Apple announced the AirPods 5 earlier this month, giving its entry-level earbuds Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) as standard for the first time. The AirPods 5 start at $129, a $149 model adds a Wireless Charging Case, and both versions arrive in stores on Friday, September 18.


The launch also resets the way Apple tiers its cheapest earbuds. With the AirPods 4, the $50 step up from $129 to $179 bought ANC along with a wireless charging case. With the ‌AirPods 5‌, noise cancellation comes at the entry price and now there is only a $20 step up to the next tier.

Apple has stopped selling both versions of the AirPods 4 directly, but they remain widely available from third-party retailers, where the standard model has already dropped to $99 and the ANC model to $149.

Here's everything that differs between the AirPods 4 and the ‌AirPods 5‌:

AirPods 4 (2024)	AirPods 4 With ANC (2024)	‌AirPods 5‌ (2026)	‌AirPods 5‌ With Wireless Charging Case (2026)
	Active Noise Cancellation	Active Noise Cancellation that removes up to 50% more external noise	Active Noise Cancellation that removes up to 50% more external noise
	Transparency mode	Improved Transparency mode	Improved Transparency mode
	Adaptive Audio	Adaptive Audio	Adaptive Audio
	Conversation Awareness	Conversation Awareness	Conversation Awareness
Adaptive EQ	Adaptive EQ	Redesigned acoustic architecture and updated Adaptive EQ	Redesigned acoustic architecture and updated Adaptive EQ
		Studio-quality audio recording	Studio-quality audio recording
	Live Translation	Live Translation	Live Translation
Force sensor	Force sensor	Force sensor	Force sensor with swipe volume controls
Up to five hours of listening time on a single charge	Up to four hours of listening time on a single charge with Active Noise Cancellation enabled (up to five hours with noise control off)	Up to four hours of battery life on a single charge with Active Noise Cancellation enabled (up to six hours with noise control off)	Up to five hours of battery life on a single charge with Active Noise Cancellation enabled (up to seven hours with noise control off)
Up to 30 hours of listening time with the charging case	Up to 20 hours of listening time with the charging case with Active Noise Cancellation enabled (up to 30 hours with noise control off)	Up to 20 hours of battery life with the charging case with Active Noise Cancellation enabled	Up to 22 hours of battery life with the charging case with Active Noise Cancellation enabled
Charging Case (USB-C)	Wireless Charging Case (USB-C) with support for the Apple Watch charger and Qi-certified chargers	Charging Case (USB-C)	Wireless Charging Case (USB-C) with support for the Apple Watch charger and Qi-certified chargers
	Speaker for Find My		Speaker for ‌Find My‌
Dust, sweat, and water resistant (IP54)	Dust, sweat, and water resistant (IP54)	Dust, sweat, and water resistant (IP57)	Dust, sweat, and water resistant (IP57)
Previously $129, now discontinued	Previously $179, now discontinued	$129	$149

How Big Is the Upgrade?

The ‌AirPods 5‌ retain the H2 chip that debuted in the AirPods Pro 2 back in 2022, rather than the new headphone chip that had been rumored, and they retain Bluetooth 5.3, the same open-ear design, the same custom high-excursion driver and high dynamic range amplifier, and identical dimensions and weight down to the gram. Personalized Spatial Audio, Adaptive EQ, Voice Isolation, Personalized Volume, and Siri Interactions all came to the AirPods 4 two years ago.

Noise cancellation is the headline upgrade, and now included regardless of which 2026 model you choose. Apple says the ‌AirPods 5‌ remove up to 50% more external noise than the AirPods 4 with ANC, which it attributes to a redesigned acoustic architecture, and the same architecture underpins the claims of richer sound and a more natural Transparency mode. Durability improves from IP54 to IP57, so the earbuds and case are now rated for immersion rather than just splashes. Studio-quality audio recording is also new.

Should You Upgrade?

If you already own the AirPods 4 with ANC, there is not a strong case to upgrade. You already have Adaptive Audio, Transparency mode, Conversation Awareness, Live Translation, a wireless charging case with a ‌Find My‌ speaker, and the same H2 chip, so the $149 model would give you stronger noise cancellation, a higher IP rating, an extra hour of listening time, and swipe volume controls.

The case is stronger if you own the standard AirPods 4. Noise cancellation, Transparency mode, Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, and Live Translation are all missing from that model, and the ‌AirPods 5‌ add every one of them at the same $129 you paid two years ago. The same goes for anyone still using the AirPods 3 or AirPods 2, where the jump also brings the newer fit, the H2 chip, USB-C, and Personalized Spatial Audio.

For new buyers, the ‌AirPods 5‌ are the clear default choice. The AirPods 4 are the better value option only when heavily discounted.

The open-ear fit remains the real dividing line in the lineup. If you want genuine isolation, want to use hearing health features, or want heart rate sensing during workouts, the $249 AirPods Pro 3 are still the earbuds to buy. By contrast, if in-ear tips irritate you or you want to stay more aware of your environment, the ‌AirPods 5‌ now offer a far more capable version of the design you will prefer.

Both ‌AirPods 5‌ models are available to pre-order now ahead of their release on Friday, September 18. AirPods frequently see hefty discounts on Amazon and other third-party retailers, so it is always worth seeking the best price using our Deals roundup.

Which AirPods 5 Model to Buy?

The difference between the two ‌AirPods 5‌ models is significant despite the $20 gap. The Wireless Charging Case works with Qi chargers and the Apple Watch charger, contains a speaker that makes it much easier to find in the ‌Find My‌ app, and comes with an extra hour of listening time on a charge and two extra hours across the case.

The $149 model is clearly the one to buy for most people, unless the AirPods are a secondary device or one that isn't going to be used often. Jumping up to the higher-end model only costs $20, which is a relatively small amount of money for the number of enhancements.
This article, "AirPods 4 vs. AirPods 5 Buyer's Guide" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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iOS 27 code reveals a wave of new Hermès MagSafe wallet designs featuring Find My support, alongside a dedicated attachment animation for the accessories.


The code sleuth known as "pdfu" shared the findings on X, revealing new bandana print card holders in purple, brown, and orange, new tartan stitched designs in purple and brown, plain leather versions in navy and burgundy, a crocodile embossed style, and more. This represents a major expansion of Hermès' ‌MagSafe‌ wallet selection.



Alongside the new designs, pdfu said that the ‌iOS 27‌ release candidate adds an animation specifically for Hermès ‌MagSafe‌ wallets, distinct from the standard Apple ‌MagSafe‌ accessory animation that plays for other wallets. The leaker's post shows how the animation appears when a wallet is attached.

Hermès currently sells around half a dozen ‌MagSafe‌ card holder designs through its online store, including the silk Bandana Eperon d'Or, Jean patch, Pencils, and Chaine d'Ancre styles, alongside the Swift calfskin Lad print, with pricing ranging from $510 for the silk designs up to $1,025 for Lad.

‌Find My‌ support enables owners to locate the wallet in the ‌Find My‌ app and get a notification if it has been left behind.

Apple's own FineWoven Wallet with ‌MagSafe‌ and ‌Find My‌ costs $59. The company recently introduced new color options, and other than the switch from leather to its FineWoven material, the design of the accessory has remained the same since 2020.
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Cultured Code today released Things 3.24, adding integration with iOS 27's new Siri AI and system-wide Spotlight search.


The most significant addition is full support for ‌Siri‌ AI, allowing users to create to-dos by speaking naturally to add tasks. Once a to-do is created, users can continue the conversation to append notes, start dates, and alerts without opening the app.

Things 3.24 also indexes a user's entire database in Spotlight, allowing to-dos and projects to be surfaced through system-wide search. ‌Siri‌ AI can draw on that same Spotlight index to fulfill requests. Users who would prefer to keep their task data out of system search can turn the feature off in Things' settings.

The update brings a wider range of snooze intervals for notifications, adding 15 minute, one hour, and three hour options alongside a new "snooze until tomorrow" choice.

Cultured Code also adds an XL Portrait widget, giving users a way to view longer lists directly from the Home Screen. The update includes various other compatibility improvements for the new operating system.

Things 3.24 arrives alongside iOS 27, which Apple launches later today.
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Apple is working on a sweeping retail overhaul that would bring back dedicated Genius Bars to its stores, carve out new spaces for order pickup and Today at Apple classes, and do away with oversized video walls, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.


In this week's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple intends to speed up store renovations over the coming years. Apple plans to rework the "Avenue," its term for the side sections of a store where accessories and services are displayed, reinstate standalone Genius Bars, and remove the large video screens installed in many locations.

Pickup and Today at Apple, which typically share a counter and a seating area today, will each get their own compact section along the Avenue, described internally as a "bay" and measuring about 10 feet across.

For pickup, Gurman described plans for an all-wood bay with a faint Apple logo worked into the upper section, with lockable drawers underneath for holding customer orders, fronted by a counter where staff can hand items over. The Today at Apple bay will feature a similar look, topped by a display similar to a large television, with drawers below for stashing iPads, laptops, and other class equipment, plus a fixed instructor table and stools nearby.

The video walls being phased out trace back to the retail vision pursued under former retail chief Angela Ahrendts, who treated Apple stores as public gathering places rather than purely transactional spaces. Gurman frames the current shift as a move away from that toward stores built primarily around service, fulfillment, and everyday shopping needs.

Where those screens come down, most stores will gain a wood finished Genius Bar built to echo the design Apple used before it introduced the open plan "Genius Grove." It includes counters set at two different heights for accessibility, backed by a wall of storage drawers and large product imagery. Gurman added that both the new bars and the Avenue bays are meant to look as though they always belonged in the store, rather than as visible retrofits, and that many renovated locations will also see their break rooms and other back-of-house areas refurbished.

Elements of the redesign are already live in a small number of stores around the world. Gurman expects the fuller version of the proposed store overhaul to reach most newly opened and renovated stores gradually, with the international rollout continuing over several years.

Separately, Gurman reports that Apple has tightened expectations for staff during pre-opening meetings, with employees to be more firmly required to stay on their feet, put away phones and drinks, and remain attentive. Once doors open to customers, timed for five minutes ahead of the posted hour, every staff member on site is expected to applaud as the first shoppers walk in.
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Apple recently unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max, featuring a new Main camera with a variable aperture, new Pro camera controls, the A20 Pro chip, and more. With the foldable iPhone Duo now sitting above them in the lineup, the two Pro models are no longer the most expensive iPhones Apple sells, but they remain the most fully-featured traditional iPhones available.


The ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ starts at $1,199 and the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max starts at $1,299. Both see a $100 increase over the equivalent iPhone 17 Pro models, and the increases grow steeper further up the storage ladder, with a 1TB ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ now costing $300 more than a 1TB ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ did last year.

Both phones have the same OLED Super Retina XDR always-on display with ProMotion and the Dynamic Island, the A20 Pro chip, 5G connectivity, a 48 megapixel Pro Fusion camera system, and the same four color options. Both are also offered in the same four storage tiers, including a 2TB option that is available on the smaller Pro model for the first time. Although the two phones share the vast majority of features, there are eight differences between the devices.

Our guide highlights the crucial differences between the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max, and helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two iPhone models is best for you. Both models share the same thickness of 0.34 inches (8.75 mm), but otherwise have very different sizes and weights.

	‌iPhone 18 Pro‌	‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max
Height	5.91 inches (150.0 mm)	6.43 inches (163.4 mm)
Width	2.83 inches (71.9 mm)	3.07 inches (78.0 mm)
Weight	7.44 ounces (211 grams)	8.78 ounces (249 grams)

Other differences essentially come down to display size and battery life. As was the case last year, there are no camera differences between the two devices at all for this generation, with the variable aperture Fusion Main camera and the new manual Pro controls appearing on both models.

‌iPhone 18 Pro‌	‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max
6.3-inch display	6.9-inch display
2622-by-1206-pixel resolution	2868-by-1320-pixel resolution
4,056 mAh battery	5,391 mAh battery
Up to 36-hour video playback	Up to 45-hour video playback
Up to 33-hour streamed video playback	Up to 40-hour streamed video playback
Apple C2 modem in all countries	Apple C2 modem outside the U.S., Qualcomm modem in the U.S.

Apple does not advertise battery capacities on its product pages, but energy labels published in Europe confirm the exact figures for models that retain a SIM card tray. The capacities above apply to those models. eSIM-only versions, including all iPhones sold in the United States, have slightly larger cells because there is no tray taking up internal space, and Apple has not yet disclosed those figures.

Apple lists its own C2 modem in the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ in every country, but the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max only uses the C2 outside the United States. U.S. units of the larger model instead contain a Qualcomm modem, and iOS code seen points to the same radio used in last year's ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ models, which would make it the Snapdragon X80.

The C2 supports both sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G, as the Qualcomm part does, and Apple says it is faster and more energy efficient than the C1X while adding AI-driven improvements to cellular quality and reliability. Real-world comparisons will not be possible until reviewers test both radios on the same networks. The clearest hint that the hardware genuinely differs is in the band listings, where the U.S. ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ supports LTE Band 106 and the U.S. ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max does not.

Pricing is also a key area of difference, with the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max reaching $2,499 when configured with 2TB of storage.

	256GB	512GB	1TB	2TB
‌iPhone 18 Pro‌	$1,199	$1,399	$1,799	$2,399
‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max	$1,299	$1,499	$1,899	$2,499

The ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max represents the most you can get out of a traditional iPhone with the best possible battery life, but that does not necessarily translate into a worthwhile purchase for all users. At 8.78 ounces (249 grams), it is heavier than any iPhone Pro Max that came before it, and with a 6.9-inch display it is a large and hefty device.

Some may find the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max's size excessive or uncomfortably large to hold, while others will love the larger display for consuming media. Screen size is ultimately a matter of personal preference, and since the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max share all of their other features, it comes down to individual taste.

Battery life is the one area where the gap between the two models has widened meaningfully this year. The ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max gained six additional hours of video playback over the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max, while the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ gained three. The result is a nine-hour advantage for the larger model, up from six hours in the previous generation. If getting through a long day without reaching for a charger is your priority, the case for the Pro Max is more persuasive than it has been for some time.

The added $100 in price for the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max seems fair for its additional display area and battery life, but it is important to weigh up these factors in your personal use-case. That $100 premium holds at every storage tier, so the larger model never becomes proportionally more expensive as capacity rises. Both devices become costly quickly with added storage, though, and the 1TB and 2TB tiers now carry surcharges that are considerably steeper than in previous years.

U.S. buyers have one extra factor to bear in mind. Choosing the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max in the United States means giving up Apple's own modem, and while the day-to-day difference is likely to be very small, it is an unusual position for the more expensive device to be in. If you specifically want the C2 and you are buying in the U.S., the smaller model is the only way to get it.

The most important decision point when choosing between the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max is undoubtedly screen size, but comfort, pocketability, weight, battery life, and now the modem are also important considerations that will depend based on your preferences. If you are hesitant about the size and weight of the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max, it may be better to stick with the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌, which no longer forces you to give up the largest storage option to get the smaller body. If size is not a concern, the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max is otherwise unlikely to disappoint, especially if price is not an issue.
This article, "iPhone 18 Pro vs. iPhone 18 Pro Max Buyer's Guide" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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