AirPods 5
Apple (video, MacRumors, Hacker News):
Apple today announced AirPods 5, delivering the industry’s best Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) in an open-ear design and even better sound quality, at an outstanding value. AirPods 5 feature an all-new multiport acoustic architecture and next-generation Adaptive EQ for even more immersive sound. Their breakthrough open-ear ANC removes up to 50 percent more external noise compared to AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, alongside a more natural Transparency mode. Combined with Siri AI and iPhone, AirPods enable users to draw on their personal context and get answers with broad world knowledge, entirely hands-free. Users can also respond to Siri using head gestures, or use Live Translation to help connect across languages.
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For users who want even more, AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case deliver great improvements to the AirPods experience. Force sensor with volume swipe arrives on AirPods 5, a first for the open-ear form factor, adding the ability to quickly adjust volume by swiping up or down on the stem.
Battery life is also improved, with up to five hours of playback with ANC on a single charge — one hour longer than AirPods 4 with ANC, thanks to a redesigned battery.
ANC is now available in the base model with the same $129 price, and the higher model is now $149 instead of $179.
Apple unveiled the first AirPods on September 7, 2016, meaning the iconic wireless headphones are now 10 years old. However, the AirPods did not launch until December that year.
Previously:
Update (2026-09-10): Ivan Pavlov:
AirPods 5 case not getting UWB for “Find My” precise location is a huge 👎️
Update (2026-09-17): John Gruber:
Just like with AirPods 4, Apple continues to make two different products under the same name.
[…]
I found the new AirPods 5 with full noise cancellation to be roughly equivalent to the AirPods Pro 3 in Adaptive mode. That’s pretty good, and makes the ambient noise level in an airplane much more pleasant. But the full noise cancellation mode of the AirPods Pro 3 delivers an entire step change in noise reduction that the open-ear AirPods 5 cannot match.
The AirPods 5 case doesn’t have MagSafe magnets (the case is seemingly too small), only magnets for the Apple Watch puck. AirPods Pro cases have magnets to attach to both pucks.
2 Comments RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
I wonder why they keep doing these frequent updates of the regular AirPods, but hardly any substantial updates of the AirPods Pro? From everything I read about the AirPods Pro 3 update, the reviews concluded "Only buy these if you don't already own AirPods Pro 2. Otherwise, there's no noticeable difference."
@Ben G Strange reviews if true. I had two pairs of the APP2, and when I destroyed one with toilet water by accident, got the APP3. Conclusion: audio quality *slightly* compromised in some circumstances, but battery life and water-resistance noticeably improved. Having both totally worth it to me as makeshift hearing aids and for all-day use. YMMV, of course, but I'd never go back to the non-Pro moulded pods which I'm surprised they're still bothering with, but which I can appreciate have a much more tolerable price range and conventional earbud fit. I wish they were iterated faster, sure, but honestly they're great.
