# Apple moved the AirPods upsell from noise cancellation to the case

Source: https://idevice.com/apple-moved-the-airpods-upsell-from-noise-cancellation-to-the-case
Published: 2026-09-10

> Open-ear noise cancellation used to cost $179. It's $129 now, and the $20 step up buys a case that charges on an Apple Watch puck.

[AirPods 5](https://idevice.com/earbuds/apple-airpods/roadmap) opened for pre-order on Wednesday at $129, with a second version at $149, and active noise cancellation comes in both boxes. Last year the split was the feature itself: [AirPods 4](https://idevice.com/earbuds/apple-airpods/roadmap/airpods-4) cost $129 without cancellation and $179 with it. So anyone who wanted ANC in an open-ear AirPod is paying fifty dollars less this week than last, which is the arithmetic in [9to5Mac's comparison of the two generations](https://9to5mac.com/2026/09/09/airpods-5-vs-airpods-4-new-features/). Apple rates the cancellation at up to 50 percent more noise removed than AirPods 4 with ANC, and credits a multiport acoustic architecture borrowed from AirPods Pro 3.

What the extra $20 buys now is hardware. According to Apple, the $149 model adds wireless charging from an Apple Watch puck, a Qi pad or a USB-C cable, a force sensor on the stem for swiping the volume, and an hour more listening with cancellation on. Apple hasn't published a charging time for any of the three methods, and [it hasn't said whether the case aligns to MagSafe](https://www.macobserver.com/tips/round-ups/airpods-5-wireless-charging-case-apple-watch-charger-qi-usb-c-swipe-volume/) beyond working on Qi. Both boxes ship on September 18. Apple's own specs comparison rates AirPods Pro 3 at three times the cancellation of AirPods 5.

## Sources

- [9to5Mac](https://9to5mac.com/2026/09/09/airpods-5-vs-airpods-4-new-features/) (9to5Mac)
- [The Mac Observer](https://www.macobserver.com/tips/round-ups/airpods-5-wireless-charging-case-apple-watch-charger-qi-usb-c-swipe-volume/) (The Mac Observer)