I've Always Bought AirPods Pro, But AirPods 5 Might Be My New Pick

For as long as they've been available, I've always bought AirPods Pro, and I'm currently using AirPods Pro 3. The regular AirPods models have been getting closer to the Pros with each new release, but every generation has left out features I'd have missed, so paying extra for the Pro felt like a relatively easy decision. AirPods 5, however, are the first AirPods model to make me reconsider, mostly because of the incredible value for money they offer.

Apple's new AirPods 5 now include Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) as standard at $129. That's the same price as the base AirPods 4, which launched without ANC.

Getting ANC last time meant paying slightly more for the separate $179 AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, so Apple has essentially cut the cost of noise cancellation on its more affordable wireless buds by $50. This is particularly appealing because it happened at the same time Apple raised prices for the iPhone 18 Pro.

Apple says AirPods 5 remove up to 50% more noise than AirPods 4 with ANC, thanks to improved computational audio. The acoustic design and Adaptive EQ were inspired by AirPods Pro 3, and the Pro-style listening modes carry over as well, with a more natural-sounding Transparency mode, Adaptive Audio that blends Transparency, ANC based on your surroundings, and Conversation Awareness to lower your music when you start talking. I'll have to wait until I get my hands on AirPods 5 to properly judge the noise cancellation, but on paper, that's most of the AirPods Pro listening experience for roughly half the price.

Most of the AirPods Pro software features work on the cheaper pair, too. Hands-free Siri AI works on all AirPods, Live Translation is now available across the whole lineup, and AirPods 5 lets you respond to Siri by nodding or shaking your head. My iPhone 17 Pro Max supports Apple's Siri AI in iOS 27, which launches on September 14 and unlocks extra features like expressive Siri voices. I can use those regardless of which AirPods model I have in my ears.

If I do switch to AirPods 5, the $149 model with a wireless charging case and on-stem volume control is the model I'll buy. The $129 version gets up to four hours of listening with ANC on, while a redesigned battery in the $149 model adds an extra hour, for up to five hours with ANC and 22 hours with the case. Volume swipes on the stem are a first for Apple's open-ear AirPods. Even with all of those improvements, the $149 AirPods 5 model costs $30 less than the AirPods 4 with ANC did at launch.

Apple claims AirPods 5 are industry-best open-ear earbuds and compared them against the bestselling open-ear headphones available when it ran its tests. AirPods 5 still have no ear tips, though, so nothing seals your ear canal, and outside noise can slip in around the earbud. AirPods Pro 3 comes with foam-infused ear tips, adding passive isolation before ANC does any work. The ear tips even come with five different sizes in the box, so you can get the perfect fit for your ears.

Apple claims AirPods Pro 3 offer up to three times as much noise cancellation as AirPods 5, so I'd expect my existing earbuds to stay noticeably quieter on a plane, even if AirPods 5 turn out to be a big step up from AirPods 4. The Pros also last up to eight hours with ANC on, double the $129 AirPods 5, and include a heart rate sensor for tracking workouts in the Fitness app — though I usually wear my Apple Watch during workouts. If either of those features is important to you, our AirPods Pro 3 review after three months of use is worth reading before you buy.

AirPods Pro 3 have dropped to $199 during recent Amazon sales, which makes the decision to buy them over AirPods 5 slightly easier. But at their regular price of $249, you're paying as much as $120 extra compared to AirPods 5. I've always been happy to pay that for the improved noise isolation, but I suspect plenty of people buying AirPods Pro would be just as happy with AirPods 5 and have extra money back in their pocket.

You may be holding out for the next generation of AirPods Pro, which are rumored to come equipped with cameras. Or you might just want to buy the latest top-tier earbuds Apple has to offer. Either way, Apple accidentally leaked a demo of its camera AirPods in an August 2026 macOS beta software release, showing a wearer holding up a book so the earbuds could see its title. The clip suggested a launch was close, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports it won't happen until 2027.

Gurman describes the cameras as low-resolution sensors that feed Siri information about your surroundings. Unlike devices like the Meta Ray-Ban glasses, they won't have the ability to capture photos or video. MacRumors reports this new AirPods Pro model could launch in fall 2027 alongside the 20th-anniversary iPhone. If you're holding out for these earbuds, you could be waiting more than a year, and the new Pro-tier product is unlikely to be cheap. I wouldn't recommend waiting.

By the time AirPods 5 launch, iOS 27 with Siri AI will be available alongside all its new software features, as long as you have an Apple Intelligence-supported iPhone set to English. AirPods 5 are available to pre-order now for $129, or $149 with the wireless charging case, and arrive in stores Friday, September 18. I want to try the noise cancellation on AirPods 5 for myself before I give up my AirPods Pro 3. But unless you fly often, I don't see much reason to spend more.