Apple Makes ANC Standard on AirPods 5 at $129

Apple made Active Noise Cancellation standard on AirPods 5, with U.S. prices starting at $129. Pre-orders opened September 9, and stores get the buds on Friday, September 18, with Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4.

ANC that cost $179 on last year’s open-ear pair is now on the cheap model, and a new S11 chip will let the Watch turn the last 15 seconds of a conversation into text on the wrist.

Standard ANC Lands on the $129 AirPods 5

Both AirPods 5 models include ANC. That is the change from AirPods 4, which sold a $129 pair with no cancellation and a $179 pair with it. Apple now charges the old non-ANC price for a bud that, it says, removes up to 50 percent more noise than AirPods 4 with ANC.

The company credits a new multiport sound design and updated software, reworked from AirPods Pro 3 for ears that never take a silicone tip. Adaptive Audio still blends cancellation and Transparency as the room changes. Conversation Awareness still drops media volume when the wearer starts talking. Live Translation, once a higher-end trick, now runs across the whole AirPods lineup when Apple Intelligence is on.

We’re thrilled that with AirPods 5, we’re able to bring Active Noise Cancellation to our most affordable AirPods.

Dave Pakula, vice president of Hardware Engineering, Apple

Pakula also pointed to Live Translation as the feature that now reaches more buyers because ANC is no longer a paid extra on this shape of bud. Siri AI, in beta with iOS 27 on September 14, can answer from messages, mail, and photos while the buds are in, and a nod or a head-shake can stand in for a tap.

The open-ear fit still leaks sound. Physics did not change. What changed is the price at which Apple will sell a serious attempt to quiet a train car without plugging the canal.

The Extra $20 Buys the Case Worth Using

Apple still sells two AirPods 5 kits. They share drivers, ANC, Adaptive EQ, and Spatial Audio. The split is the case and the stems, and that split is where daily use actually changes.

THE AIRPODS 5 BUYING SPLIT

The wireless kit is $149, which is $30 below the old ANC AirPods 4. That $20 step over the base AirPods 5 is the first open-ear pair with a volume swipe on the stem, plus a case that charges on an Apple Watch puck, a Qi pad, or USB-C. Apple says the extra hour of ANC playback comes from a redesigned battery in that kit.

Anyone who already volume-swipes on AirPods Pro will feel the $129 pair as unfinished, because force-sensor playback stays on both kits but the swipe does not. The $20 gap is small enough that it functions as Apple’s real product line, with the $129 SKU as the price card in the window.

AirPods Pro 3 Still Owns the Seal

Apple’s own store copy still sells AirPods Pro 3 as having up to 3x more ANC than AirPods 5. The Pro pair remains $249, a $100 jump over the wireless AirPods 5, and it still uses foam-infused silicone tips. That seal does work the open-ear design cannot match, which is why the cheap pair does not retire the expensive one.

WHAT STAYS ON AIRPODS PRO 3

• The seal: In-ear tips give passive isolation that open stems cannot, which is why Apple still quotes a 3x ANC gap.
• Listening time: Up to 8 hours with ANC on one charge, and up to 24 hours with the MagSafe case.
• Workout heart rate: A sensor in the bud, which AirPods 5 do not have.
• Hearing tools: Hearing Test, Hearing Aid, and Hearing Protection stay on the Pro line.

Buyers who hated silicone tips no longer have to give up cancellation to stay at $129, and that is the job AirPods 5 actually takes from Pro. Flight-level quiet, hearing-aid features, and a full workday on one charge do not move. Aftermarket tips can be pressed onto open buds, but that is a hack around a shape Apple still sells on purpose.

What Audio Intelligence Does on the Wrist

Audio Intelligence is a four-part S11 feature set that uses the Watch microphone, on-device models, and Apple Intelligence on iPhone to catch sounds, rewind speech, summarize talk, and name a song. Live Rewind and Siri Recap arrive in beta later in 2026, in English first, and they will not launch in the EU. Apple says they are not for users under 13, need a paired iPhone that runs Siri AI, and do not keep audio recordings.

AUDIO INTELLIGENCE ON SERIES 12 AND ULTRA 4

• Sound Recognition: Alerts for sirens, alarms, doorbells, and a baby crying even when the iPhone is not nearby.
• Live Rewind: A double press of the Digital Crown shows the previous 15 seconds of talk as text, which can be saved or handed to Siri.
• Siri Recap: An opt-in listener that writes a title and key points after a meeting or conference, reviewed in the Siri app.
• Shazam: Names nearby music on a Music Recognition widget in the Smart Stack.

Apple describes Live Rewind as a rolling buffer processed in an isolated compartment on the S11, overwritten as it goes, with transcription starting when the Crown is pressed twice. Recap is scheduled or switched on by the wearer, and Apple says the encrypted audio that leaves the Watch for the iPhone stays out of reach of apps, the user, and Apple. Daily usage limits apply because part of the work runs on servers. That is a different product than a watch that only counts steps. It is also a feature that is not in the box on September 18.

A New Chip After a Skipped Year

Apple Watch Series 11 reused the S10 chip from Series 10. Series 12 and Ultra 4 move to S11, which Apple calls its most powerful wearable chip, with a 64-bit dual-core processor, a 4-core Neural Engine, and 64GB of storage. The chip is why Audio Intelligence exists on these two watches and not on last year’s.

The other hardware change is the Health Sensing System: new optical and electrical heart sensors with larger green LEDs that, Apple says, measure heart rate every five seconds all day. HRV is measured up to 24 times more often. Apple ran a study on a diverse group of more than 1,000 people against other wearables and claims the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable.

The new Health Sensing System and S11 chip take Apple Watch Ultra 4 to the next level, delivering longer battery life, faster charging, and the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable.

Kaiann Drance, vice president of Worldwide Apple Watch Product Marketing, Apple

Readiness, exclusive to these two models because it needs the new sensor array, scores the day from 0 to 10 and then labels it Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready, or Go For It, using recent activity, training load, vitals, and sleep. The score updates as the day runs. A redesigned Health app, due later this year in U.S. English, adds a Longevity tab with Health Age, which compares watch metrics with chronological age.

Series 12 starts at $399 in aluminum, in Dark Bronze, Light Gold, Black, and Space Gray, with Radiant Gold and Natural titanium and Pearl White and Night Blue ceramic above that floor. Aluminum faces get Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple says is 60 percent tougher than the Ion-X glass on prior aluminum models. Titanium and ceramic use sapphire. Apple Watch Hermès Series 12 adds Radiant Gold titanium with a Noir satin Clou de Selle band. Ultra 4 stays in natural and black titanium, with a Hermès Ultra 4 option that includes a Grand H titanium band.

50 Hours on Ultra 4, Same 24 on Series 12

Series 12 keeps the same everyday battery claim Series 11 already used. Ultra 4 is where the hours actually move, which is the split inside the watch line: the $399 watch gained a chip and sensors, and the $799 watch gained those plus a longer charge.

THE WATCH CHIP AND BATTERY SHIFT

Ultra 4, which starts at $799, also lists up to 25 hours of outdoor tracking with full GPS and heart rate in Extended Workout mode, a 25 percent gain on the previous model, and up to 45 hours in Max Extended Workout mode with GPS still reading every second. Apple says 15 minutes on the charger adds up to 18 hours on Ultra 4. Series 12 gets up to 12 hours from the same 15 minutes, and up to 80 percent in about 30 minutes. Peak brightness stays 2,000 nits on Series 12 and 3,000 nits on Ultra 4. Water ratings stay 50 meters on Series 12 and 100 meters on Ultra 4.

A Series 11 owner who only wanted more hours does not get them on Series 12. An Ultra 3 owner who wanted a weekend off the charger, and the new sensors, does.

One Family Plan Covers Every Eligible Device

AppleCare One Family is the U.S. household version of the multi-device plan Apple already sold as Individual. It is listed at $49.99 a month, covers every eligible device for up to six people in a Family Sharing group, and Apple says the price does not rise when new products are added. Most devices less than four years old and in good working condition can go on the plan. Theft and loss cover iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, with six claims a year across the whole group. Accidental damage is not capped the same way, though screen, spill, and loss repairs still carry service fees on Apple’s fee schedule.

AppleCare One Individual remains $19.99 a month for up to three products, with extra units at $5.99 a month and three theft-loss claims a year. Single-product AppleCare+ for iPhone still starts at $10.99 a month. Family is the plan that only makes sense once a house is full of overlapping phones, watches, and buds, which is exactly the pile this event just enlarged.

THE SEPTEMBER CALENDAR

1. September 9, 2026: Apple announces AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12, and Ultra 4 at its Surprise and Shine event, and pre-orders open in the U.S. and more than 65 other countries for the buds.
2. September 14, 2026: iOS 27 arrives, Siri AI begins as an English beta, and AppleCare One Family becomes available in the United States.
3. September 18, 2026: AirPods 5, Series 12, and Ultra 4 go on sale in stores.
4. Later in 2026: Live Rewind and Siri Recap open in beta, starting in English, and the redesigned Health app with Health Age is due in U.S. English.

Stores get AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12, and Ultra 4 on Friday, September 18. The Watch will ship able to sample a heart every five seconds. The part that listens to a conversation and writes it down is still marked later.