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The key updates that make AirPods 4 block sound better — and just sound better

Improved sound quality and the addition of ANC are key upgrades on the AirPods 4, but there are specific reasons why both of those are effective.

The headline feature of the AirPods 4 may be active noise cancellation (ANC), but Apple has done well to improve the overall audio quality in addition to blocking environmental sounds. I've reviewed dozens of sets of earbuds over the years, and after a few minutes with the AirPods 4, I would argue the company is the first to actually employ noise cancelling in a way that's actually helpful while not fully sealing off your ears. There could be a number of reasons why I couldn't hear my voice come through as clearly on this new model, including the fact that the demo room was wall-to-wall with journalists all raucously vying for the same limited real estate.

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