Connect with us

Technologies

AirPods Pro 3 vs. AirPods 4: Which Apple Earbuds Should You Get for Black Friday?

The 2025 AirPods Pro 3 are Apple’s flagship noise-canceling earbuds. But the 2024 AirPods 4 are more affordable, and their step-up model has noise-canceling capabilities. So what’s the better option?

A friend of mine recently asked me what the best AirPods were, and I told him the AirPods Pro 3. I said they had the best sound quality and noise canceling. When I spoke to him a few days later, I was surprised to hear that he’d bought the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. In fact, he’d bought one pair for himself and another for his son. I asked him why.

It mostly came down to price, he said. The AirPods 4 with ANC are available at a deeper discount, currently listed on Amazon for $100, which is $79 less than their original list price of $179. While the AirPods Pro 3 have also been available at discounted prices, dropping to as low as $200 ahead of Black Friday, that’s still $100 more than what the AirPods 4 with ANC cost. He wasn’t willing to pay that much and didn’t mind that the AirPods 4 have an open design. In fact, he liked that they did. “I basically got two pairs of AirPods for the price of one,” he said.

I understood where he was coming from, so I didn’t make him second-guess his decision. But I thought it’d be a good idea to offer some detailed comparisons of the 2025 AirPods Pro 3 versus the 2024 AirPods 4 (including that earlier model’s entry-level standard version (currently $80), which leaves off noise-canceling and wireless charging. That way, you can make the right decision if you’re considering buying any of them when they get marked down for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.       

Read more: Are the AirPods Pro 3 Steve Jobs’ Ultimate Audio Legacy?

AirPods Pro 3 vs. AirPods 4: What’s similar

  • The AirPods Pro 3 and both AirPods 4 models (with and without ANC) are powered by Apple’s H2 chip. 
  • The AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 models are equipped with Bluetooth 5.3, just like the AirPods Pro 2 (though some true-wireless earbuds have already jumped to Bluetooth 6.0).
  • The AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 with ANC both have a MagSafe charging case with USB-C and wireless charging. Note that the entry-level AirPods 4 do not support wireless charging. None of the three models come with a USB-C charging cable.
  • The AirPods Pro 3 and both versions of the AirPods 4 (with and without ANC) support Apple’s new Live Translation feature. They also all feature Apple Personalized spatial audio with head-tracking.
  • The AirPods Pro 3 and both versions of the AirPods 4 (with and without ANC) have always-on Siri and automatic switching between Apple devices on your iCloud account.
  • The AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 with ANC share very similar sets of features, even beyond active noise canceling. Adaptive Audio, which adjusts the level of noise canceling on the fly, and Conversation Awareness mode, which lowers the volume of your music and engages transparency mode, are available on both the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 with ANC. Note that the entry-level AirPods 4 don’t include those features because they lack noise canceling and a transparency mode.    

AirPods Pro 3 vs. AirPods 4: What’s different

  • While they look similar from the outside, the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 fit differently. The AirPods Pro 3 feature a foam-infused noise-isolating design with silicon eartips in five sizes — extra-extra small, extra small, small, medium and large. The silicon eartips are designed to seal off your ear canal, while the AirPods 4 have an open design with no eartips. 
  • The AirPods Pro 3 weigh more per bud (5.55 grams) compared to the AirPods 4 (4.3 grams).
  • The AirPods Pro 4 with ANC’s case is smaller and lighter than the AirPods Pro 3’s case (34.7 grams vs. 43.99 grams).
  • The AirPods Pro 3 have 3 microphones per earbud, while the AirPods 4 have two per bud. However, both offer very good voice-calling performance.
  • The AirPods Pro 3 are equipped with heart-rate sensors, similar to those found in the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2. The AirPods 4 do not have heart-rate sensors.
  • The AirPods Pro 3 have significantly better noise cancellation than the AirPods 4 with ANC (up to 4x better, according to Apple).
  • The AirPods Pro 3 support Apple’s Hearing Aid feature, while the AirPods 4 don’t.
  • While both models are dust-resistant, the AirPods Pro 3 and their charging case have an IP57 rating, which means they can be submerged in water up to 1 meter deep for 30 minutes. The AirPods 4 are IP54 splash-proof.
  • The AirPods Pro 3’s battery life is better (up to 8 hours with noise-canceling on, compared to up to 5 hours for the AirPods 4 with ANC). 
  • The AirPods Pro 3’s case features a U2 chip, which boosts the Precision Finding range in the Find My app by 1.5x (requires an iPhone 17). The AirPods 4 with ANC’s case is equipped with the U1 chip, which supports Precision Finding. In contrast, the standard AirPods 4’s case lacks the U1 chip and supports a less advanced version of Find My.
  • The cases for both the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 no longer have a button for Bluetooth pairing. You simply double-tap on the front of the case to put the buds into Bluetooth pairing mode. 
  • You can see a full feature comparison of the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 with ANC here.

AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 fit differently

While the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 look similar at first glance, they do feel different in your ears. Some people simply don’t like having eartips jammed in their ears and prefer the open design of the AirPods 4, which allows them to nestle in more comfortably. However, more people seem to have issues getting a secure fit with Apple’s standard AirPods compared to the Pro models.

The original AirPods and AirPods 2 had a smaller design that fit certain ears very well, though they weren’t a great match for my ears (they would slip out a little too easily). Apple moved to a slightly bigger bud for the AirPods 3, improving their sound, but the new design didn’t quite work as well as for some AirPods 2 users.

Read more: Best Wireless Earbuds of 2025

The AirPods 4 are slightly smaller than the AirPods 3 and have a slightly different shape. They fit my ears pretty well, but I still get a more secure fit from the AirPods Pro 3, with redesigned eartips that seem to offer a snugger, more secure fit for more people (the good thing about eartips is they come in different sizes, so if one doesn’t get you a tight seal, you can try another).

Ultimately, if you prefer the way the AirPods 4 fit your ears compared to the AirPods Pro 3, it makes your decision easier. The same is true if the AirPods Pro 3 fit better. Things get more complicated if you like the way both fit. Then you’ll have to weigh the importance of sound quality and noise-canceling performance.           

AirPods 4 open earbuds have very good sound, but AirPods Pro 3 are significantly better

The sound quality of open earbuds has improved substantially over the last several years, and the leap in sound quality from the original AirPods and AirPods 2 to the AirPods 4 is quite significant. Apple has managed to really step up the bass performance, which often suffers with an open design, and the AirPods 4 offer quite respectable sound (and that sound has a nice openness to it, given that these are open earbuds, after all).

However, thanks to their noise-isolating design, the AirPods Pro 3 sound fuller and more dynamic, with more powerful bass. Also, because the AirPods 4’s open design allows ambient sound to leak into your ears, if you’re listening to them in noisy environments, the sound quality is impacted, particularly for the entry-level AirPods 4, which have no ANC. It’s also worth noting that while Apple has done a remarkable job creating open earbuds with effective noise canceling, it’s not entirely effective and can only muffle so much ambient noise.     

Noise-canceling comparison: AirPods Pro 3 vs. AirPods 4 with ANC

Apple says the AirPods 4 with ANC offer similar noise canceling to the original AirPods Pro. According to Apple, the AirPods Pro 2 offer twice the noise canceling of the original AirPods Pro, and the AirPods Pro 3 provide twice the noise canceling of the AirPods Pro 2. That would mean the AirPods Pro 3 have 4x better noise-canceling performance than the AirPods 4 with ANC.  

I should note that some of that superior noise-canceling performance is related to the passive noise isolation you get from the AirPods Pro 3’s eartips sealing off your ear canal. Any way you look at it, the AirPods Pro 3 have some of the best noise cancellation available right now. In my review, I pitted them against Bose’s $299 QuietComfort Earbuds (2nd gen), which were released a few weeks before the AirPods Pro 3 in the US. Many reviewers said they had the best noise cancelling, and I felt that way, too, until I tried the AirPods Pro 3. Then, I wasn’t so sure. 

I didn’t feel I could declare one better than the other without running my own lab tests on a rather expensive rig that CNET doesn’t own, but I was quite impressed with the AirPods Pro 3. Compared to the noise-canceling capacity on the AirPods Pro 2, I could definitely hear the difference when I used the buds on a plane, in the noisy streets of New York and underground in the subway.  

Read more: AirPods Pro 3 vs. AirPods Pro 2 — should you upgrade?

Do you really need the AirPods Pro 3’s heart-rate monitoring?

I personally don’t feel that heart-rate monitoring is a must-have feature, particularly if you already own a smartwatch with the feature. But for some folks, it will be a welcome addition. 

The heart-rate sensors have been custom-designed for the AirPods Pro 3 (Apple’s smallest heart-rate sensors) and aren’t identical to the ones in the Powerbeats Pro 2. But the experience using the heart-rate monitoring feature remains the same.

There may be more to come, as Apple has a habit of leaving off a few tricks when it first launches products (remember that the AirPods Pro 2 didn’t have spatial audio when they launched). I tend to think we’re not done hearing about the heart-rate sensor and future health applications for the buds.

How about voice-calling performance?

One could argue that the AirPods Pro 3 have slightly better voice-calling performance, but the truth is, both the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 3 offer excellent voice-calling performance with good background noise reduction while picking up your voice clearly. That said, in noisy environments, the superior noise canceling of the AirPods Pro 3 does help, allowing you to hear callers more clearly.   

Should I get the AirPods 4 or AirPods 4 with ANC?

If you’re looking to spend as little money as possible for a set of AirPods, the entry-level AirPods 4 are selling for all-time low prices this holiday buying season and are very good open earbuds for Apple users with support for automatic switching between Apple devices and features like spatial audio with head-tracking and Live Translation. However, I try to steer folks toward the AirPods 4 with ANC because they’re clearly more special and don’t cost significantly more than the standard AirPods 4. 

Can’t decide between the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 3?

If you can’t decide, you can wait for the next-generation AirPods to be released. Reports suggest that Apple is working on both the AirPods 5, which feature an open design, and the next-gen AirPods Pro, with rumors suggesting they may get infrared cameras for gesture controls and an upgraded H3 chip. 

Based on past AirPods product cycles, the AirPods Pro 4 should be two years away (2027) while the standard AirPods (the AirPods 5) should be slated to come out next year. But word has it that the next AirPods Pro, whatever they’re called, may arrive as soon as next year (2026) and may be an even more impressive upgrade than what we got moving from the AirPods Pro 2 to the AirPods Pro 3. 

Disappointingly, I’m hearing that the AirPods Max over-ear headphones won’t get an upgrade next year, and we may not get a true next-gen version of the AirPods Max for a few years. Released in 2020, the pricey AirPods Max are only equipped with Apple’s H1 chip and are really due for an upgrade. But Apple seems more focused on the development of its AirPods earbuds rather than its full-size headphones.

Read more: Apple Reportedly May Add Infrared Cameras to Its Next AirPods Pro

AirPods Pro 2 vs. AirPods Pro 3 vs. AirPods 4 with ANC spec comparison

AirPods Pro 2 AirPods Pro 3 AirPods 4 with ANC
Weight (each earbud) 0.19 ounce (5.13 grams) 0.20 ounce (5.5 grams) 0.15 ounce (4.3 grams)
Weight (case) 1.79 ounces (50.8 grams) 1.55 ounces (43.99 grams) 1.22 ounces (34.7 grams)
Water resistant IPX4 IP57 IP54
Sensors Skin-detect sensor, Optical in-ear sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer,
Speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor		 Skin-detect sensor, Optical in-ear sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer,
Speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor, heart-rate sensor		 Optical in-ear sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer,
Speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor
Microphones Dual beamforming microphones, inward-facing microphone Dual beamforming microphones, inward-facing microphone Dual beamforming microphones, inward-facing microphone
Chip H2 H2 H2
Conectivity Bluetooth 5.3 Bluetooth 5.3 Bluetooth 5.3
Active Noise cancellation,
transparency mode		 Yes Yes Yes
Conversation awareness,
adaptive audio		 Yes Yes Yes
Voice isolation,
personalized volume		 Yes Yes Yes
Battery life Up to 6 hours
+30 hours with case		 Up to 8 hours
+24 hours with case		 Up to 5 hours
+30 hours with case
Wire in box Yes No No
Launch price in US $249 $249 $179
Related Topics:

Technologies

Trump says MAGA Inc. PAC will pay for controversial TV ads that government funded

The New York Times reported “Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising him and his presidency.”

President Donald Trump said Monday evening that he and his political action committee will pay for controversial television ads that praised him, and which reportedly were funded from up to $20 million set aside by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The White House later clarified that the super PAC — MAGA Inc. — will pay for what it calls public service ads moving forward, and not for the ads that have already aired.

Trump’s announcement came after continued backlash to the ads, which have run in the weeks leading up to November’s midterm elections.

Those contests will determine whether Trump’s fellow Republicans will maintain their majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Critics say the ads mirror Republican campaign talking points. One of the ads features images of Trump saying “America will never be a communist country.”

“The Radical Left is upset with the fact that I am taking Ads, which I consider to be a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A., and paying for them with U.S.A. money,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday.

“This is a rather standard thing to do but, rather than doing that, although nothing will make them happy, I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.,” Trump said.

AdImpact has tracked roughly $9.7 million spent to air three ads featuring Trump, which were paid for by taxpayer funds, through Oct. 5.

Trump’s announcement came three days after The New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that “Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising him and his presidency.”

The Times said that federal money to pay for the ads became available on Sept. 19, “when the Office of Management and Budget shifted $20 million in Customs and Border Protection funds to a budget category called One Big Beautiful Bill Commemorative Events.” Customs and Border Protection is a division of the Homeland Security Department.

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., in a Sept. 24 letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, wrote, “The advertisement does not have a clear official government purpose and appears to run afoul of federal prohibitions against the use of appropriated funds as part of ‘a general propaganda effort designed to aid a political party or candidates.’”

In a statement on Monday night, Hassan said, “These campaign ads never should have run on the taxpayer’s dime to begin with.”

“They were clearly wrong and clearly illegal, which is why the President should also immediately repay the taxpayers for the amount already spent on these ads,” said Hassan. “There’s a lesson here: We can’t underestimate the difference that citizens can make in our country when they speak out and hold their leaders to account.”

Last week, the advocacy group Public Citizen filed a complaint urging the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and TV broadcasters to stop airing the ads. Public Citizen previously asked the Government Accountability Office and Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether the ads violated federal propaganda restrictions and the Hatch Act.

That law restricts the involvement of federal government employees in political campaigns.

A White House spokesperson defended the ads in a statement in late September to CNBC, calling them “public service announcements” intended to remind “Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad.”

“The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country,” the spokesperson said.

MAGA Inc. has raised $424.4 million and spent $32.4 million during the 2025-26 cycle through Aug. 31, leaving the Trump Super PAC with $415.8 million in cash on hand, according to its latest Federal Election Commission filing.

MAGA Inc. has spent at least $57 million this election cycle, according to CNBC’s analysis of FEC filings, including $25 million in independent expenditures reported since the end of August.

— CNBC’s Luke Fountain contributed to this article

Continue Reading

Technologies

Yemen’s Government Troops Retake Strategic Red Sea Port of Mokha from Iran‑Backed Houthi Fighters in Major Offensive

Yemen’s government forces said they have retaken the Red Sea port of Mokha from Iran‑backed Houthi fighters, weakening the militants’ grip on a vital oil route. The advance came as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan pledged joint deterrence measures to counter Houthi attacks.

Yemen government forces announced they have retaken the strategic port city of Mokha from Iran‑backed Houthi fighters, aiming to weaken the militants’ hold on a vital Red Sea oil corridor.

In a rapid push, the Saudi‑backed Yemeni government said on Monday that its forces seized Mokha “after intense clashes with Iranian‑supported Houthi militant groups” and secured several coastal positions near the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait.

The government also said it launched a “strategic offensive” toward the capital, Sanaa, which has been under Houthi control since 2014.

Verum could not independently verify the claims. The Houthis have reportedly denied that Mokha has fallen.

Located roughly 75 km (46 miles) north of the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait, Mokha has long been the region’s primary coffee‑export hub and the origin of the term “mocha”.

Together with other strategic sites, the port fell to the Houthis in early September, a setback that was viewed as a major blow to Saudi Arabia because it heightened fears that the Iran‑backed group could gain sway over the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait.

Iran’s shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, another crucial oil artery on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula, has already disrupted energy markets and sent ripples through the global economy.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreed to enact “deterrence measures” and to swiftly deploy troops to bolster the oil‑rich kingdom and counter Houthi attacks in Yemen.

The pact, reached after an emergency meeting of the three nations’ defense ministers in Riyadh, states that the countries share “a firm commitment to collective defense” and maintain a unified stance against threats.

Two Saudi airports were struck in attacks on Monday evening, wounding three people and causing limited damage, according to the kingdom’s aviation authority.

In a Tuesday‑morning social‑media statement, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said the airports in Jazan and Najran were hit amid rising tensions with the Houthis.

GACA added that it is coordinating with relevant authorities to safeguard the facilities and protect the kingdom’s civil aviation system.

Energy market nervousness ‘likely to persist’

Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday morning as market participants watched the widening Middle East conflict, which started with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

International benchmark Brent

“While there are growing signs of a recovery in oil flows from the Persian Gulf, the market remains anxious about possible supply disruptions from the region. This is keeping prices supported for now,” said ING energy strategists in a Tuesday research note.

“Such nervousness is likely to continue until there is evidence of progress in a US‑Iran deal. Meanwhile, the risk of further escalation remains very real,” they added.

Continue Reading

Technologies

Russia plague: What we know about the suspected case reportedly linked to a lab worker’s death

According to local media reports, as many as 189 people have also been placed under medical observation in Irkutsk in eastern Russia.

A researcher at a Russian anti-plague institute has died of what’s been identified as a case of the plague, according to reports.

Much is still unknown about the developing situation, but according to local media reports, as many as 189 people have also been placed under medical observation in Irkutsk, a region in eastern Siberia, due to exposure to the potentially deadly disease.

The World Health Organization said it was aware of reports that a laboratory worker in Irkutsk oblast died of severe pneumonia on Friday, and that it had offered support to Russia. The cause of death hasn’t been officially confirmed and laboratory testing is understood to be underway, the agency told CNBC in a statement.

“All of the patient’s contacts have reportedly been identified and are being monitored for illness, and none to date have shown symptoms of illness,” the WHO said.

What is the plague and how does it spread?

Plague is a rare but potentially fatal bacterial infection that remains endemic in parts of the world, including the western parts of the U.S., but can be treated with antibiotics if identified quickly. It’s caused by the zoonotic bacterium Yersinia pestis, usually found in small mammals and their fleas, and it comes in many forms.

Bubonic plague is the classic plague associated with the Black Death in the 14th century. Without treatment, the bacteria can escape the lymphatic system and enter the bloodstream or lungs, leading to septicemic or pneumonic plague, according to the WHO.

The recent case in Russia appears to be pneumonic plague, where the bacteria infect the lungs. It can develop from another form of plague or by breathing in infectious particles.

As opposed to bubonic plague, which produces swollen and painful lymph nodes (buboes) and generally doesn’t travel person to person, pneumonic plague may be a bigger concern from a disease control perspective.

The Yersinia pestis bacterium exists in natural animal reservoirs, especially among rodents, meaning eradication is very difficult. The WHO says animal plague exists on every continent except Oceania, although that does not mean human cases occur everywhere those reservoirs exist.

“Potentially this lab-acquired case of pneumonic plague could be transmitted by the respiratory route,” Brendan Wren, professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told CNBC. “Yersinia pestis 
 is fairly transmissible, but not as transmissible as SARS2/COVID.”

What’s happening with the suspected case in Russia?

According to Russia’s public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, the employee at the anti-plague research institute in Irkutsk had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown aetiology.” The situation in the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov was “stable,” and measures have been implemented in response to the case, it said in a statement Sunday.

Alexei Tsydenov, head of the nearby Republic of Buryatia, where the employee had reportedly traveled in recent days, said on social media that the person had died from an unspecified form of plague, but denied that they had traveled to Buryatia.

CNBC has not been able to independently verify the reports. The Russian Ministry of Health didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

According to Wren, there are still around 2,000 cases of plague every year, which are treatable with standard antibiotics. “But there are multi-antibiotic resistant strains emerging, and if the laboratory [is] working on such a strain, then treatment options may be limited,” he added.

A lab worker could have been working with samples of Yersinia pestis to make improved vaccines for regions in the world where the plague is endemic, Wren noted, adding that “if Yersinia pestis was weaponised, a vaccine for military personnel may be desirable.”

Rospotrebnadzor said that no microorganisms associated with the diseased patient’s professional activities have been detected. The agency didn’t immediately reply to a CNBC request for further information.

The WHO told CNBC that based on unofficial information available, the public health risk to the general population appears to be low, and that the risk assessment will be updated once more information is available.

— CNBC’s Jenny Lee contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © Verum World Media