AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation vs Beats Studio Buds Plus: How to spend $180?

You have an iPhone, and you have a budget of $180. Should you get the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation or the Beats Studio Buds Plus? Let’s find out.

Editor’s note: this article was published on September 27, 2024, and is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

What’s it like to use the AirPods 4 with ANC compared to the Beats Studio Buds +?

The biggest differences between the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation and the Beats Studio Buds Plus are in design. The AirPods 4 retain the classic AirPods unsealed design with a stem that protrudes towards your cheek. Since the AirPods 4 don’t come with any swappable ear tips, this is a one-size-fits-all affair. If the AirPods 4 don’t fit the shape of your ears, you’re pretty much out of luck, unless you look for AirPods accessories.

On the other hand, the Beats Studio Buds Plus come with four different sizes of ear tips to ensure that you get a snug fit. The Buds themselves are also smaller without a stem protruding out of your ear. Additionally, the Beats Studio Buds Plus come in a wide variety of colors, whereas the AirPods are still only available in white.

The AirPods 4 have IP54 dust and water resistance, whereas the Beats Studio Buds Plus just have IPX4 water resistance. This means you can’t fully submerge either in water, but they will survive a sweaty workout just fine.

Do the AirPods 4 with ANC or Beats Studio Buds + have more features?

The AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation have tons of features to explore within iOS. Within the Settings app, you can adjust noise control, change the controls, and enable features like Personalized Spatial Audio, Automatic Ear Detection, Adaptive Audio, and Personalized Volume. Swipe into control center on your device and you’ll find quick toggles for noise cancellation, Conversation Awareness, and Spatial Audio head tracking. If you lose your AirPods, you can head to the Find My app to track them down.

Since Apple owns Beats, the Beats Studio Buds Plus also integrate directly into the Apple ecosystem, giving you the option to use Spatial Audio or quickly switch noise canceling modes. Alternatively, if you have an Android phone, you can download the Beats app. The app enables features such as customizing the controls, adjusting ANC, installing firmware updates, and tracking lost earbuds.

In summary, the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation have more features for Apple device owners, whereas the Beats Studio Buds Plus work better on Android.

How do the AirPods 4 with ANC and Beats Studio Buds + connect?

If you have multiple Apple devices, the AirPods 4 with ANC and Beats Studio Buds Plus will both automatically connect to all of your devices after pairing to one. Both have support for Bluetooth 5.3 SBC and AAC connections. We didn’t experience any connection issues with either the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation or the Beats Studio Buds Plus.

Is battery life better on the AirPods 4 with ANC or Beats Studio Buds +?

In our battery testing, the AirPods 4 lasted 6 hours and 21 minutes on a single charge without ANC enabled. Your usage will vary if you use ANC, transparency mode, or listen at various volume levels. On the other hand, the Beats Studio Buds Plus lasted 8 hours and 22 minutes with ANC on. Either way, both have enough charge to get you through a day of normal use.

The charging cases of each provide a few extra charges. The Beats Studio Buds Plus only charge via USB-C, whereas the Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation charge over USB-C, Qi wireless charging, or Apple Watch chargers.

Do the AirPods 4 with ANC or Beats Studio Buds + block noise better?

The Beats Studio Buds Plus block out more noise than the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. This is simply because of the silicon ear tips on the Beats Studio Buds Plus that create a physical barrier in your ears. Thanks to that tight seal, the Beats Studio Buds Plus reduce the average of external noise by an average of 80% with ANC enabled.

While the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation don’t block out as much noise, they still perform pretty well considering their unsealed design. They reduce the loudness of external noise by an average of 53%. This is far better than other unsealed earbuds, like the Samsung Galaxy Buds3.

Do the AirPods 4 with ANC sound better than the Beats Studio Buds +?

The Beats Studio Buds have more of an emphasis on bass and treble than the AirPods 4. Comparitively, the AirPods 4 have more detail in the mids than the Beats Studio Buds Plus. That said, your experience with the AirPods 4 will be very dependent on how well the unsealed design fits in your ears. If the AirPods do not fit your ears well, the low-end will severely suffer.

Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)

The Beats Studio Buds Plus get an excellent score of 4.8 on a scale from 1-5, whereas the AirPods 4 have an average score of 3.6. In particular, the Beats Studio Buds Plus score much higher in Timbre, likely due to the fact they have significantly more sub-bass. According to a simulated panel of hundreds of listeners, more people prefer the sound of the Beats Studio Buds Plus than that of the AirPods 4.

Objective Measurements

As you can see in the chart above, the AirPods 4 are lacking in sub-bass frequencies below 100Hz compared to the Beats Studio Buds Plus and our headphone preference curve. If you want thumping bass, you’ll definitely prefer the sound of the Beats Studio Buds Plus. The Beats Studio Buds Plus also have more treble from 3-6kHz. On the other hand, the AirPods 4 have more mids around 200-600Hz compared to the Beats Studio Buds Plus.

Do the AirPods 4 with ANC or Beats Studio Buds + have a better microphone?

The AirPods 4 and Beats Studio Buds Plus each have capable microphones for taking calls. The AirPods 4 seem better at noise rejection, though your experience will vary depending on device you are connected to.

AirPods 4 with ANC microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Beats Studio Buds + microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

AirPods 4 with ANC microphone demo (Office conditions):

Beats Studio Buds + microphone demo (Office conditions):

AirPods 4 with ANC vs Beats Studio Buds +: Price and availability

The AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation have a starting price of $179, right in line with the $169 starting price of the Beats Studio Buds Plus. Since the Beats Studio Buds Plus are older, you are more likely to find them on sale. Both have widespread availability at retailers.

Should you get the AirPods 4 with ANC or Beats Studio Buds +?

Should you get the AirPods Pro 2 instead?

If you don’t want to make any sacrifices, and want the best of both worlds, check out the AirPods Pro 2 instead ($189.99 at Amazon). In our Beats Studio Buds Plus vs Apple AirPods Pro 2 comparison, we found the AirPods Pro 2 are the better option for iPhone users, if you are willing to cough up the extra $80. On the other hand, the Beats Studio Buds Plus are the better value, especially if you have Android devices.

In our AirPods 4 with ANC vs AirPods Pro 2 comparison, we showed that the AirPods Pro 2 are superior, as long as you don’t mind the ear tips. If you really don’t like inserting things into your ear canals, you can stick with the AirPods 4. The features are pretty much identical, except for the fact that you can only use the AirPods Pro 2 as a hearing aid.

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