AirPods 4 L/R sync delay when changing volume on Mac mini M2

Hi everyone,

I am experiencing a specific issue with my AirPods 4 (Firmware 8B21) and I would like to know if this is normal behavior or a bug.

The Issue: When the AirPods are connected to my Mac mini M2 (running macOS 26.2) and I am playing music, if I adjust the volume quickly, the volume level changes in one earbud first and then in the other a split istant later.

This creates a very unpleasant unbalanced effect during the transition.

• This issue does not happen when connected to my iPhone 14 (iOS 26.2) or iPad Air M3 (iPadOS 26.2). The volume changes perfectly in sync on those devices.
• I have already tried resetting the AirPods (using the tap procedure) and re-pairing them to my iCloud account.
• The issue persists only on the Mac mini.

Unfortunately, I do not have another Mac available to test if this is a system-wide issue or specific to my machine.

My Question: Has anyone else with AirPods 4 and an M2 Mac experienced this volume sync lag? Is this behavior considered normal on macOS?

Thanks in advance for your help