I was actually like you .... had everything ... even the AirPods Pros v2 but were given a set of Max's for Xmas. I now use them every day, they are fantastic sounding headphones .... certainly the best I have owned. They sound better than the Pros IMHO.
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AirPods Max Project Makes Rumored Upgrade for Next-Gen Model a Reality
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Because they sound good and neutral. Sure you can spend less, but that can lead you/family member/friend down a rabbit hole. $550 (or ideally $450 if you're patient) and you have a wonderful-sounding set of over the ear headphones that will behave consistently and have better build quality than anything else at the price point.
Instead of Insanely Great™ it's now Great Enough™. Just slightly better than other options, to the point where we'll keep begrudgingly paying the Apple tax.
Even if I decided to want them, I would never get anything without USB-C going forward.
I can justify & explain the reason behind the cost of almost anything Apple produces, based on the components and cost to assemble. They are expensive, yes. I feel that the AirPods Max are one of the few misses Apple has made over the years. They don't do enough to justify their price tag. The lack of USB-C means that even if they became compelling to buy, they would still be a hard pass. No sense having one thing left for lightning in a household.
Dude better get to work on his Lightning to USB-C videos 'cause Apple is about to refresh just about every product it sells in 2024 just to be able to sell it beyond the deadline in late December.
You own/heard the AirPods Max?
If you think you're gonna 'rid the house' of Lightning, you're probably not really into the Apple ecosystem as you might think you are. Between the Magic Keyboards/Trackpads/mice, I might have Lightning until 2035. It's not like your keyboards and trackpads wear out easily or become 'technically obsolete'. Even the non-replaceable batteries in them can last 10+ years.
Also USB C iphones aren't going to be the majority for a while yet, so most people will have to use lightning for the next few years at least.
iPads even more so. Apple still sells Lightning iPads, and everyone knows that iPads stay “in service” longer than iPhones.
Max don’t have any of the new software features that the APP2 got. Max has marginally better audio quality and worse at everything else.
I use mine a ton with Apple TV. They make that hard to understand dialogue way easier, and just generally do a great job with cinematic sound. I also use them a lot for phone calls, or using the ANC to tune out annoying noise if I'm trying to concentrate. They're awesome for plane travel too.
Yes, the AirPods Pro would work great for pretty much all of this (and I do commute with them), but I find in-ear buds to get a bit uncomfortable after a while, and the battery life is a factor if you're using them all day for meetings and calls for work, or on a long flight.
(And btw you don't have to pay $550 if you catch them on sale on Amazon where they will come down $100 less than that pretty frequently.)
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What is "everything else"? Adaptive Audio? Conversation mode? Those are the only features APP2 has that APM doesn't. It's not a long list! And APM came out several years ago, before those features existed.
If the next generation of APM came out without those features, that would be a very valid criticism. If the rumors of them only changing the stupid charge cable (who cares) are true, it'll be a disappointment. I personally doubt that, myself.
Headphones are a daily charge device and you'd need to bring a charger on any length of trip.
Trackpad and keyboard I can keep one last lightning brick in the closet to bring out once a quarter or so. I wouldn't normally travel with them, but if I did, I could top them off before the trip and not need to bring extra plugs or cords to keep them running.
I have the opposite problem. I have one of the Sony wx1000 models that I relegated to my kids. I use AirPods Pro.
For lounging on the couch or in bed, laying down, my head is usually resting on a pillow in way that doesn't let me comfortably have something bulky over top or on my ear. I wear glasses, and I'm a decent sized guy at 6'4. Cans on my ears have another level of discomfort over the in-ear buds for me. Haven't found a pair that's comfortable for very long.
I hear you. Obviously really comes to to personal preference. The APM are quite heavy. I've gotten used to it over the 3 years I've had them but at first it was a bit much, and they still are not great for lying down. My own usage has me more upright so they work better for me. My ears also for some reason slowly push the APM out of my ear canals so I'm always finding myself pushing them back in.
Chargers? Lightning bricks? Extra plugs? The most you'd need is a USB-C to Lightning cable. USB-C chargers will charge every Lightning device with such cable. Not a huge inconvenience when traveling. And if you say having an extra cable is too much of a hassle, you can get these tiny guys for $2/each.
zoyuzan 3Pack USB C Female to Lightning Male Adapter for iPhone 12/11/8 X XR/XS/SE/7Plus/Pro Max Ipad Air Mini Type Compatible with Charging Support Data Transmission Connect
Please note that!!! It can charge and transmit data, but it can't be used for headphones! USB C Female to Lightning Male Adapter for iPhone 7/8/X/XR/XS/SE/Plus/Pro Max Ipad Air Mini Type Compatible with Charging Support Data Transmission Connect Fast Charger Connector Cable Converter
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Indeed. That is just ridiculous.
Since they are custom made in any case - they match the color of the imac they're sold with - it's really weird that they didn't spend a couple of engineering minutes just switching the connector component.
1. The Airpods Max don't support wired audio through lightning.
2. You could support audio through USB-C if you wanted to. I want it, as that would support lossless audio (a feature of Apple Music) - and you could also build a component that would support e.g. sound on airplanes.
I'm into the Apple ecosystem, but I don't use Apple keyboards and mice with my Mac Studio. The Magic mouse is absolutely horrible in every way (use and charge), and I use mice and keyboards from Logitech.
It's ironic that the company that made the computer mouse go mainstream is so bad at making them - just look at the hockey puck mouse and the magic mouse.
They're great at touchpads - noone else gets it right - but horrible at mice.
Apple has an unrivalled stack of entertainment devices. AirPods Pro 2 USB-C on the go, AirPods Max when I want to privately enjoy my content at higher quality, HomePod when I wish to allow others to immerse themselves in my content consumption. Apple TV for visual entertainment experiences…. and of course now we have Vision Pro at the top of the line.