Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to amazon.com.au. If you buy through one of these links iFix may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It doesn't change which products we recommend. We focus on what actually lasts based on 16 years of repair-shop experience.
Quick answer: If you own an iPhone, buy the Apple AirPods 4 at $157.00: no ANC, but the pairing, switching and spatial audio you are actually paying for all work. On Android, the Sony WF-C710N at $148.00 is the pick: proper ANC, 8.5 hours per charge, and an app that works on everything. The EarFun Air Pro 4+ at $125.99 is the value ANC pick: adaptive noise cancelling, 12-hour buds and every codec that matters, for the least money here.
The AirPods and Sony ship from Amazon AU; the EarFun ships brand-direct from EarFun AU. Prices verified at time of writing (6 August 2026).
Buy earbuds like the three-year purchase they are
Every week someone tips a pair of dead earbuds onto the counter at our workshop and asks if the battery can be swapped. The honest answer has not changed in years: no. Not by us, not by anyone, not economically. Inside each bud is a lithium cell of roughly 50mAh, bonded into a glued or ultrasonic-welded shell and soldered straight to the board. It cycles every single day you use it, and small cells wear just as fast as big ones. Around the three-year mark, one bud starts dying early, then the other follows.
So this guide starts from that fact instead of pretending otherwise. Wireless earbuds are a three-year purchase. Spend accordingly, pick the pair that fits your phone rather than the one with the longest spec sheet, and use the habits further down to slow the decay and steal a fourth year. If your listening is mostly long-haul flights or eight-hour office days, over-ears with replaceable pads and bigger batteries age far better; our noise-cancelling headphones guide covers that end of the market.
What matters at this price: your phone, the codec, the app
Ecosystem honesty beats spec sheets
AirPods are the right answer inside iPhone-world and a mediocre one outside it. On an iPhone you get instant pairing, automatic switching between Apple devices, Personalised Spatial Audio and settings baked into iOS. On Android all of that vanishes and you are left with plain AAC and a pair of pretty white buds. Sony plays it straighter: the Sound Connect app is equally good on both platforms. EarFun is the outsider that keeps winning value awards by shipping flagship internals at two-thirds of the price.
ANC below $160 is the interesting trade
Active noise cancellation used to be the $300-plus feature. Not anymore. The EarFun and the Sony both include real, usable ANC below the price of the standard AirPods 4, which have none. Apple reserves ANC for a dearer AirPods 4 variant. That is the decision most buyers in this bracket actually face: Apple convenience without ANC, or ANC from someone else for less.
Codecs matter on Android, not on iPhone
Every iPhone speaks AAC over Bluetooth and nothing better, so codec lists are irrelevant if that is your phone, and if you are shopping for the phone itself our refurbished iPhone stock is where I would start rather than any earbud aisle. On Android, codecs are real: LDAC and aptX Lossless carry measurably more data than AAC, and the EarFun supports the lot. The Sony sticks to AAC at this tier. Audible difference is modest; paying for a codec your phone cannot use is the actual mistake.
The three picks, from $126 to $157
Prices are Amazon AU at time of writing (6 August 2026) and move week to week. Sales ranks are Amazon AU's In-Ear Headphones category, checked the same day.
Apple AirPods 4
ASIN B0DGJ2X3QV • $157.00 • Ships from Amazon AU
The #2 seller in Amazon AU's In-Ear Headphones category, and inside iPhone-world the ranking makes sense. The H2 chip does the things no third-party bud can: pairing that takes one tap, automatic switching from iPhone to iPad to Mac mid-call, Personalised Spatial Audio with head tracking, and Find My when a bud goes missing down the couch. The open-ear fit suits people who find silicone tips fatiguing, Voice Isolation genuinely cleans up calls, and the USB-C case is small enough to forget. Five hours per charge, 30 with the case, IP54 dust and splash resistance on both buds and case.
Honest caveats: this is the standard AirPods 4, without ANC; both lower-priced picks in this guide cancel noise and these do not. The open fit also leaks sound both ways on a quiet train. And on Android they are a bad buy full stop: AAC only, no automatic switching, no spatial audio, no fit test. Inside the Apple ecosystem, none of that matters and they are the obvious pick.
Best for: iPhone owners in quieter environments who want zero-friction pairing and all-day comfort.
ANC: No (reserved for dearer variant) • Battery: 5h per charge, 30h with case • Codecs: AAC, SBC • Rating: IP54 buds and case • Case: USB-C • Rank: #2 in In-Ear Headphones (Amazon AU)
View on Amazon AU
EarFun Air Pro 4+ Adaptive Noise Cancelling Earbuds
ASIN B0FWHZ467J • $125.99 • Ships from EarFun AU
EarFun keeps collecting awards, a 2025 VGP award in Japan on this model, because the internals read like a $300 pair: a 10mm dynamic driver paired with a balanced armature, Qualcomm's QCC3091 chip with Snapdragon Sound certification, aptX Lossless, LDAC and LE Audio, Bluetooth 6.0 with multipoint and Auracast, and adaptive hybrid ANC rated to 50dB of reduction. Battery is the standout: 12 hours per charge with ANC off, 54 with the case, and a 10-minute top-up buys three hours. Nothing else near $126 matches that endurance, and it is roughly double what either brand-name pick manages per charge.
Honest caveats: you need the EarFun app to unlock the good stuff, including firmware updates, and the out-of-box EQ wants taming. The listing ships brand-direct from EarFun AU rather than Amazon's own warehouse, so check the delivery estimate at checkout. And EarFun's warranty process runs through the brand, not a local service network like Sony's.
Best for: Android owners who want the most ANC, battery and codec support per dollar and don't mind a challenger brand.
ANC: Adaptive hybrid, up to 50dB • Battery: 12h per charge (ANC off), 54h with case • Codecs: aptX Lossless, LDAC, LC3, AAC, SBC • Rating: IPX5 buds • Extras: Multipoint, Auracast, 6-mic calls • Rank: #29 in In-Ear Headphones (Amazon AU)
View on Amazon AU
Sony WF-C710N Truly Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds
ASIN B0F2GLCWG9 • $148.00 • Ships from Amazon AU
Sony's mid-range buds are the sensible-shoes pick, and I mean that as praise. Dual Noise Sensor ANC that actually works on a bus, 8.5 hours per charge with ANC on and 30 hours total with the case, a five-minute charge for an hour of playback, and Sony's DSEE processing pulling detail back into compressed streams. The Sound Connect app is the quiet advantage: identical on Android and iOS, with a proper EQ, 20 ambient-sound levels and firmware updates that just happen. Multipoint pairs two devices at once, the buds come in four colours, and Sony's Australian warranty network sits behind it all.
Honest caveats: AAC and SBC only, no LDAC at this tier; Sony saves that for the dearer WF-1000XM5. IPX4 is splash resistance, not a sweat-proof guarantee for hard gym sessions. And case capacity trails the EarFun by a wide margin, 30 hours against 54.
Best for: Android owners who want big-brand ANC, an excellent app and local warranty backing over spec-sheet maximums.
ANC: Yes, Dual Noise Sensor • Battery: 8.5h per charge (ANC on), 30h with case • Codecs: AAC, SBC • Rating: IPX4 buds • Extras: Multipoint, DSEE, 20-level ambient mode • Rank: #38 in In-Ear Headphones (Amazon AU)
View on Amazon AUSide-by-side comparison
| A: AirPods 4 | B: EarFun Air Pro 4+ | C: Sony WF-C710N | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier | Best for iPhone owners | Value ANC pick | Best for Android |
| Price (AUD) | $157.00 | $125.99 | $148.00 |
| In-Ear Headphones rank (Amazon AU) | #2 | #29 | #38 |
| ANC | No | Adaptive hybrid, up to 50dB | Yes, Dual Noise Sensor |
| Battery per charge | 5h | 12h (ANC off) | 8.5h (ANC on) |
| Battery with case | 30h | 54h | 30h |
| Codec support | AAC, SBC | aptX Lossless, LDAC, LC3, AAC, SBC | AAC, SBC |
| IP rating | IP54 (buds and case) | IPX5 (buds) | IPX4 (buds) |
| Ecosystem fit | iPhone first, basic on Android | Best on Android, app on both | Equal app on Android and iOS |
| Multipoint | Apple devices only | Yes, any two devices | Yes, any two devices |
| Best for | iPhone owners, quiet environments | Endurance and features per dollar | Commuters wanting brand-name ANC |
How to slow the decay: habits that buy a fourth year
You cannot stop a 50mAh cell from wearing, but most pairs that die at two years instead of four were killed by habit, not chemistry. The rules that actually move the needle:
- Never store them flat. A lithium cell parked at 0% self-discharges below its safe cut-off within weeks, and the charging circuit will then refuse to touch it. If the buds are going in a drawer for a month, leave the case half charged.
- Take the case off the charger. A case that lives on a USB cable holds the buds pinned at 100% around the clock, and full charge plus warmth is the exact recipe for accelerated wear. Charge it, unplug it.
- Keep them out of hot cars. An Australian summer cabin passes 60 degrees in under an hour, and heat is the single fastest battery killer we see. A pair that summers in a glovebox ages years in months.
- Clean the charging contacts. Isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud, monthly. A surprising share of "dead earbud" walk-ins are lint, not lithium.
- Run the firmware updates. Battery-management fixes ship this way. Sony and EarFun update through their apps on any phone; AirPods update themselves near an iPhone.
- Charge from a decent brick. The case's charge circuit tolerates a lot, but the no-name USB bricks we tear down in our counterfeit charger teardown deliver rail noise nothing deserves. The buds only ever see the case, but the case still has to survive the wall.
What we see at the bench: earbuds edition
Earbuds cross our counter constantly, almost always with the same handful of stories. Here is what 16 years of looking at them closely has settled.
The battery is bonded, and that is the whole story
Each bud packs a cell of roughly 50mAh, glued against the driver and soldered to a flex board folded around it. No connector, no service loop, no spare millimetre. That is not a conspiracy; it is the physics of fitting a battery, driver, antenna and three microphones into four grams. But it means the cell's lifespan is the product's lifespan.
Why nobody repairs earbuds, including us
Opening an ultrasonic-welded shell without destroying it is a coin flip with hot air and a steady hand, replacement cells are not sold in ones, and the labour would outrun the price of a new pair before morning tea. iFix replaces phone batteries all day because phones have connectors, parts channels and resale value. Earbuds have none of the three. Any shop promising an earbud battery swap on a mainstream pair deserves your scepticism.
Case charging pins corrode before case batteries die
The spring pins in each case well are the weak point of the whole system. Dock sweat-damp buds after a run and the salt stays behind; months later a white-green crust stops charge flowing. The tell is a bud that charges in a mate's case but not yours, or one well working and the other dead. Caught early it cleans off. Left a year, the plating etches through and the case is scrap.
Sweat and IP ratings: read what is actually promised
IPX4 and IPX5 cover the buds against fresh water, briefly. Sweat is salt water, more conductive and more corrosive, and the charging case is almost never rated at all. The same gap between marketing and reality applies to phones, and we have unpacked what an IP rating actually covers in detail. Short version for earbuds: train in them if they are rated for it, then wipe them dry before they go anywhere near the case.
The lint problem: the free two-minute fix
A decent share of "my earbud is dead" visits end without a repair bill. Pocket lint and earwax pack onto the charging contacts, the case LED lies to you, and the bud never actually charges. We clean the contacts with isopropyl, show the customer how, and send them off. If your buds are under three years old and one side suddenly will not charge, try that before you try your wallet.
Decision tree: which earbuds should you buy?
- iPhone in your pocket and mostly quiet surroundings? → Apple AirPods 4 at $157.00. The ecosystem features you are paying for all work.
- Want ANC, the longest battery and every codec, for the least money? → EarFun Air Pro 4+ at $125.99. Twelve hours per charge, 54 with the case.
- Android owner who wants brand-name ANC and a proper local warranty? → Sony WF-C710N at $148.00. Best app of the three on any phone.
- Need silence on a long flight or all-day office wear? → Over-ears do it better and age better; see the noise-cancelling headphones guide linked in the intro.
- Current pair under three years old and one bud "dead"? → Probably contacts, not battery. Walk it into our workshop at Erina and we will check it for free before you spend anything.
Frequently asked questions
How long do wireless earbuds actually last?
Plan on about three years of daily use before battery life gets annoying. Each bud carries a lithium cell of roughly 50mAh, and daily listening puts close to a full charge cycle on it every day, so the wear a phone battery accumulates in three years arrives on the same schedule. The first symptom is one bud dying before the other, usually your call-taking side. When a bud that ran five hours new taps out at two, that is chemistry, not a software fault, and no reset will bring it back.
Can you replace the battery in wireless earbuds?
On any mainstream pair, no, and that includes our bench. The shells are ultrasonic-welded or glued shut, the cell is bonded in with adhesive and soldered straight to the board, and nobody sells replacement cells in single quantities anyway. Opening a shell without wrecking it is a coin flip even with hot air and practice, and the labour would cost more than these pairs do new. That is why this guide treats earbuds as a three-year purchase and prices the picks accordingly.
Do the AirPods 4 have noise cancelling?
The $157.00 model in this guide is the standard AirPods 4, which does not have active noise cancellation. Apple sells a separate AirPods 4 variant with ANC for more money. That gap is the interesting trade here: the EarFun Air Pro 4+ and the Sony WF-C710N both include ANC below the standard AirPods' price. Quiet suburb, iPhone in your pocket, mostly podcasts: buy the AirPods. Trains, buses and open-plan office noise: the Sony or the EarFun will do more for you per dollar.
One earbud won't charge. Is it dead?
Usually not. The most common cause we see at the counter is pocket lint and earwax packed over the charging contacts, on the bud, in the case wells, or both. The case reports charging and nothing actually flows. A cotton bud with a little isopropyl alcohol and a soft brush fixes it in about two minutes, and we show people that fix for free. If the contacts are clean and the bud still will not take a charge, you are looking at a dead cell or corrosion inside the case.
Can I wear wireless earbuds in the rain or at the gym?
Check the rating, because the three picks are not equal. The AirPods 4 carry IP54: dust protection plus splash resistance. The EarFun Air Pro 4+ are rated IPX5, which handles sweat and rain comfortably. The Sony WF-C710N are IPX4, splashes only, so wipe them down after a hard session. And remember sweat is salt water, more corrosive than rain, while charging cases are almost never rated at all. Never dock wet buds; dry them first or the case pins corrode.
Are AirPods worth buying for an Android phone?
They pair and play music, but you lose most of what the price buys. On Android the AirPods 4 fall back to plain AAC with no alternative, and there is no automatic device switching, no Personalised Spatial Audio, no fit test and no easy firmware update path. You would be paying $157.00 for hardware and using about half of it. On Android buy the Sony or the EarFun instead; both run full-featured Android apps, and the EarFun adds LDAC and aptX Lossless that AirPods never offer.
Related buying guides
Earbuds dead after 18 months? Bring them in before you re-buy
A decent share of the "dead" earbuds that reach our counter are lint on the charging contacts, a free two-minute fix we will show you on the spot. If it really is the battery, we will tell you straight and you can buy off the list above knowing the old pair owed you nothing. Sixteen years on the bench means the diagnosis takes minutes, not days.
Call (02) 4311 6146 Book Online