Review: Apple's $149 AirPods 5 Undercut the Model They Replace and Add On-Stem Volume Control

The AirPods 5 line again has two models, but both now include active noise cancellation. Both also offer adaptive audio, transparency mode, live translation when paired with an iPhone 15 Pro or later, and an IP57 rating, up from IP54 on the AirPods 4. The differences between the $129 AirPods 5 and the $149 version with the wireless charging case come down to volume controls, battery life and $20, The Verge said. The wireless charging case is not MagSafe, but it works with the magnetic Apple Watch charger.

Apple says both models deliver up to 50 percent better noise cancellation than the AirPods 4 with ANC, though the company did not specify which frequencies are affected, according to the review. The earbuds keep the same size and appearance, but Apple redesigned the internal acoustic architecture, reworked its algorithm and added denser mesh over the ports for slightly more passive attenuation. In the reviewer's own testing, the improvement was minor, both against low-end airplane drone and in a busy restaurant.

The AirPods 4 with ANC already canceled noise better than other open-ear designs the reviewer had heard, particularly clip-style earbuds, and the AirPods 5 improve on that, the review said. It cautioned that they do not match the isolation of sealed earbuds such as the AirPods Pro 3, which are often discounted to about $50 more.

The review described transparency mode as close to indistinguishable from wearing no earbuds at all. Verge laptop reviewer Antonio Di Benedetto wore the AirPods 5 on a 5K run and preferred transparency mode to noise cancellation, finding it gave good awareness without wind noise while the earbuds stayed secure.

The redesigned internals also helped sound quality, with more bass response than the AirPods 4 and clearer vocals that are less muted. The Verge cited Kim Deal's singing on the Pixies' "Gigantic" as easy to follow amid the distorted guitars, and praised the separation of instruments and voices across the album "Surfer Rosa." Apple has added a three-band EQ in iOS 27 that also works with the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods Max 2; the review said the bands do not change the sound profile dramatically but are a welcome addition.

Call quality is also better than on the AirPods 4. Voices sounded somewhat compressed to the people the reviewer spoke with, but they had no difficulty understanding him, and traffic noise was imperceptible.

The Verge listed below-average battery life and Apple's confusing naming convention among the drawbacks. It concluded that the $20 gap between the two AirPods 5 models makes the extra spending worthwhile for the volume controls and wireless charging case, and questioned why Apple released the base version at all.

Editor's Summary

Apple's AirPods 5 keep the open-ear design but push noise cancellation, sound quality and call performance past the AirPods 4, and add on-stem volume controls to a non-Pro model for the first time. The $149 wireless-charging version costs $30 less than the model it replaces, leaving the $129 base version with little reason to exist. The Verge still flagged below-average battery life and a muddled product lineup as weaknesses.