Apple unveils AirPods 5 with open-ear noise cancellation from $129

Apple announced AirPods 5 on September 9, bringing active noise cancellation to its most affordable earbuds. The open-ear model removes up to 50 percent more external noise than AirPods 4 with ANC, the company says, and reaches stores from Friday, September 18.

Noise cancellation in an open-ear shape

The improvement rests on a new multiport acoustic architecture and what Apple calls next-generation Adaptive EQ, which it says delivers richer sound across a wider range of ear geometries and makes Personalized Spatial Audio more immersive. A revised Transparency mode is meant to reproduce voices and nearby sounds more naturally, Adaptive Audio blends ANC and Transparency according to the surroundings, and Conversation Awareness lowers media volume when the wearer starts speaking. Apple's hardware engineering vice president, Dave Pakula, said the aim was to bring "one of our most beloved features" to the cheapest AirPods.

Siri AI, head gestures and live translation

Paired with an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone, AirPods 5 work with Siri AI, the revamped assistant that rolls out in beta with iOS 27 from September 14 in English, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish following in October; it will not initially be available in the EU on iOS. The assistant can draw on personal context from messages, emails and photos, and users can answer with head gestures — a nod for yes, a shake for no. Live Translation, available across the entire AirPods line-up, plays a conversation back in the listener's language after both stems are pressed or the iPhone Action button is used.

Price, battery and materials

AirPods 5 cost $129, while a version with a Wireless Charging Case costs $149; pre-orders opened at announcement in the US and more than 65 other countries. The charging-case model adds on-stem volume control, a first for Apple's open-ear design, and five hours of playback with ANC on a single charge — an hour more than AirPods 4 with ANC — extending to 22 hours with the case. The case accepts Apple Watch chargers, Qi pads and USB-C. Apple says the earbuds use 40 percent recycled material overall, including 70 percent recycled plastic in the case and 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery, and are made with 35 percent renewable energy across the supply chain.