AirPods 4 feel worse than AirPods 3

[Andrey84]

I received my AirPods 4 with ANC one week ago.

When buying, I thought it was strange they have several extra big features and are still cheaper than the AirPods 3, accounted for the 20% inflation over 3 years. The price was £169 in Oct 2021, £203 adjusted for inflation, vs £180 in Oct 2024.

AirPods 4 feel like a cheaper and a lower quality product than the AirPods 3 to me.

My issues:
1. The sound feels much less natural compared to AirPods 3. Feels like lots of post-processing is going on.
2. Even with ANC and all the advanced features OFF, I hear a constant quiet hissing noise when nothing is being played.
3. When I put the AirPods on, they make a louder hissing noise for 2 seconds as if ANC were on, but then realise it's off, and then the noise is off (and back to quite hissing from point 2).
4. There was no need for the smaller case. Now it's more difficult to take them out of the case, and we missed out on an improved battery.
5. The AidPods' shape is worse for me personally, a more snug fit which I don't appreciate.

There are certainly improvements over the previous generation, but I won't focus on those, as these don't compensate for the issues.

I'm seriously considering returning them and keeping my AirPods 3.
I don't want to try the Pros due to them being in-ear.
AirPods 4 without ANC don't have wireless charging, but I might try them to see if the hissing with ANC off is still there.

What is your experience?

Any thoughts and comments are welcome.

 

[one more]

Well, for fitting I really like mine as they feel less obtrusive than AP3 to my ears and I hardly notice them.

Sound-wise I also prefer them to AP3, as the sound seems much deeper, probably due to an improved bass stage. With ANC on and nothing playing there is indeed a light background hiss (to me it sounds like a sea humming far away), yet the hiss disappears with Transparency or Adaptive mode on and I obviously cannot hear it with anything playing. Either way, I do not use ANC much, except when I travel, so won’t be exposed to the hissing. Also, Apple might further fine-tune the hardware down the road, making the his even less noticeable, as it was much more obvious with the original firmware.

Finally, it is not that we have much choice there - like you I used AP3 before the battery in the left one went toast. Wanting to keep all the Apple bonuses (Spacial Audio, etc,), I tried Beats Solo 4 for one week, which were very good, but were putting so much mechanical pressure on my ear that I could not use them for longer than 15 minutes. AirPods Max are more comfortable to wear, but much heavier. AirPods Pro 2 create a weird pressure in my ears. Third party products, while sounding better, lasting longer, etc., do not offer the same level compatibility between our Apple devices.

So, personally, I am gonna use AP4+ANC for their useful lifespan of 2-3 years and by then Apple might come up with something better. ✌️

PC - I have just re-read your post and it sounds like you can hear hissing even with the ANC off? This is not normal, so make sure you have the latest firmware (7B19) on them.

 

[Andrey84]

Well, for fitting I really like mine as they feel less obtrusive than AP3 to my ears and I hardly notice them.

Sound-wise I also prefer them to AP3, as the sound seems much deeper, probably due to an improved bass stage. With ANC on and nothing playing there is indeed a light background hiss (to me it sounds like a sea humming far away), yet the hiss disappears with Transparency or Adaptive mode on and I obviously cannot hear it with anything playing. Either way, I do not use ANC much, except when I travel, so won’t be exposed to the hissing. Also, Apple might further fine-tune the hardware down the road, making the his even less noticeable, as it was much more obvious with the original firmware.

Finally, it is not that we have much choice there - like you I used AP3 before the battery in the left one went toast. Wanting to keep all the Apple bonuses (Spacial Audio, etc,), I tried Beats Solo 4 for one week, which were very good, but were putting so much mechanical pressure on my ear that I could not use them for longer than 15 minutes. AirPods Max are more comfortable to wear, but much heavier. AirPods Pro 2 create a weird pressure in my ears. Third party products, while sounding better, lasting longer, etc., do not offer the same level compatibility between our Apple devices.

So, personally, I am gonna use AP4+ANC for their useful lifespan of 2-3 years and by then Apple might come up with something better. ✌️

PC - I have just re-read your post and it sounds like you can hear hissing even with the ANC off? This is not normal, so make sure you have the latest firmware (7B19) on them.

Thank you for your thoughts. Glad these work for you.
Yes, I hear the hissing even when ANC is off. It's much lower volume compared to the hissing when ANC is On.
This is why I want to return them. Yes, it's the 7B19 firmware.
I might try and check if the non-ANC version has the same hissing or not. If not, will revert back to AP3.

 

[Jackbequickly]

I also had hissing but after the latest update it is hard to hear the hissing any more. It was a 99% improvement for me. The 4s are light years ahead on my old 3s and am shocked at how well the ANC works considering the ear canal is not sealed.

 

[Andrey84]

I also had hissing but after the latest update it is hard to hear the hissing any more. It was a 99% improvement for me. The 4s are light years ahead on my old 3s and am shocked at how well the ANC works considering the ear canal is not sealed.

Thank you for your comment. Do you notice any hissing when ANC is Off (and no music is on either)?

 

[Jackbequickly]

Thank you for your comment. Do you notice any hissing when ANC is Off (and no music is on either)?

I am sorry I have only used mine with ANC on. Only time I could hear the hiss was a high volume when there was no music.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Sound is better on the 3, but the fit of the 3 was terrible for me so it kinda doesn’t matter.

SQ only matters if I actually want to wear them, which is only true for me on the 4

 

[Andrey84]

Sound is better on the 3, but the fit of the 3 was terrible for me so it kinda doesn’t matter.

SQ only matters if I actually want to wear them, which is only true for me on the 4

Thank for saying that the sound is better on the 3s, I do feel the same.
For me, the fit is better on the 3s as well - I like the loose fit.

So I already returned the AirPods 4 and will only buy them if my 3s break... Hopefully, they can last for 3 more years, so I can jump to the 5th generation right away