{"id":37572,"date":"2022-11-04T17:34:41","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T21:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=37572"},"modified":"2024-05-15T11:03:14","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T15:03:14","slug":"reduced-airpods-noise-cancellation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2022\/11\/04\/reduced-airpods-noise-cancellation\/","title":{"rendered":"Reduced AirPods Noise Cancellation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sami Fathi<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Apple’s $550 over-ear AirPods Max headphones are less effective at blocking out outside noise when using Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) following their latest firmware update, according to results from a detailed audio test.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

The decrease in ANC effectiveness was highlighted in an article by The Verge<\/a><\/em> last month following months of discussion and complaints from AirPods Max users on Reddit and other discussion forums.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

M. Brandon Lee<\/a> (via Scott<\/a>):<\/p>\n

\n

Some interesting research shows that the reduction in ANC quality on Apple’s products is not planned obsolescence but the result of a Patent Troll.<\/p>\n

Apple cannot talk about it as it is an ongoing case.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

facingcondor<\/a>:<\/p>\n

It appears that Apple is quietly replacing or removing the noise cancellation tech in all of their products to protect themselves in an ongoing patent lawsuit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There’s a detailed timeline.<\/p>\n\n

I have no way of doing an A-B test, but my general sense is that noise cancellation with my AirPods Pro has been less effective for about a year, and that accords with this test by Rtings<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

After updating this [AirPod Pro] firmware, our results showed a fairly significant drop in isolation performance, primarily in the bass range. This means that with ANC turned on, they won’t do nearly as good a job blocking out the low engine rumbles of planes or buses as they did before this update. Our latest retest uses firmware update 4A400, released in October 2021, which shows that their overall noise isolation performance has been further weakened.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n