TWS true wireless earphones - $75 to $100
FIVE STARS - Earfun joins the ranks of fantastic, versatile and great sounding wireless earbuds under 100 dollars. The Earfun Air Pro 4 ticks all the boxes and even beats the AirPods Pro 2 in some aspects.
Earfun Air Pro 4 specs and features:
Bluetooth 5.4 with AptX and LDAC codec
IPX5 waterproof rating (rain and sweat proof)
8 - 11 hours playtime on a single charge (ANC on/off)
Charging case can charge earpieces fully 4 times
Has: ANC, Transparency, app support, multipoint connection, gaming mode
Doesn't have: spatial audio
Comes with 3 sets of ear tips, USB-C cable, English manual
$90 - See price on Amazon US or your Amazon country (use code AP425OFF for ~$20 off!)
In and underneath this Earfun Air Pro 4 review, you will find comparisons of the Earfun Air Pro 4 vs Earfun Air Pro 3, Huawei Freebuds 6i, Realme Buds Air 5 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy Buds FE.
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Design, comfort and battery life
The Earfun Air Pro series is one of the longest evolutions of Active Noise Cancelling wireless earbuds in the market, with even more iterations than Sony's and even Samsungs lineup.
The first Earfun Air Pro back in 2020 was based on an Edifier design, the Earfun Air Pro 2 from 2021 was the first original release, then came the sidestep that was the Earfun Air Pro SV in 2022 (based on a design by the Chinese audio brand Fiil), and then followed the Earfun Air Pro 3 in the beginning of 2023. Not to mention the two non-Active Noise Cancelling siblings in between: the Earfun Air S and brand new Earfun Air 2.
There isn't a model that scored under 4,5 stars overall on Scarbir.com. The Earfun Air Pro-series is like the Volkswagen Golf (or Rabbit or Gol, depending on where you live) of wireless earbuds: every new model nails the basics and is a logical iteration over the previous model, although there have been some inconsistencies in what different models did best - one offering stronger Active Noise Cancelling (the Pro 2), one adding multipoint connectivity (the Pro 3), another one more geared towards design (the Pro SV).
As Earfun still sells multiple previous models for lower prices, the new $90 Earfun Air Pro 4 has to be the best offering of the brand. But is it? Let's jump to the new model.
Earfun Air Pro 3 (left) vs Earfun Air Pro 4: spot the differences
The Earfun Air Pro 4 feels like a facelift from the Air Pro 3. While it falls a bit short of the perceived high-quality look and feel of the OnePlus Buds Pro 3, Soundcore Liberty 4 NC or Nothing Ear (a), it's a step up in build quality and finish for the brand.
The matte black charging case is pretty scratch-resistant, has three convenient LED's to indicate the remaining battery life, and also has another two LED-lights that shine on the ear tips inside the case - which looks great.
The case is a tad bulkier than most of its competitors, but still compact enough to carry around in a jeans pocket, and it can recharge the wireless earbuds nearly four times fully. Not just that: a 5 minute charge in the case is enough to provide the earbuds 3 hours of listening time!
The Earfun Air Pro 4 has fantastic battery life, delivering up to 8 hours of playtime on a single charge with Active Noise Cancelling on. Add up the quick recharging, and you'll practically never run out of juice with these.
In all these hours, the shiny grey diagonal earpieces of the Air Pro 4 sit tightly in your ears. Unfortunately, Earfun still mounts rounder and bigger-than-average ear tips than most competitors, making it less comfortable than offerings with oval rubber tips. You may need to take them out every now and then to release a bit of pressure on your ears.
Due to their tight fit, you can easily take them for a run or workout though, and the IPX5 waterproof rating ensures the earbuds won't fail because of some rain or your sweat.
Controls, connectivity and app support
The Earfun Air Pro 4 shows once again that you can get an insane amount of features on wireless earbuds priced under 100 dollars nowadays. You can connect the earbuds to two devices at the same time thanks to the multipoint connection, music automatically pauses when you take an earbud out, and there's extensive app support to change basically everything to your liking.
The free and now well-functioning Earfun app for iPhone and Android phones just throws so many useful features at you:
Check the battery status of each earbud and the case
Customize the controls entirely to your liking, including the option to add volume controls on the earbuds
(De)activate the gaming mode
(De)activate auto-pause and play when you take an earbud out/ put it in
Check and disable the connected devices
Choose from five Active Noise Cancelling settings
Choose from tens of sound presets or create your own EQ or sound profile
Find your earphones when you've lost them
Update the firmware
Change the voice prompt language (default is English) and volume
Choose the left, right or both microphones for calls
Android only: choose between the AptX and LDAC sound codecs
Some Android phones only: activate the Bluetooth LE mode for Auracast audio streams (i.e. for sharing streams, conferences, flights or specific tv's)
The touch panels on top of the stem respond well to your input, and always register whether you tap once, twice or three times rightly. The only little gripe is that changing the volume induces a subtle beep sound effects that fires a tad slow - you hear the volume changing first, then the beep cuts out a little of the music.
Some of the many options from the app
Switching to LDAC is probably not worth it
Also, the extra options for Android add some inconveniences. Both choosing for the LE Auracast support and choosing the LDAC audio codec, disables the multipoint connection, decreases the battery life, depletes the Bluetooth connection strength, and requires you to re-establish the Bluetooth connection on your device, which isn't very user friendly. As you'll probably barely need Auracast and the default sound with the AptX already sound great, it's more convenient to not touch these options at all.
The bottom line here is: the Earfun Air Pro 4 gives you a ton of fantastic options, and as all settings you change in the app are saved to the earbuds, you can customize the earbuds greatly to your liking.
Phone and video calls
Previous Earfun's have been mostly good for phone and video calls, and the Earfun Air Pro 4 is no exception. In fact, that's an understatement!
The microphones here focus extremely well on your voice. Even with a radio playing in the background and a nearby colleague talking loudly, your voice comes across naturally, loud and constant. Both the chatter and other sound effects - like closing a door - can only be heard somewhat on the line.
It also handles a bit of wind well, making these earbuds perfectly suitable for phone and video calls indoors and outside.
The Earfun therefore is on par with the excellent call clarity of the Huawei Freebuds 6i and OnePlus Buds 3, and outperforms the Apple AirPods Pro 2.
Video and games playback
The Earfun Air Pro 4 has flawless synchronization in video apps on both iPhone and Android phones, with lipsync performance in YouTube, Netflix, and other video services.
With a manual slider in the the app (unfortunately not directly from the earbuds) you can also activate the game mode - and it's a blast. The sound effects of reloading, gunshots and explosions in a challenging game like Call of Duty mobile synchronize extremely well with the action on your screen - up to the point you don't notice a delay anymore. It can be a bit hard to locate the origin of action around you precisely, but the speed is fantastic.
ANC quality of the Earfun Air Pro 4
The Active Noise Cancelling strength has been the most hit-and-miss aspect of Earfun's extensive Air-lineup. Happily, the Air Pro 4 competes with the best in class.
It's only been last month that the Huawei Freebuds 6i raised the barrier of excellent ANC on affordable earphones, and now the Earfun matches it. Basically the only thing that passes the Active Noise Cancellation of Air Pro 4 are sudden sound effects in the middle of the spectrum. Someone slamming a door, or shifting on a squeeky chair - those are the sounds the Earfun's ANC doesn't adjust to quick enough and can still be audible.
Much more of your surroundings disappear as soon as you put the earbuds in. Constant lower noises like electronic humming; middle sounds like keyboard typing, radio playback, and distant chatter; and higher sounds like birds twittering or tires on wet roads are all heavily reduced or actually removed from your hearing. And that's still the ANC performance without playing any music.
Lots of ANC options in the app
This is reached with the ‘AI Ear Adaptive ANC’ setting in the app, which says to optimize the noise reduction for your ears. However, the same strength can be had with the default ‘Strong ANC’ or the ‘AI Environment Adaptive ANC’ settings. There's also a Balanced setting, that states to seek the best balance between ANC strength and wearing comfort, and finally, a Wind Noise Cancelling mode for cycling or running against wind.
Truth is, all these options aren't that necessary. They all seem to work well and do a good job of reducing the wind noise as soon as it's detected. What you need to know is - the ANC is just great at this price point. If there's still too much wind, you can turn the function off as well.
When you need to hear more of your surroundings while playing music or watching a video, the Ambient mode can help you locate some traffic around you, as it accentuates some brighter sounds. It doesn't do much for following conversations, and the transparency effect is limited when you're playing music with a bit of volume.
It's been three years since Apple's game-changing earbuds, but now, like the call quality, this under-$100 model outperforms the AirPods Pro 2's premium priced Active Noise Cancelling.
Sound quality of Earfun Air Pro 4
The Earfun Air Pro 4 is the brands best sounding pair of wireless earbuds to date, with a great mixture of energy, balance, and detail.
As longtime Scarbir.com readers may know, Earfun models usually lean heavily on the bass and other lower frequencies. The Earfun Air Pro 3 was a perfect example of this bassy-warm sound character. It accompanied heavy and rumbly bass strikes with other lower frequencies that were so strong, vocals had a hard time outweighing them. Previous Earfun's could be unbalanced and/or lack a little liveliness.
Happily, the Earfun Air Pro 4 avoids this trap. It's a step up from before.
Rest assured, the bass is still strong. The mid-bass throws solid slams that don't immediately roll-off, but last a little, giving that bass full feeling. Not the tightest punches, but more thump-like - there's a difference. Underneath it, the sub-bass (darkest tones you can feel as much as hear) provides a controlled and fairly deep rumble, demonstrated as always by the James Blake's Limit to Your Love.
Lower-mid tones are also boosted once more. Darker electronic tones, instruments, and lower male vocals have a big presence and feel textured. The big difference from the Air Pro 3 and many other Earfun's before, is that the strong lower-mids don't drag the higher mids along with them. There's space between the lows and the center-mids, which leaves room for natural sounding guitars and piano play - albeit still with a pleasant warm undertone.
Even more so, vocals stand out properly. Both male and female vocals are forward and play well with instruments around them. They're not too upfront and also not overpowered, and higher (female) voices aren't too thin either. Björk's extreme outhauls in It's Oh So Quiet have the room to become sharp and stabby, but her singing is still grounded - her darker edges are just as audible.
Her squeeks are probably the harshest the sound of the Air Pro 4 can get: highs are controlled well, and while cymbals, violins, and flutes are clear, they're never too bright. The Earfun maintains its warm and even somewhat smooth undertone, even though there's plenty of treble and there's an impressive separation between vocals, instruments and frequencies. While it's hard to describe it as a big or wide soundstage, the articulation of the bass and different frequencies is good enough to provide a feeling of space in the sound.
Just like with the ANC, Earfun throws in a lot of alternative scenarios in the app that can adjust the sound character. On Android phones, switching to the LDAC codec doesn't immediately give a big perceived upgrade in the sound - possibly also because switching takes endlessly due to re-connecting via Bluetooth - but both iPhone and Android users still have plenty of sound presets to choose from in the app.
It's cumbersome to swipe between them on iPhone, but they do give you control over the Bass and Treble - as you can boost or decrease them level 1 to 3. The Natural preset is strategically placed next to the Default, and the most worthy of the options, as it reduces the bass and lows-boost and introduces a flatter sound. If that's not enough, you can make your own equalizer or setup your sound profile by indicating when you can still hear subtle beeps in all frequencies. Neat idea - but the result doesn't quite optimize the sound.
All in all, the abundance of EQ options helps to lay some accents in what's a great sound out of the box.
While it may be a tad too warm if you're seeking a truly natural sound, the Earfun Air Pro 4 is a wonderful listen on any volume - articulated, balanced, and energetic.
—> These are the best sounding wireless earbuds from $25 to $100
Earfun Air Pro 4 comparisons
Earfun Air Pro 4 vs Earfun Air Pro 3: A worthy upgrade?
The Earfun Air Pro 4 feels like an evolution of the Earfun Air Pro 3. That's because it is. Its case stays nicer after throwing it your bag with keys, and the slightly shorter stems look better - even though that's nitpicking. More importantly, the Air Pro 4 has longer battery life, stronger Active Noise Cancelling, and gives your voice more volume in phone and video calls. The gaming performance is better as well.
Yet, the biggest change is the sound. While both have the same warm-bassy basis, the Air Pro 4 handles what's atop it better. There's more space in the center and higher frequencies, vocals are more forward and vibrant, and there's more separation between instruments. At times, the differences don't appear so big, other times, the Air Pro 4 sounds much less metallic than the Air Pro 3 and adds much-needed balance to the same energetic basis. A worthy upgrade indeed.
$80 - Buy on Amazon US or other your Amazon country (code AP315OFF may get you 15% off)
Earfun Air Pro 4 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds FE
The Samsung Galaxy Buds FE has been the Scarbir.com top recommendation for the combination of sound quality and everyday practicality on ANC earbuds under $100, but that doesn't really hold anymore. The Earfun Air Pro 4 has stronger Active Noise Cancelling and a more expansive sound, with bigger separation between lows and (higher) mids, and more forward vocals. The Samsung can feel smoother and more fluent, and its deeper bass can make electronic and dance genres more uplifting, but it doesn't feel as detailed.
On top of that, the Earfun has longer battery life, clearer calls in windy situations, its multipoint connection also works with non-Samsung devices, and it has more control options as well.
Around $80 on Amazon US, Amazon UK or other Amazon countries
Earfun Air Pro 4 vs Realme Buds Air 5 Pro
With its multipoint connection, great call quality and great sound, the Realme Buds Air 5 Pro is another terrific choice for wireless earbuds under $100. That said, the Earfun Air Pro 4 offers 3 hours more playtime on a single charge and noticeably stronger Active Noise Cancelling, next to more control options.
Sound-wise, the Realme puts the center-mids and treble more forward. This gives it a bit of a hissy undertone, but also adds to the detail and vibrancy in the higher frequencies. It has tighter drum kicks than the Earfun, but the Air Pro 4 can go louder and its warmer profile make it a smoother listen. Both sound excellent.
Around $80 on Amazon US, your Amazon country or AliExpress
Earfun Air Pro 4 vs Huawei Freebuds 6i
It was only last month that the Huawei Freebuds 6i raised the barrier for strong Active Noise Cancelling on affordable wireless earbuds, and now its matched already. Both these models have wonderful ANC, just like both product clear calls and have great controls. The Huawei has a more usable Transparency mode, while the Earfun Air Pro 4 provides 3 hours more playtime per charge and better synchronization in games.
The Huawei has stronger lower-mids, and it urges the center-mids to choose between the lower or higher mids, resulting in sometimes a fuller sound, and sometimes thinner vocals. The Earfun has a more consistent sound. It has both more space for center-mids, and a warmer tonality overall. It also has more definition.
Still doubting? Two important considerations: the Freebuds 6i is more comfortable thanks to the oval ear tips, but dependent on where you live, the Earfun can be up to 70 dollars cheaper!
$90 - $150 - See price on Amazon US or your Amazon country
Verdict: Earfun Air Pro 4
The Earfun Air Pro 4 joins the ranks of the very best wireless earbuds under 100 dollars, with excellent Active Noise Cancelling, clear calls, multipoint connectivity, great battery life, and wonderful sound.
5 STARS - Excellent
Buy Earfun Air Pro 4/ Check lowest price
Buy on Amazon US
Buy on your Amazon country
Use code AP425OFF for ~ $20 off!
I received the Earfun Air Pro 4 myself to test and review. This doesn't influence my judgment. My reviews are 100% independent and non-commercial - read about it here.
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