AirPods 5 start at Dh539 in UAE with stronger noise cancellation

Dubai: Apple has introduced AirPods 5 with prices starting at Dh539, bringing Active Noise Cancellation to its most affordable AirPods and promising up to 50% greater external noise reduction compared with AirPods 4 with ANC.

Customers can pre-order AirPods 5 now, with the earbuds reaching stores on Friday, September 18. A second version with a Wireless Charging Case costs Dh629 and adds longer battery life and on-stem volume controls.

The new open-ear earbuds use a multiport acoustic architecture and next-generation Adaptive EQ, while Apple has also improved dust, sweat and water resistance.

Noise cancellation gets an upgrade

AirPods 5 remove up to 50% more external noise than AirPods 4 with ANC, according to Apple, using the redesigned acoustic architecture and updated computational audio algorithms.

Transparency mode has also been updated to reproduce voices and nearby sounds more naturally, while Adaptive Audio switches between Transparency mode and ANC depending on the surrounding environment.

Conversation Awareness automatically lowers media volume when the wearer begins speaking to someone nearby.

Wireless charging model adds longer battery life

The Dh629 AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case offer up to five hours of playback with ANC switched on from a single charge, one hour longer than AirPods 4 with ANC.

Total listening time with ANC reaches up to 22 hours when used with the charging case, which supports Apple Watch chargers, Qi-compatible wireless chargers and USB-C.

The higher-priced model also introduces volume swipe controls to Apple’s open-ear AirPods, allowing users to adjust volume by moving a finger up or down the stem.

Sound redesigned across different ear shapes

Apple said the new multiport acoustic architecture and Adaptive EQ are designed to provide richer and more detailed sound across a wider range of ear geometries.

Personalised Spatial Audio is also supported, while users can respond to Siri using head gestures.

AirPods 5 can be used with Live Translation on compatible Apple devices running the latest operating system software, provided Apple Intelligence is switched on and the feature is supported in the user’s language and region.

Apple Intelligence arrives September 14

Apple Intelligence will become available with iOS 27 on Monday, September 14, for supported devices and languages.

Siri AI will also begin rolling out in beta on September 14 for users with supported devices set to English, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish support due in October.

Apple said full AirPods 5 functionality requires the earbuds to be paired with an Apple device running the latest operating system software.