Apple AirPods 4 with ANC

Same here. And I was seriously impressed with how much noise cancelling the v4 can do. I will be seriously impressed again if the v5 is as much better as they claim.

I bought the AirPods 4 with ANC in large part due to the Wireless Charging Case.

I really hate silicone tip earbuds and the AirPods 4 with ANC were game changing. Having ANC without the silicone tips was just huge for me. It's obviously not as good as having the passive isolation of the silicone as well, but it's plenty good for airplanes and trains. Are there non-Apple alternatives that also accomplish this?

The connection type has nothing to do with it though. Modern bluetooth is basically transparent with 256kbps AAC, like you'd have to be an omega-expert listening in a silent room to identify it vs lossless. Certainly the difference you're noticing is just the headphone quality. Honestly for me the Airpods 4 with ANC are one of the greatest feats of audio engineering ever. For such a tiny form factor they reproduce really great sound, big soundstage, AND they have good ANC without needing a closed earbud seal. They also have internal mics that listen to the response of your ear to adjust the sound profile, which you can hear happen in real time after bumping the earbuds. Obviously you can get better sound if you make different tradeoffs and wear over-ears, but they are absolutely cutting edge for what they are.

I have searched far and wide and have found nothing. I haven't even found a basic-functionality wired earbud that matches the AirPods frequency reproduction.

I had a fit issue with Airpods Pro 2 in my left ear. It would always pop out after 20 minutes of rowing. I tried different ear tips, but none of them really worked. ANC is only medium-important to me, so I'm using Airpods 4 with ANC. Concurring with sibling, AZLA does make good aftermarket tips. I have my Airpods Pro 2 in my work bag and still use their "crystal" tips.

I had to return my AirPods Pro 3. I upgraded from AirPods 4 with ANC and they were worse in every department I could see. I assume battery life is better, but I've never ran out of battery anyway. I've never much got on with in-ear rubber tips, and these were no different to any I've tried, despite reviews stating they were super comfortable. My left ear is also worse to get it fitting right than my right ear. I have tried every size provided, none seem right. A grimace in the gym is enough to unseat even the most secure fit/seal, in either ear. My main gripes specifically with AirPods Pro 3, which I've not seen in any other review; - Because the rubber tips vary in size, the case has to accommodate the largest. This means if you're using small tips, there's a lot of spare room, which means the AirPods can easily be mis-seated, breaking the charge connection. - The case is substantially bigger than AirPods 4 with ANC. I would say ~40%. - The volume swipe on the stalk action is very tricky to trigger. - Any stalk action is a bad idea when it's so easy to unseat them. I skip songs with a double press regularly, and nearly every time I had to push in and rotate after.

No I said it wasn’t technically possible on any cheap headphones because while the processing was done on the phone, the audio capture was done by the outside microphones on Apple headphones that have ANC and even the older ones of those required Apple to update the firmware on its own AirPods working in concert. This is no different than Google not supporting just any old headphones. Then the argument came that Apple’s AirPods are “overpriced” even though the cheapest AirPods that support it - AirPods 4 with ANC are in the same price range as Google’s and cheaper than the worse sounding and more expensive Sony Earbuds.