Apple Explains How AirPods 4 Feature 'Great' Active Noise Cancellation Without Ear Tips
In a recent interview with Engadget, Apple's vice president of hardware engineering Kate Bergeron and AirPods marketing director Eric Treski explained how the company was able to add "great" active noise cancellation (ANC) to the higher-end AirPods 4, even though the earbuds have an "open-ear design" without silicone ear tips.
Apple said the H2 chip and "computational audio" were significant factors in adding ANC to the standard AirPods for the first time.
"It's even computationally more intense in many ways than it is with the AirPods Pro," said Bergeron, in regards to ANC on the AirPods 4.
"It's really, really hard to create this great ANC quality in a non-ear-tip product," said Treski. "The power of the H2 allows that, so we're actually doing a lot with the H2 chip to manage ANC quality and listen from the mics for environmental noise to make sure we're canceling as much as possible."
Apple said the revised shape and acoustic architecture of the AirPods 4 also contributes to the earbuds having effective ANC.
The full interview offers additional details about how Apple designed the AirPods 4, which became available in stores today. There are two types of AirPods 4, with only the higher-end $179 ones offering active noise cancellation.
Popular Stories
Apple is working on a new iPad mini that will "potentially" be released "by the end of 2024," according to a report today from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Last month, Gurman reported that Apple had "new iPads in the works," including an upgraded version of the iPad mini. At the time, he said the device was "on deck for Apple's October event" alongside the first M4 Macs. The wording in his...
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Apple plans to release new MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini models with the M4 series of chips "this year," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman initially said these Macs would likely be announced during a virtual event this October, but he has been more vague about the timing lately, with wording such as "in the coming weeks" and now merely "this year." In any case, it is clear that...
Apple is set to release iOS 18.1 in October, bringing the first set of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update marks a significant step forward in Apple's AI integration, offering a new Siri contextually-aware experience and a range of additional capabilities powered by on-device machine learning and large language models. There are a couple of handy new...
Apple's budget-friendly iPhone SE is set for a major overhaul with a fourth generation model expected to launch in spring 2025. The upcoming model will mark a significant departure from its predecessors, adopting several features from higher-end iPhones while maintaining its position as the most affordable new model in Apple's lineup. According to recent reports, the iPhone SE 4 will sport a ...
Apple plans to release a new iPhone SE with Apple Intelligence support, new iPad Air models, and an updated Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air at some point "early next year," according to a report today from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The next iPhone SE will have a similar design as the iPhone 14, including an edge-to-edge screen with a notch, according to Gurman. This means the device will...
Apple will likely hold another event in October this year to announce new Macs and iPads. If so, it would be the fourth time in the last five years that Apple has held an event in October. Last year, Apple held a virtual event on Monday, October 30 to announce new MacBook Pro and iMac models with the M3 series of chips. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we...
Following the release of iOS 18 for the iPhone last month, Apple is preparing to release iOS 18.0.1 with bug fixes in the near future. We previously reported that Apple has been internally testing iOS 18.0.1, and today a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing iOS-related information said the update will have a build number of 22A3370. We expect iOS 18.0.1 to be a minor ...
