BGR Urges Buyers to Skip AirPods 5 as ANC Gains and 22-Hour Battery Fall Short
Updated
Updated · Boy Genius Report · Sep 26
BGR Urges Buyers to Skip AirPods 5 as ANC Gains and 22-Hour Battery Fall Short
3 articles · Updated · Boy Genius Report · Sep 26
Summary
Four drawbacks drive BGR’s case against Apple’s new AirPods 5: the upgrade over AirPods 4 is small, ANC still has limits, key health features are missing, and battery life barely improves.
1.5-times stronger ANC is Apple’s headline claim, but BGR says both generations share the H2 chip, Bluetooth 5.3, driver design and similar fit, leaving noise cancellation as the main meaningful change.
59% average ambient-noise reduction in SoundGuys tests made the AirPods 5 strong for open-ear earbuds, yet low-frequency sounds, typing and nearby conversations still leaked through.
IP57 water resistance and up to 22 hours with the case add some value, but the base model still offers only 4 hours with ANC, while hearing-health and heart-rate features remain limited to AirPods Pro models.
$20 more buys the higher-end AirPods 5 case version with 5 hours of ANC use, but BGR says cheaper rivals—or discounted $199 AirPods Pro 3—may be better buys.