Best daily deals

All products featured are independently chosen by us. However, SoundGuys may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links. See our ethics statement.

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

Do you like your earbuds sealed or unsealed?
By

Published onSeptember 28, 2024

Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
MSRP: $179.99
6.2
Check price
Positives
Improved fit
H2 chip
ANC
Price
Negatives
Unsealed design
No stabilizer fin
Features limited to iOS
The Bottom Line.
The Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation is a great effort to bring ANC to unsealed AirPods — though it's still not everyone's cup of tea. AirPods fans will love the new earbuds, though newcomers might not understand the hype.Read full review...
Beats Studio Buds Plus
MSRP: $169.95
6.9
Check price
Positives
Battery life
USB-C fast charge
Portability
Platform compatibility
Negatives
Limited app function
Price
Physical buttons
The Bottom Line.
The Beats Studio Buds Plus are a competent, if slightly understated true wireless option for those who don't want the AirPods Pro. Though expensive, the buds seem to tick most of the boxes the average user may have, but no wireless charging and no equalizer mean power users will have less to gush about.Read full review...

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.

AirPods 4 and Beats Studio Buds earbuds in hand.
Chase Bernath / SoundGuys
Stem, or no stem? Ear tips, or no ear tips? That is the questions.

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.

The AirPods 4 support pinch controls, voice controls, and even head nod controls. Unlike the AirPods Pro 2 though, you can’t control volume from the earbuds themselves.

Action (stems)Either earbud
One tap
Play/pause
Two taps
Skip forward
Three taps
Previous track
Press and hold
Siri
"Hey Siri"
Change volume, request directions, playback control, receive messages, and more
Nod or shake
Answer "yes" or "no" to Siri

The Beats Studio Buds Plus have physical buttons on either earbud, as well as Siri support with Apple devices. You can customize the button controls, including the option to adjust volume.

INPUTACTION
One press
Play / pause, accept / end call
Two presses
Track forward / Switch call to phone
Three presses
Track backward
Press and hold
ANC / Transparency mode
"Hey Siri"
Change volume, request directions, playback control, receive messages, and more

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?

AirPods 4 and Beats Studio Buds Plus earbuds next to charging case.
Chase Bernath / SoundGuys
Both earbuds have all the connectivity tech you need.

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 +?

AirPods 4 and Beats Studio Buds Plus charging ports.
Chase Bernath / SoundGuys
Both have USB-C, thanks to the EU.

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?

Loading chart ...

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.

Loading chart ...

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)

A chart comparing the MDAQS results of the Beats Studio Buds Plus and Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation.
The Beats Studio Buds Plus score higher according to 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.

  • Timbre (MOS-T) represents how faithfully the headphones reproduce the frequency spectrum and temporal resolution (timing information).
  • Distortion (MOS-D) represents non-linearities and added noise: higher scores mean cleaner reproduction.
  • Immersiveness (MOS-I) represents perceived source width and positioning: how well virtual sound sources are defined in three-dimensional space.

Objective Measurements

Loading chart ...

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):

How does the microphone sound to you?

28 votes

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 +?

Choose the AirPods 4 with ANC if:

  • You’re deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem
  • You prefer an unsealed design for ambient awareness

Choose the Beats Studio Buds Plus if:

  • You want the flexibility to use your earbuds with Android devices
  • You prioritize top-tier sound quality and ANC performance
  • You prefer a traditional in-ear design with better passive isolation
See price at Amazon
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
Controls on case
Solid ANC experience
See price at Amazon
Beats Studio Pro
Beats Studio Pro
Enhanced smartphone integration
Lossless and Spatial Audio
Big battery life

Should you get the AirPods Pro 2 instead?

AirPods 4 with ANC next to the AirPods Pro 2 earbuds and charging case.
Chase Bernath / SoundGuys
Are the ear tips worth the extra cost to you?

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.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can use the AirPods 4 and Beats Studio Buds Plus with a Windows PC for basic playback functionality.

The Beats Studio Buds Plus released in 2023, whereas the AirPods 4 with ANC released in 2024.

Yes, both the AirPods 4 with ANC and Beats Studio Buds Plus have a transparency mode that allows you to stay aware of your surroundings.

You might like