I’m listening to my own songs as I write this 2020-vintage AirPods Max. Yeah, that makes me a bit of an Apple fanboy and at least six pairs of headphones on top of them. But to me, they still sound great, have great active noise cancellation, and work well with my most used devices. They also lack a few features compared to the second-generation AirPods Pro, due in 2022. Considering they’re about four years old, that doesn’t bother me, but it’s the idea of spending the $550 that Apple is asking for. the an updated version of these headphones Even if what was announced yesterday was ridiculous, it’s a relief that they finally have USB-C.
In context, Apple was not expected to introduce the AirPods Max update at the iPhone 16 event, but the day before, Apple forecaster Mark Gurman Bloomberg surprisingly said that the headset will receive its first significant update. However, the update did see the Lightning charging port replaced by USB-C and some new colors. that’s it. There’s nothing to inspire Apple business people like me to upgrade (although I do wish my headphones had USB-C, now that I’ve moved away from mostly Lightning devices). I’m a fan of the new colors and would love to upgrade to USB-C, but not enough to spend $550 – half of that to be honest.
On the other hand, Sony regularly updates its flagship headphones with the WH-1000XM3 in 2018, the XM4 in 2020, the XM5 in 2022 and the XM6 expected in 2025. Most Sony users aren’t going to upgrade from the XM4 to the XM5 or even the upcoming XM6, as high-end headphones should last for years. But when you buy a company’s flagship headphones, you’re getting the best they can make. Sony has made sure of that by improving the design, offering better battery life, or improving ANC.
What’s most annoying about the AirPods Max update is that they had to at least do some internal redesign to get USB-C, so why not upgrade the chips to H2 processors? The H1 variant inside the AirPods Max was first released in early 2019 as part of the second-generation AirPods. And now, including all AirPods Just announced a $129 fourth-generation modeluse that H2 processor. This allows for useful enhancements like adaptive audio, which essentially blurs the lines between traditional transparency and noise cancellation modes based on the ambient sound around you. It also lets you nod or shake your head to answer Siri instead of speaking out loud.
These features will certainly appeal to potential AirPods Max buyers, but instead the incredibly expensive headphones are stuck with a five-year-old chip for the foreseeable future. Considering the entry-level AirPods get some of the benefits of the H2 processor, I can’t see how stupid this is. Of course, the speaker quality and tuning of the AirPods Max is far superior to what you’ll get from a $129 pair of earbuds. But as Apple’s top-of-the-line earphones (for the price, if not the features), they’re a tough sell given that they lack the features you can get on the AirPods 4 with ANC for a third of the price.
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