Apple's AirPods 4 have finally killed off the AirPods (2nd Generation) – and I’m glad

Apple AirPods 2 on a table with one earbud out of the charging case

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

So the AirPods 4 are finally official. Or, to be more precise, two new pairs of AirPods 4 are finally official. That’s right, at Apple’s recent iPhone 16 launch event, the tech giant chose to unveil two different flavours of its new wireless earbuds – one pair with noise-cancelling tech built-in and one without.

Now, the fact that Apple has launched a pair of open earbuds with ANC is obviously big news – I am particularly intrigued to hear how the noise-cancelling technology has been implemented. But, something else has happened in the aftermath of the cheaper, non-ANC pair being released.

You see, the AirPods 4 seem to have killed off, finally, the AirPods 2nd Generation which launched way back in 2019. Any trace of Apple’s previous cheap wireless earbuds has been removed from its website, with any external Apple links taking you straight to the AirPods 4 or to a page which says “The page you’re looking for can’t be found”. Which, for me, is good news.

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You see the entry-level AirPods 4 are priced at $129/£129 which, coincidentally, is the price at which the AirPods 2 were sitting before the event kicked off. Obviously, there isn’t enough room on the planet for two cheap pairs of AirPods so one had to go.

AirPods 4 in their case — (Image credit: Apple)

I was beginning to feel as though the AirPods 2 were, quite frankly, getting in the way of the rest of Apple's AirPods range, especially following the launch of the new-look AirPods 3. Sound quality was, in the words of our AirPods (2019) review, “decent” but I could name several pairs of wireless earbuds that I would recommend over them. The fit also drove me slightly mad. Once again, you could get a better seal from buds costing a fraction of the price. Then there was the fact they didn’t have any on-bud controls, which is slightly crazy given what rivals offer at this kind of money.

Given the AirPods 4 seem heavily based on the AirPods 3, they should sound better, fit better (Apple claims they are “the most comfortable AirPods ever”) and be nicer to use, as they not only have on-bud controls but they also use Apple’s more advanced H2 chipset. Whether I will prefer them over a pair of AirPods Pro 2 remains to be seen, but I think they will be an interesting proposition, especially the noise-cancelling version.

MORE:

Apple's AirPods 4 launch with two model variants: one with noise-cancelling, one without

Read our Apple AirPods Pro 2 review

Apple AirPods 4 vs AirPods 3: what's new?

Our pick of the best wireless earbuds

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Andy is Deputy Editor of What Hi-Fi? and a consumer electronics journalist with nearly 20 years of experience writing news, reviews and features. Over the years he's also contributed to a number of other outlets, including The Sunday Times, the BBC, Stuff, and BA High Life Magazine. Premium wireless earbuds are his passion but he's also keen on car tech and in-car audio systems and can often be found cruising the countryside testing the latest set-ups. In his spare time Andy is a keen golfer and gamer.