AirPods 5 cost ¥23,800 in Japan and AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case cost ¥27,800, both tax included, according to Apple’s Japan newsroom release of September 9. Pre-orders opened the same day and both models reach stores on Friday, September 18.
Germany and France are a different matter. Apple’s German and French newsrooms had not published the AirPods 5 release when we checked, and neither Store page shows price text, so there is no confirmed euro figure for either country. This page gives the Japanese numbers in full and states exactly what is missing in the two euro markets.
Key facts
| Item | Japan | Germany | France |
|---|---|---|---|
| AirPods 5 | ¥23,800, tax included | Not yet published | Not yet published |
| With Wireless Charging Case | ¥27,800, tax included | Not yet published | Not yet published |
| Premium for the wireless case | ¥4,000 | Unknown | Unknown |
| Pre-orders | September 9 | Not stated | Not stated |
| In stores | Friday, September 18 | Not stated | Not stated |
| Source | Apple’s Japan newsroom | No Apple page found | No Apple page found |
AirPods 5 price in Japan for both models
Apple’s Japan release lists the two models at ¥23,800 and ¥27,800 and marks both as tax-included prices, which is the Japanese convention and makes them directly comparable with each other but not with the pre-tax American figures.
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| Model | US | Japan, tax included |
|---|---|---|
| AirPods 5 | $129 | ¥23,800 |
| AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case | $149 | ¥27,800 |
| Premium for the wireless case | $20 | ¥4,000 |
Apple quotes no instalment figure for AirPods 5 in Japan. It does for iPhone Duo, which the same newsroom lists at ¥364,800 or ¥10,133 a month over 36 instalments, so the absence on AirPods is a choice rather than a limitation of the Japanese Store.
What the ¥4,000 step buys
Apple’s press release quotes up to 5 hours with noise cancellation on and up to 22 hours with the case. Apple’s tech specs page assigns those two figures to the Wireless Charging Case model and rates the standard model at up to 4 hours and up to 20 hours, so the more expensive model buys battery life as well as a better case.
| Spec | AirPods 5 | AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case |
|---|---|---|
| Case charging | USB-C only | USB-C, Qi chargers, Apple Watch chargers |
| Case speaker for Find My | No | Yes |
| Volume control on the stem | No | Force sensor with volume swipe |
| Listening, ANC on | Up to 4 hours | Up to 5 hours |
| Listening, ANC off | Up to 6 hours | Up to 7 hours |
| Total with the case, ANC on | Up to 20 hours | Up to 22 hours |
| Case weight | 32.3 g | 34.7 g |
The rest is shared between the two models, and our AirPods 5 launch story covers it in detail:
- H2 chip, Bluetooth 5.3, 4.3 g earbuds and an IP57 dust, sweat and water rating, per Apple’s tech specs
- Active Noise Cancellation on both models, removing up to 50 percent more noise than AirPods 4 with ANC in Apple’s press release, worded as up to 1.5 times more than the previous generation on Apple’s AirPods 5 page
- Transparency mode, Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Voice Isolation, next-generation Adaptive EQ and Personalized Spatial Audio
- Hands-free Siri AI, head-gesture replies and Live Translation, which need iOS 27 and an Apple Intelligence iPhone
- About an hour of listening from a five-minute charge, and 40 percent recycled material by weight
Where Germany and France stand
Apple has published plenty of September 9 pricing in Germany: iPhone 18 Pro from 1,449 euros including VAT, or 60.38 euros a month, Apple Watch Series 12 from 449 euros, Apple Watch Ultra 4 from 899 euros and iPhone Duo from 2,299 euros. The AirPods 5 release is the one German page that returned an error every time we requested it.
France is thinner still. Apple’s French newsroom lists Apple Watch Series 12 from 449 euros and Ultra 4 from 899 euros, but the French copies of the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Duo and AirPods 5 releases were all unavailable. Until Apple lists a number, any euro price for AirPods 5 is somebody’s estimate.
| Product | Germany, incl. VAT | France |
|---|---|---|
| AirPods 5 | Not yet published | Not yet published |
| AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case | Not yet published | Not yet published |
| Apple Watch Series 12 | From 449 euros | From 449 euros |
| Apple Watch Ultra 4 | From 899 euros | From 899 euros |
| iPhone 18 Pro, 256GB | 1,449 euros | Not yet published |
| iPhone Duo, 256GB | From 2,299 euros | Not yet published |
How AirPods 5 fits Apple’s Japanese lineup
AirPods 5 are the cheapest new product of the launch in Japan. Apple’s Japan newsroom gives these tax-included starting prices.
| Product | Japan starting price, tax included |
|---|---|
| AirPods 5 | ¥23,800 |
| AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case | ¥27,800 |
| Apple Watch Series 12 | ¥71,800 |
| Apple Watch Ultra 4 | ¥142,800 |
| iPhone Duo, 256GB | ¥364,800, or ¥10,133 a month over 36 instalments |
The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 share the AirPods’ September 18 in-store date. Japan is also one of the countries where iPhone 18 Pro ships with no SIM tray, per Apple’s press release, and Apple has not published a Japanese iPhone 18 Pro price on any page we could read.
What Apple has not said
- A euro price for either AirPods 5 model. Neither the German nor the French newsroom page nor the Store pages produced one.
- Whether Germany and France are in the September 18 first wave for AirPods 5. Apple’s release says more than 65 countries and regions but names only the US.
- Any instalment option for AirPods 5 in Japan. Apple’s Japanese monthly figures cover iPhone Duo only.
- Whether any launch promotion applies in Japan. Apple lists only the two tax-included prices.
Next step: Japanese buyers can pre-order now at ¥23,800 or ¥27,800 with stock from Friday, September 18. German and French buyers should wait for Apple’s own listing rather than an estimate, and our event recap has every price Apple has confirmed.
