AirPods 5 Vs AirPods 4 Vs. AirPods Pro 3: Which Apple Earbuds Should You Buy?

If you've been keeping track of Apple's latest announcements, you may already know that the new Apple AirPods 5 earbuds are available for purchase. What you may not know is how they actually differ from past models, and whether or not the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 are still worth considering. Today, we're going to run you through the current pricing and features of these three generations of AirPods to help you decide which are right for you...

AirPods Pro 3: $199.99 USD, With Charging Case

The main feature that's kept the Apple AirPods Pro 3 ($199.99 USD) popular for so long is superb Active Noise Cancellation (ANC,) to the point that its ANC performance outstrips the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro significantly, according to Apple. The microphones required to support Active Noise Cancellation also help ensure that the AirPods Pro 3 have been kept up-to-date with other software features, including live translation, whereas non-ANC AirPods models like the base AirPods 4 can't support that features at all.

The ANC performance on the AirPods Pro 3 is so good, in fact, that Apple still rates it as up to three times better than to the newer AirPods 5. With added hearing aid and heart rate sensing features, as well as three more hours of ANC battery life (8 hours) compared to AirPods 5 (5 hours,) the AirPods Pro 3 remain the top high-end AirPods option.

AirPods 4: $99.99 USD w/o ANC, up to $174.99 USD w/ ANC

Ironically in spite of their model numbering and release timing, the AirPods 4 ($169 USD) are Apple's modern entry-level earbuds option. While both AirPods 4 models are indeed cheaper than the AirPods 5 or the AirPods Pro 3, they also omit many features. Even with the noise-canceling model, the AirPods 4's ANC capabilities are similar to the original AirPods Pro—with ANC on the AirPods Pro 3 offering "4x more" performance, according to Apple.

Should you choose the most affordable option, the non-ANC model ($99 USD) of the AirPods 4 also lose Transparency Mode, Adaptive Audio, Conservation Awareness, and live translation features offered by the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 5. That mic array may be costly, but it's put to very good use by Apple's software if you're willing to pay for it. Plus, both models of AirPods 4 have only IP54 (splash-resistant) durability ratings compared to the AirPods Pro 3's IP57 (up to 1 meter of water resistance.)

AirPods 5: $124.99 USD w/o Charging Case, $149.99 USD w/ Charging Case

The new AirPods 5 ($124.99 USD) have arrived to provide a more interesting in-between option for Apple AirPods buyers, even with the charging case included ($149.99 USD). While the biggest improvements (Siri AI, e.t.c.) ship with iOS 27 and are available in some way to the AirPods 4 ANC models, the AirPods 5 improve ANC performance by up to 1.5 times compared to last gen. While on paper the AirPods Pro 3 still outstrip both of them in noise cancellation, the AirPods 5 are a notch better than the AirPods 4 in this regard.

Unless you want the most affordable, ANC-less model of the AirPods 4, the release of AirPods 5 almost completely invalidate the AirPods 4 ANC model at their current prices, though future sales on the previous-gen models will likely happen at some point to help retailers get rid of old stock. The base AirPods 4 remain interesting, but only if you're willing to forego virtually all of the new software improvements. For the majority of users, the best option is still the AirPods Pro 3, but the AirPods 5 offer a good balance of features at significantly lower cost.