Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event Wednesday brought the announcement of a new iPhone lineup as expected, plus the first-ever foldable iPhone, but true to the name of the event, Apple had another release ready to go: the AirPods 5.
The new earbuds will officially be available on Friday, Sept. 18, but preorders are live as of Sept. 9 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Apple. The earbuds are available in two models: the AirPods 5 and AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case. Both feature active noise cancellation (a deviation from the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC), and lower price points than the AirPods 4 at $129 and $149, respectively.
What's new with the AirPods 5
The AirPods 5 come with several upgrades, including:
50 percent more active noise cancellation power than the AirPods 4 with ANC
Lower price points, with the AirPods 5 starting at $129 (the same price as the non-ANC AirPods 4) and the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case starting at $149 ($30 less than the AirPods 4 with ANC)
New multiport acoustic architecture for improved sound quality
Battery life of up to five hours with ANC and an on-ear volume stem control on the more expensive AirPods 5
What's the difference between the two AirPods 5 models?
Pricing breakdown
AirPods 5 — $129
AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case — $149
The AirPods 4 retail for $129 and $179 for models with and without noise cancellation, meaning the AirPods 5 have notably reduced pricing — a trend that isn't common in the broader tech world, or even within Apple's event.
Features
Both pairs of earbuds come with a new acoustic architecture, better noise cancellation than the AirPods 4, and an improved transparency mode. The AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case also offer one more hour of battery life with ANC over the previous generation (for a total of five hours), on-ear volume controls, and, of course, wireless charging with the case.
Though not new features over the previous generation, both of these earbuds also come with live translation features and Conversation Awareness (which automatically adjusts the volume of your audio for easy awareness).
AirPods 5 vs. AirPods Pro 3
The AirPods Pro 3 remain Apple's most premium pair of earbuds, priced at $249. The in-ear design, compared to Apple's open-ear design, also means that the Pro 3 will have more effective ANC and more robust sound quality. That said, the new multiport acoustic architecture on the AirPods 5 was inspired by the design of the AirPods Pro 3.
While both earbuds offer Live Translation, the Pro 3 also have a built-in heart rate monitor which can connect to Apple's Fitness app.
Follow our Apple event live blog to catch up on the latest news and announcements from the "Surprise and Shine" keynote, with live updates from Apple Park.
