Apple's second-cheapest new AirPods are a fantastic little buy. But you'd be forgiven for overlooking them given Apple's curious naming strategy. After all, the last time Apple unveiled two sets of entry-level AirPods, one had ANC and the other didn't — easy to work out where the extra money went there. But with AirPods 5, both the base model and the step-up option tote ANC. So what's the deal?

It's not as simple as it first appears. As the name implies, AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging offer a better case that charges wirelessly. But what the name doesn't tell you is that here there are a few other perks the cheaper model lacks, which I think makes this set far worthier of the nominal extra fee.

Said case also includes a speaker for audible pairing status pings and Find My help, for instance, which you won't get with the cheaper set. Then, there's the force sensor with volume swipe functionality in both stems, for playback and call handling. To clarify, you can't change the volume on-ear with the cheaper model, which for me is a huge deal — as a woman who often commutes alone at night, I don't want to be digging my phone out if I don't have to, thank you very much.

Lastly, there's an extra hour's playback available to you in this model, with ANC deployed. Don't get overly excited; said figure is only upped to five hours from the buds (or up to 22 with the case) from four and, for me, this is AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging's biggest issue.

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