AirPods 5 launched alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo, and they hit store shelves on September 18. The first wave of full reviews landed this week, and a clear pattern is already showing up across every outlet that spent real time with them.
Gizmodo, Engadget, AppleInsider, CNN Underscored and Trusted Reviews have all published hands-on reviews of the AirPods 5, and different YouTube channels have posted their own testing too. Here’s a breakdown of what each one found.
Gizmodo Calls Both Models An Easy Recommendation
Gizmodo’s review tested the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case on a cross-country flight and said the buds nearly lasted the entire four hour and forty four minute trip while muffling the jet engine noise enough to sleep. The review called both versions of the AirPods 5 better than the AirPods 4 “in every way with virtually no downsides.”
The site singled out the swipe volume control on the stem as a favorite addition, comparing the gesture directly to the one on the AirPods Pro 3. Gizmodo also pointed out that the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case costs $30 less than the outgoing AirPods 4 with ANC did, despite doing more.
Engadget Argues The Cheaper Model Barely Makes Sense
Engadget’s take ran the opposite direction from most other reviews and questioned why the base AirPods 5 exists at all. The argument is that $20 more buys wireless charging, a Find My speaker, on-stem volume control and an extra hour of battery life, leaving very little reason to save the money.
Here’s how Apple splits the two models:
| Feature | AirPods 5 | AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $129 | $149 |
| Active Noise Cancellation | Yes | Yes |
| Battery life, ANC on | 4 hours | 5 hours |
| Wireless charging case | No | Yes |
| On-stem swipe volume control | No | Yes |
| Find My speaker in case | No | Yes |
| Water resistance | IP57 | IP57 |
AppleInsider Found The Sound Barely Changed From AirPods 4
AppleInsider’s review tested the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case and found the audio quality and noise cancellation identical between both models. The site noted Apple is using the same driver as the AirPods 4, so the sound doesn’t move much year over year, though it still called the result excellent for the price.
The design is also unchanged. The AirPods 5 keep the same small, pocketable case with a hidden LED and a USB-C port, and only the pricier model adds capacitive stem sensors for volume. AppleInsider did flag one real upgrade: IP57 water resistance, up from IP54, which means the buds can now survive brief submersion instead of just resisting sweat.
CNN Underscored Put The IP57 Rating Through A Rainstorm
Mike Andronico spent nearly a week with the AirPods 5 for CNN Underscored, wearing them on a flight home from Apple’s event, several subway commutes, a sweaty basketball session and a mile run through Manhattan in the pouring rain. The buds kept working through all of it.
“The AirPods 5 just might be one of the best values that Apple’s ever offered.”
Andronico’s main complaint matched Engadget’s argument almost exactly: wireless charging, the Find My speaker and the extra battery hour are all locked to the $149 model, which he recommends paying for if the budget allows it.
Trusted Reviews Questions The Noise Cancellation Numbers
Apple says the AirPods 5 cut background noise 50 percent better than the AirPods 4. Trusted Reviews didn’t dispute that ANC in an open-ear design at this price is a genuine win, especially for hearing health, but it did raise a fair question about whether “Active Noise Cancellation” is even the right label for buds that don’t seal the ear canal.
An independent measurement from Headphonesty backs up that skepticism. Comparing published attenuation figures against the AirPods 4, the outlet found Apple’s 50 percent phrasing doesn’t line up cleanly with either a straightforward decibel reading or a straightforward energy reading, and settled on roughly 3 dB of extra attenuation as the more defensible interpretation. Full lab verification from RTINGS or SoundGuys hasn’t landed yet, so the exact number is still an open question.
Three YouTube Channels Are Testing The Same Features
Video reviews are landing alongside the written ones, and the takeaways line up closely. Tech YouTuber Brian Tong put the AirPods 5 through a full week of daily use to answer whether the upgrade over the AirPods 4 is worth it.
CNET’s David Carnoy published a full breakdown covering fit, Active Noise Cancellation, battery life, sound quality and mic performance in the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case.
TechRadar’s hands-on video walked through both models side by side right after Apple’s announcement, focusing on whether the lower price is enough to justify an upgrade from the AirPods 4.
Our Take
What stands out reading all of these together is how little disagreement there is. Gizmodo, Engadget, CNN Underscored and both video reviews all land on the same $20 gap as the real decision point, and almost none of them think the base AirPods 5 is the smarter buy once you line up what it leaves out.
I’d flag the ANC numbers as the one thing worth watching. Apple’s 50 percent figure is a marketing claim first, and it’s going to take RTINGS or SoundGuys running their full lab suite before anyone can say for certain how it holds up against the AirPods Pro 3 or the Sony WF-1000XM6.
The AirPods 5 go on sale September 18, priced at $129 for the standard model and $149 for the version with the Wireless Charging Case.
