even more control, AirPods 4 also feature a new force sensor on the stem to play or pause media and mute or end calls with a quick press (like the AirPods Pro already did - the AirPods Pro 2 now have touch control).
Thanks to the H2 chip, AirPods 4 also support low wireless audio latency and improved voice quality during games, including support for 16-bit, 48kHz audio lossless from other supported devices. Apple doesn’t offer any details about the codecs. This is also a Bluetooth 5.3 design, which means that eventually LE Audio and LC3 could be introduced with a future software update (mainly because of Auracast).
For additional convenience, the charging case now offers USB-C charging and is more than 10 percent smaller in volume than its predecessor — all while still delivering up to 30 hours of battery life. In addition to a USB-C charging cable, the case that comes with the AirPods 4 with ANC can charge using an Apple Watch charger or Qi-certified charger, and includes a speaker for use with Find My detection. Talking about battery, the biggest trade-off resulting from the new compact design of the AirPods 4 with ANC is that playtime will be limited to 4 hours with ANC on, which is two hours less than the AirPods Pro 2.
But what truly makes the new AirPods 4 a breakthrough is the addition of Active Noise Cancellation, Adaptive Audio, Transparency mode, Conversation Awareness, Voice Isolation, and Adaptive EQ - all features that are completely new in an open-ear form factor. With upgraded microphones, the power of the H2 chip, and advanced computational audio, AirPods 4 with ANC will be incredibly useful for users to reduce environmental noise like airplane engines, city traffic, and more.
Working across hardware and software to deliver the most natural listening experience, AirPods 4 with ANC also introduce intelligent features like Transparency mode to keep users aware of their environment; Adaptive Audio, which dynamically blends Transparency mode and ANC based on the conditions of a user’s environment; and Conversation Awareness, which lowers the user’s media volume when they start speaking to someone nearby.
Although Apple warns that the noise cancellation is not as effective as in AirPods Pro 2 - because of the vital contribution from in-ear acoustic seal - this will still be highly appreciated by the many millions of users of loose-fit earbuds. In fact, many will finally have the chance to understand that ANC doesn’t mean only “isolation” and that an active transparency mode with Adaptive Audio, and Conversation Awareness, will be an essential first step towards exploring the benefits of augmentation.
www.apple.com
