Apple Launches $149 AirPods 5, Cutting Price by $30 and Adding Volume Controls

Q: Apple slashed the price for its new AirPods 5, but what major hardware upgrade did they quietly hold back to achieve this?

Apple appears to have held back a new chip — specifically the long-rumored H3 processor — to keep AirPods 5 prices down. Instead of introducing fresh silicon, Apple kept the H2 chip used in earlier models. That matters because an H3 upgrade had been widely expected as the most significant hardware step forward, potentially bringing lower latency, better audio processing, and stronger efficiency. By reusing H2, Apple could still improve ANC, sound tuning, and software features without taking on the cost of a more ambitious internal redesign. Reports ahead of launch had also floated other major hardware additions, including health sensors such as heart-rate monitoring and even future camera-based visual intelligence features. None of those arrived. But among the realistic near-term upgrades, the missing H3 chip stands out as the clearest hardware omission. That helps explain the pricing surprise. Apple delivered better ANC, new volume swipes, improved acoustics, wireless charging on the $149 model, and stronger durability, while cutting the premium model’s price below the AirPods 4 with ANC. The tradeoff is that AirPods 5 are more of a refinement than a full generational hardware leap.

Q: Can open-ear earbuds ever truly cancel noise, or is Apple's 50 percent ANC boost just a clever marketing illusion?

Open-ear earbuds cannot truly cancel noise in the way sealed earbuds do, so Apple’s “50 percent” claim is best understood as a meaningful improvement within a hard physical limit, not an illusion and not a miracle. The reason is simple: active noise cancellation works best when the earbud also creates a physical seal. Sealed models such as AirPods Pro block a large share of outside sound passively, then ANC removes more of what remains, especially low-frequency rumble. Open-ear earbuds leave the ear canal exposed by design, so voices, sharp street noise, and higher-frequency sounds still leak in naturally. Software cannot fully overcome that. That makes Apple’s reported boost plausible. Reviews and early tests say the AirPods 5 do reduce more subway, traffic, and office hum than the AirPods 4 with ANC, and several reports describe them as the strongest ANC yet in an open-ear earbud. Apple says it improved the mesh, acoustics, and algorithms, which is exactly where gains in this category usually come from. But the marketing needs context. A “50 percent” stronger ANC figure does not mean 50 percent of all real-world noise disappears, nor that the AirPods 5 rival in-ear noise-canceling earbuds. It likely reflects lab-tested reduction under specific conditions, especially steady low-frequency noise. So ANC open earbuds can help with noise, particularly droning background sounds, while preserving awareness and comfort. They solve part of the problem, not all of it.

3 articles · Updated · The Verge · Sep 15

$149 AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case replace the AirPods 4 with ANC at a $30 lower price, while adding stem swipe volume controls and upgraded noise cancellation.
Apple says both AirPods 5 models deliver up to 50% better ANC than the prior version, and both now include ANC, adaptive audio, transparency mode and an IP57 rating.
The $149 version stands out from the $129 base model with wireless charging, volume controls and longer battery life, making the cheaper option a weak value proposition.
Battery life remains the main drawback: the premium model lasts up to 5 hours with ANC on and 22 hours with the case, still short of many rivals.
The launch strengthens Apple's pitch to users who want open-ear earbuds with tighter iPhone integration, even as sealed competitors around $100 offer stronger ANC.