AirPods Max Announced Four Years Ago Today

[Jeeve Stubbs]

When Apple doesn't update a product for several years, it's not because the product is already perfect and can't get any better, as Apple and its fans would have you believe. It's simply because the product doesn't sell well. AirPods Max, Mac Pro, the Pro Display, etc. are all niche products compared to AirPods, iMac, iPhone, iPad, etc. Which means Apple will prioritize R&D for the latter. You can't come up with a new product if you're not doing R&D for it.
The same goes for movies and games. Whether or not they get a sequel depends on how well they sell, not on how great they are.

 

[JTK Awesome]

Feature Requests for 2nd Gen:

SQ on par with similarly priced headphones.

Up to date internals.

Non-ugly design. Bose 700 look more like Apple products than APM.

Lighter weight.

Solution to condensation problems.

Included cables.

An actual case.

Apple's AirPod Max is the Studio Display of the wireless headphone market. Quite good, but way too expensive.

Yes

Stupidly expensive and inferior to many cheaper alternatives. Apple should just discontinue them.

Also yes.

Black Friday at Amazon got me B&W Px8 for less than APM with USB-C. At those prices APM are a joke in comparison.

I would not buy these at all I did buy the Beats Studio pro which has a lot of the same features but is cheaper and I could not be any happier with my purchase 👍🏻

Getting rid of mine after 5 months. iOS integration is half-assed and SQ means over-boosted mids + bass that isn’t allowed to come out.

 

[Jamie0003]

If they’re good enough for purpose, really no need to update them very frequently. Look at the world around us. This rampant need to be fed updated personal technology is doing only a small number of humans a favour. I kinda wish Apple and other tech companies would adopt a similarly sedate mentality to the pace of product releases. Instead, we got three generations of Apple silicon in under two years.

Until the batteries die, sure

 

[dampfnudel]

Products that launched before the law coming into effect can continue to be manufactured and sold without USB C, they could have continued to make and sell AirPods Max gen1 without falling foul of it.

I think it’s more likely it was a supply chain decision and I believe the second generation AirPods Max are coming within the next 18 months.

 

[Newbee2025]

This product is one of the best apple has produced quality wise in my opinion.

Hard to imagine it can be improved further.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

And we are still waiting on the Max Pro edition. SAD!

 

[waltman]

I use them all the time with my Apple Vision Pro. Best combo ever! 🤪

You should be a Nascar driver! Could probably sustain 3Gs if you wear your AVP and APM daily.

 

[lk400]

And still get bested by Sony and Bose in every way (except build quality). I am amazed people still buy these for such a premium over the better offerings. Really shows the power of the Apple brand (and sheepiness).

I have both the Sony XM4 and XM5 and the Max soon after release. The only ways both of those are preferable to the Max is in their portability (which is debatable for the XM5) and their carrying case. For all other purposes, I prefer the Max. I generally use the Max for inside use, the XM4 for travel, and regularly regret buying the XM5.

 

[dwaite]

Still use mine every now and then. Just gotta put them in the freezer once or twice a year for a reset.

...freezer?

 

[sc00ba]

I have a question for everybody here in the comments.

Would you pay $900 for these headphones?

 

[dwaite]

AirPods Max user since day 1, and they're probably the worst "premium" headphones I've ever owned due to:

• No on/off switch, so they're often dead when going to use them after neglecting to put them inside the joke of a case.
• Seriously, that "case" is a joke.
• Ridiculously heavy and uncomfortable after an hour or so of use.
• Head band is flimsy and degrades to be completely useless after a few weeks of regular use.
• Ear cups detach too easily and don't retain cushion buffer.

I don't understand how anyone can praise the AirPods Max in 2024, especially at $550+tax.

To compare:

• I don't have a problem with them being dead due to running the battery down due to the lack of an "off" switch.
• I have no clue where the case is. I just toss them on the desk or on my hook under the desk when not wearing them.
• I've worn them at least 40 hours a week for four years. Zero issues with comfort or weight, although the headband fabric is indeed significantly looser now
• Ear cups have never detached on accident, and are still plenty good on padding with no visible wear

About the only issue I have with mine is that they'll occasionally have trouble reconnecting to the m1 MBP until I power cycle them. My lack of problems with them draining could be that I don't go long periods of time without wearing them - they might make the low battery tone first thing in the morning, and I'll plug them in for five minutes before I hop on a call.

 

[dwaite]

When Apple doesn't update a product for several years, it's not because the product is already perfect and can't get any better, as Apple and its fans would have you believe. It's simply because the product doesn't sell well. AirPods Max, Mac Pro, the Pro Display, etc. are all niche products compared to AirPods, iMac, iPhone, iPad, etc. Which means Apple will prioritize R&D for the latter. You can't come up with a new product if you're not doing R&D for it.

The only product that Apple consistently does annual upgrades on is the iPhone, because they have contracts to stick to that schedule.

The base AirPods and Watch are about every two years for a potential substantial update, AirPods Pro are around 3 years.

These really come down to these products needing design tweaks to accommodate new hardware. To contrast, moving a Mac mini from a M1 chip to a M2 chip does not require anything other than a new board.

Everything else externally looks like it is on a rough redesign schedule, and those are all five years or more. Even with all the hate on the butterfly keyboard, the redesign to move the MacBook Pro to a new keyboard design happened on that rough five year timeline.

I suspect we'll either see them upgraded substantially or canned as a product in early 2026.

 

[uczcret]

I see people with AirPods all the time. Often even the Pro models.

Never seen anyone wear this model out in person.

Once I saw an interviewer on an Apple broadcast MLB game interviewing a coach while wearing these. Looked absolutely ridiculous.

I see dozens of people wearing them out about in London every day. I know counterfeits are a thing but some of them are bout to be real ones so...🤷‍♂️

 

[svish]

AirPods Max is a good headphone but the price is very much on the higher side. Don't think Apple will be refreshing this product frequently.

 

[JippaLippa]

It's about time we move away from AAC.
I think with bluetooth 5.3 and beyond, apple needs to provide a codec for better quality, as it's currently lagging behind the competition in this space.

 

[iBug2]

No economically savvy person would buy these things—they are objectively not worth their asking price. This was the sentiment four years ago. Today, buying them is downright irrational. People like to argue that price and value are relative, but most would agree that the Mac Pro with Apple silicon is a bad value. The same goes for the Studio Display and Vision Pro. Sometimes a product can’t be defended.

Why exactly? They sounded amazing in 2020, they still do today. They replaced my B&W PX7, which were much less comfortable and sounded worse. Other than shedding some weight I don't see how Apple can update these in a meaningful way. There are some higher end NC headphones on the market today, but they are all more expensive than APM.

 

[iBug2]

And still get bested by Sony and Bose in every way (except build quality). I am amazed people still buy these for such a premium over the better offerings. Really shows the power of the Apple brand (and sheepiness).

Both sound worse than APM. Sony has better ANC but that's it. The only headphone I've listened which sounds better than APM is B&W PX8 and they cost more.

 

[iBug2]

It's about time we move away from AAC.
I think with bluetooth 5.3 and beyond, apple needs to provide a codec for better quality, as it's currently lagging behind the competition in this space.

Find me a single person who can differentiate between Lossless and 256 bit AAC in a blind A/B test. Trust me, I have good ears, but at the age of 42, there is no way I can tell the difference.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I see dozens of people wearing them out about in London every day. I know counterfeits are a thing but some of them are bout to be real ones so...🤷‍♂️

I'd believe it in places like London, NY, and several places in California. Those might be paid celebrity promotions 🤣

 

[I7guy]

And yet, put an Apple logo on it and the defenders always show up.

Along with comments like this.

There's already some in this young thread with- almost certainly- many more to follow today/tomorrow+.

Because people have their own tastes. You can’t tell someone else how to spend their money and if they are wasting it and what their value system should be.

After years around here, I'm convinced that if Apple would can & brand their own air, a number of fans would smother if they ran out vs. opting to breathe inferior, wobbly, plasticy, cheap, regular air. And that's only half joking.

True. But good for apple they have customers that value their products. Tell me businesses don’t want that.

 

[No5tromo]

So grateful for the updated version. New colors and a new charging port was all that had to be fixed to make them perfect!

 

[szw-mapple fan]

That’s also my take:

Why not do what they did to AirPods Pro by essentially not touching the exterior design and components but just update the internals and call it a day?

The USB-C “refresh” was clearly just so they don’t get fined in the EU in 2025.

But why they couldn’t have a Gen. 2 update ready after 4 years is beyond me.

The wireless radios and the H2 chip are very inexpensive and “low-end” compared to Apple’s M4 and A18 chips.

I have to assume sales figures are still just too good to do anything more with AirPods Max? Or too low?

Seeing how even the standard AirPods are Gen. 4 and have the H2 chip, it’s kinda absurd that anyone would consider getting four-year-old AirPods Max now.

Odd how Apple will sleep on hit products that buyers have been lining up to spend $549 on if they just do a genuine refresh.

I can’t figure out why investors accept Apple snoozing on this opportunity.

Does Gurman have an explanation for why Apple does this?

I think it only started becoming a “hit” product when discounts started appearing in the recent couple of years, so it’s possible Apple is adjusting their product strategy to a different price point. I assume it just hasn’t reached the volume sold to qualify for a redesign and new internals based on whatever apple’s internal calculations are.

 

[raghu8912]

And still get bested by Sony and Bose in every way (except build quality). I am amazed people still buy these for such a premium over the better offerings. Really shows the power of the Apple brand (and sheepiness).

Really shows the power of the Apple brand (and sheepiness).
Personal preference may be ?
and i can find headphones that are better than Sony and Bose.
then can i call people buying Sony and Bose sheep ?

 

[raghu8912]

No economically savvy person would buy these things—they are objectively not worth their asking price. This was the sentiment four years ago. Today, buying them is downright irrational. People like to argue that price and value are relative, but most would agree that the Mac Pro with Apple silicon is a bad value. The same goes for the Studio Display and Vision Pro. Sometimes a product can’t be defended.

every person has different needs, they spend money based on those needs.
Just because you don't think something is not worth the money doesn't mean that every one thinks the same.

 

[raghu8912]

Apple should update every product every year