Improved sound quality and noise cancellation are welcome, but your opinion of the Apple AirPods 5 will depend on how well they fit your ears.
It’s been 10 years since the first iconic AirPods were released, followed three years later by the AirPods Pro sporting noise cancellation. As is Apple’s way, Pro features gradually trickle down to the standard variants.
This time round, Apple has released two new models: the $219 ‘AirPods 5’ and $249 ‘AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case’. Both cases have a built-in battery to recharge the earbuds. As the name suggests, the main difference is that the latter’s carry case supports wireless charging – but there are other key improvements which make it worth spending the extra 30 bucks.
Technically, this is a review of the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case, but to keep things simple I’ll just call them the AirPods 5.
Apple AirPods 5 first impressions
At first glance, the Apple AirPods 5 look the same as their predecessors. They stick with the AirPods Pro-style stout stems introduced with the AirPods 3, as well as the smaller earbuds introduced with the AirPods 4 to fit smaller ears.
Sticking with the AirPods 4’s smaller earbuds also allows the AirPods 5 to stick with the AirPods 4’s more compact charging case. It’s a fraction taller than the Pro case, but only three-quarters the width.
Whether you consider smaller AirPods earbuds an improvement depends on the size of your ears.
I found the old AirPods 3 to be a comfortable fit, but my wife and daughter found their bulk uncomfortable. Now, I find that the smaller AirPods 4/5 earbuds feel strange because they are too small to fit firmly in my ears.
Part of the problem is that the standard AirPods lack the silicone tips used by the Pro models.
The AirPods Pro 3 come with a choice of five foam-infused silicone ear tips. Not only does this help you find a comfortable fit, but it ensures they reach further into your ear to ensure a better seal, which improve their noise cancelling abilities by passively blocking more outside sound.
To be fair, some people find silicone tips awkward and would consider the AirPods 5 more comfortable to wear for extended periods.
The AirPods 5’s one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for me. I could get used to the fact they feel loose in my ears, and perhaps even to the fact I can sometimes hear the wind blowing through them because they’re not snug. But I can’t get past the amount of outside noise which bleeds through – despite the active noise cancellation – simply because they’re not a tight fit.
Like their immediate predecessors, the AirPods 5 are available in two models, but what separates them has changed.
The $299 ‘AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation’ were Apple’s first non-Pro earbuds to introduce noise cancellation, although they also lacked the silicone tips used by the Pro models to help block outside noise.
Meanwhile, the basic $219 AirPods 4 missed out on active noise cancellation. Their carry case also lacked wireless charging and a speaker for Find My, so they couldn’t beep to help you find them when they fell down the back of the couch.
This time, both new AirPods models feature active noise cancellation. Compared to the basic $219 AirPods 5, the $249 AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case still adds wireless charging and a Find My speaker to the carry case. As before, the Qi‑certified wireless charging works with an Apple Watch charger but not a wireless MagSafe charger.
Both models carry over the force sensor on the stems to manage playback and calls, but the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case also inherits volume swipe on the stem from the Pro models. Disappointingly for some, the heart rate sensor for workouts still hasn’t trickled down from the Pro models.
Perhaps the most significant difference between the two new models is that AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case earbuds offer five hours of ANC playback and seven hours without, which is an hour longer than the basic AirPods 5.
This alone might be worth the extra $30 if you struggle to make it between recharges. The standard AirPods 5 battery life is underwhelming compared to other noise-cancelling earbuds.
Apple AirPods 5 specifications and price
| Processor | H2 headphone chip |
| Sensors | Dual beamforming microphones Inward-facing microphone Optical in-ear sensor Motion-detecting accelerometer Speech-detecting accelerometer Force sensor AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case: Force sensor with volume swipe |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Codecs | AAC, AAC-ELD and SBC |
| Features | Active Noise Cancellation Adaptive Audio Transparency mode Conversation Awareness Voice Isolation Personalised Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking Adaptive EQ AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case: Find My speaker |
| Ruggedness | Dust, sweat, and water resistant (IP57) |
| Charging | AirPods 5: USB-C AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case: USB‑C, Apple Watch charger or Qi‑certified charger 5 minutes in the case provides around 1 hour of battery life |
| Battery | AirPods 5: Earbuds: Up to 4 hours with ANC, 6 hours without Plus charge case: up to 20 hours with ANC AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case: Earbuds: Up to 5 hours with ANC, 7 hours without Plus charge case: up to 22 hours with ANC |
| Dimensions | Each bud: 30.2 x 18.3 x 18.1 mm Charge case: 46.2 x 50.1 x 21.2 mm |
| Weight | Each bud: 4.3 gm Charging case: 32.3 gm Wireless charging case: 34.7 gm |
| Price | $219 RRP AirPods 5 $249 RRP AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case |
| Warranty | 1 year |
| Official website | Apple Australia |
Features
The Apple AirPods 5 retain the same H2 processing chip as the AirPods 4, but Apple has still managed to improve the audio quality and throw in extra usability features.
Head tracking still works with spatial audio, but now it also allows you to interact with Siri with a simple nod or shake of your head – useful for answering or dismissing calls, as well as engaging with notifications.
This could be particularly helpful as Siri gets smarter, with the more capable Siri AI rolling out in beta in iOS 27. Plus, you’ve got support for Live Translation introduced with iOS 26.
The AirPods 5 are also tougher, stepping up from IP54 to inherit the AirPods Pro’s IP57 ruggedness. Whereas before they were splashproof, now the AirPods 5 and their case are designed to survive at a maximum depth of one metre for up to 30 minutes. They’re considered water-resistant rather than fully waterproof, so still treat them with care.
Other improvements come down to a new acoustic design and improved audio processing, with Apple claiming “the industry’s best Active Noise Cancellation in an open-ear design”.
By open-ear, Apple means earbuds without a silicone tip to seal the ear canal and help block external noise. It’s worth noting that the AirPods Pro 3 come with five pairs of ear tips in the box, which makes a big difference when it comes to getting a good fit and improving the noise cancellation.
Apple says the AirPods 5’s improved active noise cancellation removes up to 50 per cent more external noise compared to AirPods 4, while helping Transparency Mode sound more natural. Like the Pro models, Adaptive Transparency intelligently adjusts the volume of different noises.
You’ve still got Conversation Awareness to automatically lower the volume and boost voices when you start speaking, so you can talk to people without removing an earbud. You’ll soon switch it off if you tend to talk to yourself all day.
You still miss out on the Pro’s Conversation Boost, which makes it easier to make out voices in a noisy environment like the pub
In terms of design, the AirPods 5 rely on an all-new multiport acoustic architecture “inspired by AirPods Pro 3” to deliver richer bass, clearer vocals and better separation of instruments. There’s also the benefit of Adaptive EQ, which adjusts the tuning based on how the earbuds fit in your ear.
Quality
When it comes to active noise cancellation, your mileage will vary considerably depending on how snugly the AirPods 5 fit in your ears.
Active noise cancellation works best when dealing with consistent background sounds. For example, the constant white noise of a loud kitchen exhaust fan or outside rain.
It struggles more with individual sounds. While dulling an exhaust fan, but struggles with other kitchen noises like clattering glassware. Similarly, it blocks the steady white noise of outside rain but still lets through the loud, inconsistent sound of individual raindrops hitting the window or water dripping from the gutters.
That’s why active noise cancellation works best in conjunction with a snug-fitting silicone tip, which passively muffles those inconsistent sounds that the audio processing fails to block.
This difference is very clear when switching between the AirPods 5 and old AirPods Pro 2 (although, to be fair, the Pros 2 also have better noise cancellation).
Standing next to the white noise of a loud exhaust fan, the AirPods 5 come close to matching the AirPods Pro 2’s noise cancellation, although the AirPods 5 let through a bit more high-end hiss. (In a quiet room, you notice they actually produce more hiss than the Pros).
It’s a very different story during a heavy rain or when you’re cooking up a storm. Wearing the AirPods Pro 2, you’d barely realise it was raining, or anything else was happening in the kitchen. Switching to the AirPods 5 still deals well with the white noise, but suddenly all those inconsistent sounds are a lot more noticeable.
It’s a similar story in a noisy cafe, where you’re dealing with a chaotic mix of constant and inconsistent sounds. It dulls noise but isn’t great if you’re looking to reduce distractions.
Well, at least I can hear all those other noises clearly, because the AirPods 5 are too small for my ears to offer that important passive noise muffling. Things should improve if they fit perfectly in your ears, but you’ll never get the same results as with earbuds that feature silicone tips.
When it comes to music playback, the Apple AirPods 5 perform admirably, delivering full-bodied sound with clearer highs and decent bass, which isn’t too heavy and doesn’t get murky when someone drops a fat beat.
You’ve also got the advantage of user-adjustable EQ, although only three bands, which has also been added to earlier models thanks to a software update.
Who is the Apple AirPods 5 for?
If you would rather not cough up $429 for the AirPods Pro 3, the Apple AirPods 5 offer great wireless audio and reasonable noise cancellation, with the added advantage of tight Apple integration, including access to Siri.
They’re an improvement on the AirPods 4, but if great noise cancellation is your primary concern, then you’ll want to look to earbuds that come with a selection of silicone tips.
The post Apple AirPods 5 review: Fit for purpose appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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