The inclusion of ANC in both AirPods 5 models is the biggest upgrade here. You no longer have to pay extra just to get noise cancellation, and even the $129 model is a better deal than the standard AirPods 4 were at launch. Both versions also support Conversation Awareness, Live Translation, and Spatial Audio, along with Apple’s Siri features.

And, for semi- open earbuds , the AirPods 5 have exceptional ANC. Apple says the noise cancellation removes up to 50 percent more external noise than the AirPods 4 with ANC, due to a redesigned multi-port acoustic architecture and improved audio processing. I can’t verify that percentage, but the improvement was noticeable during my testing.

I was especially impressed on a domestic flight, where the AirPods 5 did a stellar job at suppressing the sound of the airplane engines.…