Yesterday, Apple surprised us with the release of their AirPods Max. The AirPods Max take the spot of what we have been calling the “AirPods Studio.” They look just like the rumored devices. The new AirPods Max look more flattering in Apple’s photos than the leaks, and come with some features we weren’t expecting. For example, the Digital Crown from the Apple Watch is on them. It actually looks like it might work nicely.
Apple’s headphones supposedly sound fantastic, according to Apple. They also have the features you’ve come to expect from the AirPods Pro, such as spacial audio, noise cancellation (including transparency mode), Siri, Apple’s H1 chips, and Bluetooth 5. However, they come in a comfortable over-ear shape, have a greater focus on sound quality, and cost over twice as much as the AirPods Pro.
In fact, the AirPods Max cost more than an iPad.
In This Article:
Tech Specs
These were collected from the Apple site, with a few other sources filling in important details like driver size, an incredibly important specification for headphones that Apple just leaves out.
- 40mm Dynamic Drivers
- Noise cancellation with transparency mode
- Adaptive EQ
- Spacial audio with dynamic head tracking
- Position sensors
- 9 microphones, three for voice (two shared with active noise cancellation)
- Apple’s H1 Chips
- 384.8g
- Bluetooth 5.0
- 20 hours listening time, including 20 hours of talk time.
- 5 color options: Black, White, Green, Blue, and Pink
What Does it Mean?
To be honest, we won’t know it all until reviewers check them out. They seem a bit heavy, thanks to all of the stainless steel, but that mesh headband could be comfortable. 40mm drivers are standard for headphones of this size, although you might expect larger ones since Apple’s headphones don’t need to rely on the headphone jack for power.
Spacial audio is a little surreal when you watch a movie and realize that it sounds like people’s voices are coming out of your iPhone, even when you turn your head, while other sounds remain all around you. It’s like the surround sound experience at the movies. That’ll be exciting.
Most audiophiles like customizing their equalizers. Apple, on the other hand, has just one setting. Apple says their “Adaptive EQ” will make the music sound best for your ears, the seal the earcups have on your head, and for the music itself. Apple’s processing is analyzing the music as it plays, and even listening to how it sounds inside your headphones. It should make something sound amazing, but don’t expect any customization.
Finally, there’s a respectable amount of battery life here. 20 hours is considerable, and could easily last a person two to three days without a charge. You’ll have to bring your own charger, but Apple does at least provide a cable in the box.
Design
Apple’s design is sort of retro-futuristic. It’s almost steampunk, but the matte finish on the headband and the colors pull away from that design language. Leaked photos (as usual) didn’t do it justice, it does look better than we expected. Still, it’s a simplistic design. The earcups are featureless and flat, almost boring. The headband is definitely better than leaks, which made it look like padded mesh. Instead, that mesh is suspended by the shape of the headphones, which should make it quite comfortable. Speaking of comfort, those earcups attach to the headband with a ball joint, so your headphones can perfectly shape to your head.
Apple did do something they usually skimp on their high-end models: they added color. Sure, they may be content giving us the same AirPods and AirPods Pro in boring white for brand recognition reasons (get a better brand, Apple!), but for their most expensive AirPods, color’s in.
The AirPods Max come in “Space Gray,” Silver, Green, “Sky Blue,” and Pink. Each version is two-toned, with the matte-textured headband matching their more “consumer-friendly” colors, like those in the iPhone 12 or iPad Air, and the bottom featuring the more “refined” colors of their pro lineups, like silver, a darker green, the lighter blue, and a pink that borders on rose gold. They’re… actually whimsical. Like, it’s actually a callback to Apple’s more fun and personable technology, like the iMac G3 and G4. It’s lovely to see. Personally, while I love red, I find pink to take away a lot what I love about red, it’s punchiness. So I’m drawn to Apple’s Space Gray and Green varieties… if I ever did buy a pair. After all, this is a $550 set of headphones, and we don’t even know if they sound good yet.
Mix, Match, and Accessorize!
Apple will also provide ear cushions to purchase separately. These can wear down over time, so they would want to sell them separately. You can mix and match colors, so, if you want black headphones and pink ear cushions, you can do it.
Apple charges $69 for their ear cushions. Yes. $70 for the ear cushions. They’re just mesh coated magnetic cushions. I have similar ones on my Harman Kardon headphones. In fact, when I reached out to Harman Kardon and told them I found their headphones uncomfortable and asked if I could buy extra ear cushions so I could stack them for more cushioning, they just sent me them. For free. Free cushions. Apple’s charging $70.
The AirPods Max also come with, not a charger or headphone adapter, but a “Smart Case.” This doesn’t charge, but your AirPods Max will know to go into an ultra-low power mode when in the case. The case itself is a soft case that makes your AirPods Max look like a handbag, or even some kind of strange futuristic bra. It doesn’t protect the band, the tops of the ear pieces or the buttons. It doesn’t really protect much at all. I assume third party bags and cases for the AirPods Max will be popular with AirPods Max owners, because this isn’t a case you could use to latch your headphones to your backpack for your commute. You might put this case in another case, but otherwise, I can’t see using it for protecting your $550 headphones.
Who’s This For?
The AirPods Max are priced like expensive audiophile headphones, but will they have the sound quality to back them up? Apple’s AirPods aren’t known for their audio quality. The AirPods Pro, while slightly better, are also not a great audio experience. What’s great about them is outside of the audio.The syncing, the spacial audio, the surprisingly good noise cancellation and transparency mode, and the seamlessness of using them between devices. It’s all so very Apple, like a way to allow your ears to jump around devices and through features the way your eyes and hands can.
That makes sense, for $150-$250. Sony’s infamous WH-1000XM4 noise cancelling headphones with fantastic sound and Bluetooth come in at $280. But $550? And that’s not including the charger and the Lighting to headphone adapter cable you may need, or any spare earcups or earcups in different colors. You could be looking at $670 or more for a complete package here. That’s well into extreme audiophile pricing, and past the pricing of fantastic headphones priced around the $300 mark, all with noise cancellation, Bluetooth, and many of the features of the AirPods max.
So, who’s this for? Apple fans with money. Influencers. Maybe audiophiles, if Apple breaks from the AirPods brand sound quality and makes something truly fantastic. Apple certainly has what it takes. Apple owns Beats, and the Beats Solo headphones I tried were amazing, I hated giving them back. Over ear versions of a similar headphone would be even better. Apple definitely has all the ingredients here for a headphone that’ll make audiophiles happy. If that happens, then, yeah, I could see them being willing to hand over the $550 or more for excellent sound and the Apple ecosystem. But if they’re uncomfortable due to their weight or don’t sound like other headphones in their product category, these will be a bragging point, and nothing more.
That’s right, flexing your AirPods is about to be back in style.
Sources:
- Apple
- Hartley Charlton, MacRumors
- Ed Hardy, Cult of Mac
- Mike Wuerthele, AppleInsider