EarFun Air Pro 4+ Review: Shockingly Good Earbuds for the Money

EarFun didn’t entirely reinvent its earbuds with the Air Pro 4+. They’ve changed little outwardly from their predecessors, the Air Pro 4, which in turn hadn’t changed much from the Air Pro 3. The buds weigh just shy of 0.2 ounces apiece, and the charging case weighs 1.5 ounces. The buds offer IP55 protection, so you won’t have to worry much about dust, rain, or sweat—just don’t submerge them in liquid.

A new charging case with a diagonal seam can help avoid the common earbud issue of popping open and ejecting the buds when dropped onto the ground, though they’re still not immune when dropped from high enough. It’s a bit awkward to get the buds in and out. They don’t just plop into their spots perfectly every time; they can topple over into the lid, making them tricky to extract.

(Credit: Mark Knapp)

The buds feature the same on-ear controls as the previous version. These come as touch-sensitive points that respond to different taps and holds. Some competitors have shifted over to pressure-sensitive controls that can be more consistent and harder to accidentally activate, so the Air Pro 4+ feel a tad behind, though the controls worked reliably in testing. Like the prior model, the buds still have wear sensors that automatically pause and resume playback when you remove or insert them.

Inside is where EarFun makes the most upgrades. Somehow, the company has managed to increase the battery capacity from 54 to 60mAh while squeezing in an extra speaker. The Air Pro 4+ feature a 10mm composite dynamic driver and a secondary balanced armature slightly offset from the first to handle the high-end.

The buds also feature a new Bluetooth chip, bringing them up to Bluetooth 6.0. Otherwise, they still come with the same long list of supported codecs, which have been a highlight of EarFun’s Air Pro line. You’ll get LC3, AAC, LDAC, LHDC, aptX adaptive, and aptX Lossless. With Bluetooth LE Audio, you’ll get Auracast capabilities, which we’re starting to see pop up here and there. The buds also support Google Fast Pair and Bluetooth Multipoint, and they can keep multipoint active even with LDAC enabled (though it’s not recommended).

(Credit: Mark Knapp)

One of the perks for Bluetooth LE Audio—on PC anyway—is the ability to use the microphone without sacrificing the audio playback quality. However, the Air Pro 4+ had trouble with this in my testing. When paired with a laptop that supports Bluetooth LE Audio, the buds would play audio just fine, but the second the laptop called up the mics, the buds would reboot. From there, it was inconsistent whether the buds would reconnect properly. The mics could start if no audio was playing, but that’s not good enough. The issue persisted when used with a second LE Audio-capable laptop as well. I tested a different set of LE Audio-capable headphones that managed the hand-off without this issue, so it appears EarFun’s buds are at fault here.

The Air Pro 4+ buds are rated for 12 hours of playback without ANC, and the case brings the total to 54 hours, a small upgrade over the predecessor. Playback time sinks a lot with ANC enabled, hitting just 8 hours, or 36 including the case. Still, that’s enough to get through the workday on a single charge and most of the week with the case. In my testing, the battery life largely held to that estimate, and when they’re completely drained, 10 minutes in the charging case is enough to get 3 hours of listening time.

The case continues to offer both wired and wireless charging, and now features a colored indicator light to show charge and pairing statuses. Inside, it has the same 600mAh extra battery capacity as its predecessor. The case should only take between 80 and 100 minutes to recharge with a standard 5W charger, though none is included in the package. A USB cable and a variety of different-sized eartips are included.