When Earfun introduced its first set ofwireless earbuds , it redefine our first moment for sub-$100 products . And every novel model has pushed those expectations further . The society ’s newest wireless earbuds — the Earfun Air Pro 4 — are no exclusion to this course . At $ 90 , they remain among the most low-priced buds you may grease one’s palms , but their feature of speech localize and sound quality challenge ( and in a few cases , exceed ) contender from Sony , Apple , and Bose that cost as much as three times that cost . Moreover , they come up to the few downsides I noted on their forerunner , theAir Pro 3 .
Whether you ’re an iPhone exploiter or an Android sports fan ( in fact , peculiarly if you ’re an Android lover ) , the Earfun Air Pro 4 are thebest budget radiocommunication earbudson the planet . period of time .
Before we get into the full review , let ’s take a quick look at the Air Pro 4 ’s characteristic list because , honestly , it ’s astonishing .
About the only thing that ’s missing ishead - tracked spacial audio , and the jury is still out on whether that ’s a feature people actually want .
I ’m not last to drop much clip talking about the blueprint . If you ’re familiar with Earfun ’s late stem - based Air Pro batting order , or similar products like theApple AirPods ProorSoundcore Liberty 4 NC , you know the drill . It ’s a very well-off shape that will well stay put for most everyday activity .
Only those with the most vigorous physical exertion turn will need to consider something more secure . The Air Pro 4 ship with a very generous choice of five sizes of silicone polymer eartips ( one more than the Air Pro 3 ) , more or less ensuring that everyone will get a good fit . With IPX5 pee resistivity , pelting and sweat wo n’t be an proceeds — you’re able to even rinse them under the tap .
The charging case is a basic affair . Not quite as pocket-sized as the AirPods Pro — but stuffy — and with the lid in its open posture , it gives splendid approach to the earbuds . Wireless charging is standard , and you get a short USB - A - to - USB - C transmission line in the boxful for wired charging .
I suppose these mean solar day more people would prefer a bivalent USB - atomic number 6 cable , but I ’m guess you also have a few of these lie around already . Indicator light on the front separate you the case ’s bursting charge level , and a 2d set of lights in the earbud saddle socket give you feedback on things like pairing modality .
The Earfun app furnish an overwhelming number of ANC modes , including a couple that take to be adaptive and powered by AI . My feeling about these modes ( on all wireless earbuds that offer them , not just the Air Pro 4 ) is that they ’re generally pointless .
My attitude toward ANC is somewhat binary : I need to refuse as much noise as possible or countenance in as much as potential . have an AI decide which sounds to cancel and when is just cark . The only exclusion to this is Apple and Bose ’s wonderful loud - noise spying , which quickly twist on ANC when a potentially hazardously loud sound happens and you ’re in transparency modality .
The good news is that the standard ANC mode is excellent — a liberal improvement over the Air Pro 3 — and the wind noise modal value does exactly what it promises .
Transparency mode is blissfully costless of weird AI extra , and it ’s very good at letting you hear your environment . I ’d prefer it include more of my representative , which remained fair muted . This is n’t an Earfun weakness . Every set of wireless earbuds I ’ve tried that use Qualcomm ANC technical school suffers from this job .
Here ’s one thing that Earfun can and should fix : If you want to switch between ANC and transparency without bicycle through the normal musical mode ( ANC / transparency off ) , you have that alternative . But good luck finding it in the app . It ’s inhume in the app’sCustomize Controlsmenu . To access it , you require to get at theLong Pressgesture , then exploit onNoise Control — even if it ’s already selected — and that will bring up the options .
The Air Pro 4 ’s sound quality might be one of the few areas that have n’t been significantly improved from the Air Pro 3 . And yet your power to maximise that sound caliber has increase considerably . That sounds a little contradictory , I have it away .
Here ’s what I mean :
The fresh model , just like its predecessor , sound great . Especially since we ’re talking about earbuds that cost only fractionally more than a tank of gas . ( put on $ 3.45 per gallon for a 23 - gallon F-150 , for those who were about to object . )
Clarity , detail , soundstage definition , and bass reply are all top - pass , though if you ’re a unfeigned bass voice - head , you should look elsewhere . But have got access code to so many optionalhi - res audiocodecs ( LDAC or aptX Adaptive ) and the additional EQ tweaks in the app increases the likelihood that you ’ll get the best possible speech sound .
With either LDAC or aptX Adaptive , you ’ll get better point and nuance , and it reduces the sharpness of certain high , as liken to the standard AAC codec . Sorry , iPhone substance abuser , you ’re stuck with AAC .
The fact that the Air Pro 4 financial support all of the major hi - res codecs is remarkable — even earbuds that be four times as much ca n’t take this . Since I happen to have one of the few smartphones that can actually keep going all three ( aMotorola ThinkPhone ) I was curious to see if I could tell the difference of opinion among LDAC , aptX Adaptive , and aptX Lossless . There was indeed a perceptible divergence , but I ’m still not sure which one I opt .
What I can say with confidence is that unless you sequester yourself in a very quiet space and give yourself a few hours withlossless CD qualityand hi - res audio sources , you wo n’t notice much of a difference either . In fact , these may be the only consideration where you ’ll be able-bodied to appreciate the difference between AAC and any of these higher-ranking codecs .
With all that said , when I compared the Air Pro 4 to Soundcore ’s $ 100 Liberty 4 NC ( using LDAC for both ) , they were extremely close .
The Earfun app now has 30 presets , and a 10 - band equalizer for creating and keep your own presets . There ’s also a personalized sound feature that attempts to make a custom EQ visibility based on your ability to hear specific absolute frequency banding . My hazard with these personalizers has been mixed , and I ca n’t say I loved what this one did for the sound — your mileage may vary .
Another area where your specific phone may affect your experience with the Air Pro 4 is call quality .
Using an iPhone , call tone was average . In noisy placement , the earbuds shinny to keep my voice clear , though they did a very near job at blocking the sounds that made my surroundings noisy in the first billet . When things were tranquil , my vocalism sounded much better .
However , as a set of Snapdragon Sound earbuds , if you ’re using a compatible phone , you ’ll get truly cleared vocalism reproduction .
What you wo n’t get in either scenario is the ability to swap from ANC to transparency mid - call using the earbuds ’ controls . For that , you ’ll take to use the Earfun app . And , just like transparency in non - call situations , your own phonation will still be quite muted .
Having Bluetooth Multipoint is a Brobdingnagian convenience , and the Air Pro 4 support this handy feature that lets you stay affiliated to two devices simultaneously . To practice it , though , you ’ll call for to invalid LDAC . AptX Adaptive / Lossless , by line , are compatible with Multipoint .
I really like that in the Earfun app ’s three-fold - machine scope projection screen , you’re able to pick any two of your previously paired twist for a Multipoint academic session .
Since we ’re on the topic of Bluetooth , here ’s the good and the bad when it come toAuracaston the Air Pro 4 :
It ’s cracking that Earfun has added this characteristic . I unwaveringly believe that Auracast is not only the future of audio sharing , it ’s also the future tense of public audio . By that I intend idiot box in gymnasium , airport gate announcements , translated substance both at unrecorded events and movies , etc . It ’s really cool .
But enabling Auracast on the Air Pro 4 need some gymnastic exercise .
You first enable LE Audio from within the Earfun app ( which mean disable LDAC and aptX codecs ) . Then you must go back to your Bluetooth twist list and “ blank out ” the earbuds . Then pair them again . Then verify you enable LE Audio in the earbuds ’ Bluetooth mise en scene . Finally , assuming your speech sound is even Auracast compatible , you use the “ Find broadcast ” feature to expect for and hopefully join an Auracast transmission … which in my case , using the Motorola ThinkPhone simply did n’t exploit .
Relying on a phone ’s operating system for the Auracast Assistant function ( the software that scan for and colligate the earbuds to an Auracast transmission ) is — at this early stage in the growing of Auracast — a dicey proposition .
You ’ll likely get good results if your earbuds ’ companion app has this functionality built - in . I was able to prove this with an as - yet - unreleased set of wireless earbuds on my iPhone and it work like a appeal . I ’d tell you all about it , but I ’ve been swear to privateness until September .
I ’ll give Earfun the benefit of the dubiousness . Auracast in all probability will work with the Air Pro 4 soon . Just not quite yet . What I ’m a lot less enthusiastic about is the complex set of pace to make it work . Perhaps all earbuds that support hi - res codecs will postulate to do something similar — it ’s still too other to know .
On the Air Pro 3 , I found the touch controls a niggling inaccurate , but the Air Pro 4 have proven very reliable . well yet , Earfun has added wear detector to automobile - break your medicine when you remove an earbud . For some common people , that unmarried improvement will be worth the extra $ 10 .
The Earfun app lets you qualify four gestures per earbud — perfect for control freaks .
Earfun has always furnish more than sizeable battery life on its earbuds , and the Air Pro 4 up the numbers further . From seven 60 minutes per charge with ANC on ( Air Pro 3 ) , to 7.5 hours . With ANC off , it goes from nine hours ( Air Pro 3 ) to 11 hours . And total ANC off clock time is now 52 hours ( versus 45 ) .
Keep in mind that your selection of codec and loudness level will affect these stats . LDAC is more power - hungry than aptX so if you habituate LDAC and adaptive ANC together , playtime drops to six hr per charge .
Wondering if you should buy the Earfun Air Pro 4 ? Unless you own the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC , do n’t hesitate . With solid improvements across the board , Earfun has delivered a lot of extras for only a tiny increase in cost . There ’s some definite bizarreness around the implementation of Bluetooth Auracast , but I do n’t cogitate that ’s a reason to avoid them ( it ’s also very early days for this technology ) . The Air Pro 4 are an excellent value and might just be the best wireless earbuds under $ 100 .
