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AirPods Pro? In this economy? Our top budget earbuds just dropped to $53 at Amazon
They include features like noise cancelling, in-ear detection and wireless case charging, and now they're at their lowest price ever.
My AirPods Pro are always in my ears, blocking out everything from the early-morning construction outside my house to background noise at my desk. That said, I do wince when I think about how much they cost, especially the new AirPods Pro 3, which are sitting at $239 right now. Luckily, they're not the only noise-cancelling earbuds on the market. In fact, a lot of our budget picks offer noise cancelling for much less, including our Senior Tech Writer Rick Broida's top pick, the EarFun Air Pro 4s, which are currently at their lowest price ever at Amazon — just $53.
Want many of the features of AirPods Pro without that big Apple price tag? How does adaptive noise cancelling and in-ear detection for $53 sound?
Why is this a good deal? 💰
At $53, these earbuds are not only 34% off, but that's the lowest they've ever been. Not to mention they're almost $200 cheaper than the AirPods Pro 3.
Why do I need these? 🤔
The popularity of Air Pods is no mystery — they're loaded with experience-enhancing features. Well, Air Pro 4s have many of the same: Noise cancelling, in-ear detection and wireless case-charging. And it does one thing better than Apple: batteries good for up to 11 hours on a charge (up to 52 hours if you use the charging case).
How do they sound? "Better than you'd expect, given the price," says Broida. "Everything I listened to sounded lush and well-balanced. The active noise cancelling also punched above its weight, though it doesn't match the levels offered by Apple, Bose and Sony."
What reviewers say 💬
In addition to earning top marks in our own testing, nearly 4,000 happy customers have given these earbuds a five out of five rating on Amazon.
Pros 👍
"I looked at Apple earbuds and no way was I paying what they cost without trying them first. For all I know, they may not stay in my ear or they may be uncomfortable. I did a little research and came up with these for about $55," related a budget-savvy perfect scorer. His assessment? "The noise cancelling seems pretty legit. There are multiple settings for it and they block out outside noise pretty well. Previously, I had used only big over-ear headphones for ANC....I'm now listening to a podcast and have the ANC on and someone is sitting five feet from me talking and I can hear nothing."
"Eleven hours on a single charge is better than almost anything else on the market," said a stunned five-star reviewer. "I honestly can't believe the value you get with these. I bought the EarFun Air Pro 4s hoping for a decent backup pair, but they have replaced my expensive flagship earbuds. They sound incredible right out of the box and the app makes customization easy.
Not an Apple user? Not a problem at all. "These are especially good earbuds for Android users," says Broida, "starting with Google Fast Pair: A compatible Android phone will automatically detect the Air Pro 4 the first time you bring the case nearby, saving you the step of fiddling with Bluetooth settings. (Apple AirPods users have long enjoyed a similarly easy setup process.)"
Cons 👎
There is one thing missing, according to Broida: "Spatial audio. This creates a sort of virtual focal point for music and videos — hardly essential, but something I really like...
"Other than that, everything you might want is here: adaptive ANC, in-ear detection, multipoint connectivity, Bluetooth 5.4 and IPX5-rated water resistance. Would IPX7 be better? Yes, but it matters only if your earbuds sink to the bottom of a pool (and stay there awhile). IPX5 offers full protection against sweat, rain...even your brother dousing you with the water hose."
Don't expect them to stay in your ears during every single activity, either, cautions this five-star reviewer: "These stay in your ears pretty well if you put them in as directed. I found that if you eat with them, they will fall out. You may not be able to vigorously exercise with these — but other than that they are comfortable & stay in for me."
Also better than Apple: These earbuds come in three colors: black, white and blue.
The updated EarFun Air Pro 4+ earbuds are also on sale, close to their Black Friday lowest-ever price, thanks to double discounts.
These updated buds come with Bluetooth 6.0 and real-time AI translation through the app.
If you have Amazon Prime, you'll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $35 or more.)
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
