Every AirPods generation, no matter how similar it may seem to its predecessors, always manages to take a handful of the Pro line’s more important qualities and integrate them as normal. AirPods 3 was the first to get spatial audio before the AirPods 4 changed the game with Active Noise Cancellation. But only on the pricier of its two variants.
Released today at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters, the latest generation of AirPods 5 goes further than either: active noise cancellation is now standard across the whole baseline, at the entry price, with no asterisk. How good.
Apple says the ANC runs on a multiport acoustic architecture and next-generation computational audio, the same design language it uses to describe the Pro. It claims up to 50% more external noise removed than AirPods 4 with ANC. Next-gen Adaptive EQ comes along too, another feature that used to sit up the stack but has been democratised for the, shall we say, everyday user.
In fact, we’re seeing this across the entire AirPods line, with Transparency mode, Adaptive Audio, which allows the wearer to seamlessly drift between ANC and Transparency on the fly, and Conversation Awareness on both models.
This is open-ear, remember, too: no silicone tip, no seal, the same all-day-comfortable fit as AirPods 4. As someone who uses my AirPods religiously out on runs, commutes, and daily chores, comfort is fast-becoming the most important feature for any personal audio.
The pricing is the part that should make Apple's own product managers a little nervous. The base AirPods 5 with the wired case is A$219. The version with the wireless charging case is A$249, and that's the one to buy, because it adds on-stem swipe volume controls, a feature that lived on the Pro line until now, plus a case that charges over USB-C, Qi, and Apple Watch pucks.
Which leaves AirPods Pro 3, still the flagship, with a genuinely harder job than it had a day ago. If you're the sort of listener who wants a sealed in-ear plug, the deepest possible noise reduction, the full Pro sensor suite and the hearing-health tools, the Pro still earns its keep.
Nobody's arguing open-ear ANC, however clever, will out-block a sealed tip on a train. But if you prefer open-ear comfort and never wanted the tip in the first place, AirPods 5 can now manage most of what the Pro does for considerably less.
Pre-orders are open now, with units shipping September 18. For anyone still on AirPods 3, or who skipped AirPods 4, this is the clean upgrade, and the $249 model is the pick.