Key Takeaways
- AirPods Max’s premium aluminum build makes them stylish but heavy.
- The current model lacks essential features and is considered outdated.
- Rumors of a 2nd generation AirPods Max refresh suggest potential upgrades like USB-C and other improved features.
The AirPods Max are some of the most premium-looking over-ear headphones available. Instead of a plastic build like most headphone manufacturers, Apple opted to use aluminum for added style, durability, and ecstatic. The problem with using metal for a product that sits on your head is its weight — it’s easily become the single most significant complaint about these high-end headphones. Having been released in December 2020, the nearly four-year-old headphones are widely considered outdated and missing essential features to keep them competitive.
But is that actually the case? Let’s get into it.
AirPods Max
$394 $550 Save $156
The AirPods Max offer premium sound quality, active noise cancellation, and a luxurious design for an immersive audio experience.
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AirPods Max
As premium as it gets
Available for the not-very-low price of $549, the AirPods Max are Apple’s only over-ear headphones outside its Beats lineup. Made out of aluminum, you can grab a pair in space gray, pink, green, silver, or sky blue, with optional free engraving when buying directly from Apple’s online store. The AirPods Max offers 20 hours of battery life, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency Mode, and Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking. Unlike 2nd generation AirPods Pro, the AirPods Max lacks Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, and water resistance.
AirPods Max are Apple’s only over-ear headphones outside its Beats lineup.
Being nearly four years old, the AirPods Max still feature an H1 chip instead of the more powerful H2 chip found in AirPods Pro. What AirPods Max users do get is a Smart Case that puts AirPods Max asleep, which limits battery drain. Like the Apple Watch, the AirPods Max has a single button and Digital Crown to easily adjust audio and complete actions like controlling audio and activating Siri.
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AirPods Max (2nd generation) rumors
A refresh is desperately needed
Prior to release, the AirPods Max were one of Apple’s worst-kept secrets. Countless rumors of their pending release kept coming — and coming, and coming — leading to their eventual holiday announcement in 2020. On the other hand, the 2nd generation pair of AirPods Max aren’t quite the same. The rumors around its refresh focus more on what people want to see rather than what’s expected. The 2nd generation AirPods Max don’t yet have an expected release date or estimated price. The best we can do is hope they’ll come out soon at a similar price point (or less) than the current generation.
The rumors around its refresh focus more on what people want to see rather than what’s expected.
Replacing the current lightning port with USB-C is easily the most significant change Apple could make to a new generation of AirPods Max. From there, upgrading the included H1 chip to an H2 or newer makes sense to enable better audio quality, improved battery life, and new features like Adaptive Audio, better Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), and Conversation Awareness. Including a U2 chip for precision finding with Find My would also be a nice addition, in my opinion.
It’s also possible that the Digital Crown and physical button could be replaced with capacitive touch controls like those on AirPods Pro and the 3rd generation AirPods. New colors can also be expected. While less likely, it’s not impossible that AirPods Max could gain some degree of water resistance.
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Buy now, or wait?
It’s a big old wait
After trying the Beats Studio 3 years ago, I didn’t think over-ear headphones were for me. But over time, the idea has grown on me — now I really want a pair of AirPods Max. As an owner of 3rd generation AirPods and 2nd generation AirPods Pro, you best bet I really like AirPods. To me, the AirPods Max are the only over-ear headphones I want, given their seamless integration within my Apple ecosystem and premium-looking build. However, like you, I’m hesitant to buy a pair right now.
AirPods Max are missing some essential features to make them comparable to other AirPods and competitive with the market at large. Given that these over-ear headphones are so long in the tooth, I have to recommend waiting for them. If you’re in desperate need of new over-ear headphones, there are lots of great options on the market, like the Sonos Ace. Otherwise, join me in waiting for a future 2nd generation AirPods Max release. Happy listening.
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