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AirPods 5 Review Roundup: Big ANC Upgrade and Great Sound at a Surprisingly Low Starting Price, Critics Say
Apple’s newest AirPods have drawn some of the most positive reviews the standard AirPods lineup has received in years, with critics across multiple outlets praising the AirPods 5 for delivering meaningfully improved active noise cancellation and sound quality at a starting price lower than any previous AirPods generation, even as the earbuds’ open-ear design means the overall experience still depends heavily on how well they fit an individual listener’s ears.
The AirPods 5 look nearly identical to the previous AirPods 4, retaining a short plastic stem, no silicone ear tips, and a compact charging case roughly the size of a small pack of gum. But according to Engadget, Apple made several meaningful upgrades under the hood, crediting the improvements in part to “a new multiport acoustic architecture,” alongside refinements to the company’s active noise cancellation algorithms and Adaptive EQ processing. The result, according to Apple’s own claims cited by Engadget, is noise cancellation that blocks 50% more sound than the AirPods 4 delivered, along with “richer, more detailed sound.”
Reviewers largely found those claims held up in testing. Cult of Mac’s review noted that the previous AirPods 4 offered what the reviewer described at the time as “ANC Lite,” reducing ambient noise rather than truly blocking it. Testing the AirPods 5, the same reviewer found Apple’s promised improvement to be real rather than exaggerated, reporting the earbuds stayed securely in place through hours of wear around the house and on several long bike rides.
Tom’s Guide offered similarly strong praise, calling the AirPods 5 “the upgrade we deserved” and highlighting the sound quality and noise cancellation as “majorly impressive” given the earbuds’ starting price of just $124, the lowest launch price of any AirPods model to date, undercutting even the original 2016 AirPods, which launched at $159. CNN Underscored echoed that assessment, describing the AirPods 5 as “one of the best values that Apple’s ever offered,” pointing to the combination of strong sound quality, effective noise cancellation and useful features including live language translation, despite the earbuds notably lacking “Pro” branding.
Not every reviewer found the AirPods 5 a universally comfortable fit. SoundGuys, which tested the earbuds over a four-day period, emphasized that because the AirPods 5 do not seal the ear canal the way silicone-tipped earbuds like the AirPods Pro do, an individual’s ear shape plays an outsized role in determining nearly every aspect of the listening experience, including how effective the noise cancellation and sound quality actually feel in practice. AppleInsider offered a similar caveat, noting that while the reviewer personally found the AirPods Pro 3’s silicone tips fit slightly better, a partner found the open-ear AirPods 5 design considerably more comfortable, underscoring how much individual variation exists in how these earbuds fit different ears.
The AirPods 5 are available in two versions carrying identical sound quality, noise cancellation and core features. The base model starts at $129, while a version bundled with a wireless charging case costs $20 more and adds several additional capabilities, including audible Find My locating support, swipeable on-stem volume controls, and roughly an extra hour of battery life in both the earbuds and the charging case itself. Engadget argued the pricing gap between the two versions makes the cheaper base model a difficult sell given how much additional functionality the wireless charging case version provides for a relatively modest price increase, going so far as to argue Apple should have offered only a single AirPods 5 configuration rather than splitting the lineup.
Apple also improved the AirPods 5’s durability compared with the prior generation, raising the water resistance rating from IP54 on the AirPods 4 to IP57 on the new model, according to multiple reviews. That upgraded rating means the AirPods 5 can now withstand full submersion in up to one meter of water for as long as 30 minutes, a meaningful improvement for users concerned about exposure to sweat during workouts or accidental drops in water.
Not every aspect of the AirPods 5 drew universal praise. Tom’s Guide specifically flagged battery life as a weak point of the earbuds, describing it as “abysmal” relative to the rest of the package, even as the outlet concluded the earbuds’ other strengths, including sound quality, comfort, fit, smart features and noise cancellation, ultimately outweighed that particular shortcoming for casual listeners.
The AirPods 5 also introduce live translation capabilities for users with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone, a feature that relies directly on the earbuds’ active noise cancellation hardware to function, according to Engadget’s reporting. That means, unlike with the AirPods 4 lineup, both AirPods 5 configurations now support live translation, since Apple has made active noise cancellation a standard feature across the entire AirPods 5 range rather than reserving it for a higher-tier model.
Taken together, the body of reviews published since the AirPods 5’s release points to a broad consensus that Apple has delivered a genuine step forward for its standard, non-Pro earbuds lineup, combining meaningfully improved noise cancellation, upgraded sound quality, better water resistance and new AI-powered features at a lower starting price than any prior AirPods generation, even as reviewers continue to caution that the open-ear design means individual comfort and effectiveness will still vary considerably depending on how well the earbuds fit a given listener’s ears.
Apple’s newest AirPods have drawn some of the most positive reviews the standard AirPods lineup has received in years, with critics across multiple outlets praising the AirPods 5 for delivering meaningfully improved active noise cancellation and sound quality at a starting price lower than any previous AirPods generation, even as the earbuds’ open-ear design means the overall experience still depends heavily on how well they fit an individual listener’s ears.
The AirPods 5 look nearly identical to the previous AirPods 4, retaining a short plastic stem, no silicone ear tips, and a compact charging case roughly the size of a small pack of gum. But according to Engadget, Apple made several meaningful upgrades under the hood, crediting the improvements in part to “a new multiport acoustic architecture,” alongside refinements to the company’s active noise cancellation algorithms and Adaptive EQ processing. The result, according to Apple’s own claims cited by Engadget, is noise cancellation that blocks 50% more sound than the AirPods 4 delivered, along with “richer, more detailed sound.”
Reviewers largely found those claims held up in testing. Cult of Mac’s review noted that the previous AirPods 4 offered what the reviewer described at the time as “ANC Lite,” reducing ambient noise rather than truly blocking it. Testing the AirPods 5, the same reviewer found Apple’s promised improvement to be real rather than exaggerated, reporting the earbuds stayed securely in place through hours of wear around the house and on several long bike rides.
Tom’s Guide offered similarly strong praise, calling the AirPods 5 “the upgrade we deserved” and highlighting the sound quality and noise cancellation as “majorly impressive” given the earbuds’ starting price of just $124, the lowest launch price of any AirPods model to date, undercutting even the original 2016 AirPods, which launched at $159. CNN Underscored echoed that assessment, describing the AirPods 5 as “one of the best values that Apple’s ever offered,” pointing to the combination of strong sound quality, effective noise cancellation and useful features including live language translation, despite the earbuds notably lacking “Pro” branding.
Not every reviewer found the AirPods 5 a universally comfortable fit. SoundGuys, which tested the earbuds over a four-day period, emphasized that because the AirPods 5 do not seal the ear canal the way silicone-tipped earbuds like the AirPods Pro do, an individual’s ear shape plays an outsized role in determining nearly every aspect of the listening experience, including how effective the noise cancellation and sound quality actually feel in practice. AppleInsider offered a similar caveat, noting that while the reviewer personally found the AirPods Pro 3’s silicone tips fit slightly better, a partner found the open-ear AirPods 5 design considerably more comfortable, underscoring how much individual variation exists in how these earbuds fit different ears.
The AirPods 5 are available in two versions carrying identical sound quality, noise cancellation and core features. The base model starts at $129, while a version bundled with a wireless charging case costs $20 more and adds several additional capabilities, including audible Find My locating support, swipeable on-stem volume controls, and roughly an extra hour of battery life in both the earbuds and the charging case itself. Engadget argued the pricing gap between the two versions makes the cheaper base model a difficult sell given how much additional functionality the wireless charging case version provides for a relatively modest price increase, going so far as to argue Apple should have offered only a single AirPods 5 configuration rather than splitting the lineup.
Apple also improved the AirPods 5’s durability compared with the prior generation, raising the water resistance rating from IP54 on the AirPods 4 to IP57 on the new model, according to multiple reviews. That upgraded rating means the AirPods 5 can now withstand full submersion in up to one meter of water for as long as 30 minutes, a meaningful improvement for users concerned about exposure to sweat during workouts or accidental drops in water.
Not every aspect of the AirPods 5 drew universal praise. Tom’s Guide specifically flagged battery life as a weak point of the earbuds, describing it as “abysmal” relative to the rest of the package, even as the outlet concluded the earbuds’ other strengths, including sound quality, comfort, fit, smart features and noise cancellation, ultimately outweighed that particular shortcoming for casual listeners.
The AirPods 5 also introduce live translation capabilities for users with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone, a feature that relies directly on the earbuds’ active noise cancellation hardware to function, according to Engadget’s reporting. That means, unlike with the AirPods 4 lineup, both AirPods 5 configurations now support live translation, since Apple has made active noise cancellation a standard feature across the entire AirPods 5 range rather than reserving it for a higher-tier model.
Taken together, the body of reviews published since the AirPods 5’s release points to a broad consensus that Apple has delivered a genuine step forward for its standard, non-Pro earbuds lineup, combining meaningfully improved noise cancellation, upgraded sound quality, better water resistance and new AI-powered features at a lower starting price than any prior AirPods generation, even as reviewers continue to caution that the open-ear design means individual comfort and effectiveness will still vary considerably depending on how well the earbuds fit a given listener’s ears.
