AirPods 4 deliver two significantly different types of value -- one with ANC, one without. Is one worth the extra cash?

Over time the look of the AirPods has evolved from the long stems of the original AirPods introduced in 2016, to the 3rd-gen AirPods of 2021, which had shorter stems and redesigned earpieces. Over the years there has been no change to the white colorway that harks back to the iPod’s heyday and those classic silhouetted adverts.

In other words, without getting too much into the weeds of things, active noise cancellation works by the device "monitoring" the outside noise and emitting an inverted soundwave, or what Treski calls "the anti phase," to neutralize or negate the external cacophony.

In Apple-speak, there's actually no new generation of AirPods Max -- we're still on the first. The only things new in the fall 2024 refresh are several new colors -- Midnight, Blu