AirPods Max wish list

[mystery hill]

What changes would you like for the next AirPods Max?

I'll start with a few:

• 25% lighter. It should weigh around 280 grams
• USB-C
• Get rid of that stupid case
• Ultra wideband chip for precise location

 

[gregrichards]

I would like to have the option to press the crown to turn the headphones on and off. Wireless charging would be good. The ability to customise the colour of the ear cups and headband would also be nice. I wish it was possible to find out the battery percentage left on the headphones on your iPhone/iPad or MacBook Pro whilst wearing and playing music on the headphones. These would be nice to have but they are not deal breakers.

The only improvement I would really like is some kind of water resistance. I am concerned about using the headphones and the rain coming on and not having a case or bag with me to protect them.

I’m still really enjoy using my Airpods Max the sound quality is fantastic. They feel very solid and really well made. They are expensive and it would be great if they were cheaper but I think the sound quality, build quality and premium appearance of the headphones make them worth it. I hope they sell well enough for Apple to keep making over ear headphones in the years to come as I do not like the style of normal Airpods.

 

[Absrnd]

What changes would you like for the next AirPods Max?

I'll start with a few:

• 25% lighter. It should weigh around 280 grams
• USB-C
• Get rid of that stupid case
• Ultra wideband chip for precise location

No On and Off switch in your list ?

 

[mystery hill]

The only improvement I would really like is some kind of water resistance. I am concerned about using the headphones and the rain coming on and not having a case or bag with me to protect them.

I agree, better water resistance would definitely be good for an expensive item like this.

 

[mystery hill]

No On and Off switch in your list ?

It's not a comprehensive list

An on-off switch is a good addition though.

 

[supermars]

Lighter and lossless please !

 

[Cashmonee]

Here are a few off the top of my head:

• Lighter. As close to getting under 300 grams as possible.
• Better at distributing weight. Lots of headphones are heavy but seem to do a better job of handling that weight.
• On/off switch. This will never happen because Apple gonna Apple, but it is stupid that it doesn't exist.
• Fix the cups so they don't clank when folded.
• Case.
• Leather instead of cloth. Vegan leather is fine. The cloth isn't bad and the AirPods feel premium, but when you pick up a headphone that has leather (thinking of the B&O's specifically), the AirPods feel like a step down with the materials.
• Better controls. Touch on many headphones is really good. The crown on the AirPods is great for volume, but the double and triple clicks are tricky. So leave the crown, use its clicks for ANC/Transparency and use the ANC for power and pairing.

Really for me, the only major complaint I have about these is the comfort. They simply are not terribly comfortable. In fact, for my head they are almost not comfortable enough and if I return them, it will be because of comfort. So making them lighter and/or better at handling the weight they do have would be by far the most important thing Apple could do.

 

[thimplicity]

mute/unmute button

 

[Absrnd]

- More ANC, I don't want to hear people screaming outside
- More cowbell !

 

[cmChimera]

I honestly can't think of much here. Customization options like they were rumored to have planned could be cool. And a better case I guess?

I don't want some of the things I'm seeing here like an on/off switch and leather.

 

[Neonblue]

The digital crown needs to move from the back; when I rest my head on a pillow it catches the crown and frustrating constantly adjusts the volume.

 

[ouimetnick]

You won’t see USB-C until Apple abandons Lightning all together. Even once the iPhone becomes portless, all accessories have been Lightning. AirPods Max are an accessory much like the AirPods, Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, Apple Siri Remote, Beats Pill+.

I do hope one day that they move accessories over to USB-C one day. I would be nice to use the cable used for an iPad and MacBook to charge your headphones and other accessories.

 

[happyslayer]

Just got mine (Space Gray) on Thursday last week, and, after a few days of testing, I gotta say I really like them. So far, the only thing that I would really like is an On/Off switch. Honestly, how hard do you think it would be to just have them do a firmware update that makes holding in one or both buttons for a few seconds puts them into automatic low-power mode? Otherwise, I am, so far, not really wanting for anything else. Heck, even the case doesn't bug me as much as it does others.

 

[BigPotatoLobbyist]

They should have just started with a sport/regular edition in the 300-400 range, with an off button, multiple colors & a regular case, so XM4 clones albeit less bass (so a superior stock sound profile), and more comfort (mesh earpads) but keeping a similar light & plastic design.


I don't really know why they did what they did. Probably APM will end up like the HomePod at this rate.

 

[BigPotatoLobbyist]

Main difference is the

They should have just started with a sport/regular edition in the 300-400 range, with an off button, multiple colors & a regular case, so XM4 clones albeit less bass (so a superior stock sound profile), and more comfort (mesh earpads) but keeping a similar light & plastic design.


I don't really know why they did what they did. Probably APM will end up like the HomePod at this rate.

Which, FWIW, the AirPods Max are a much better value proposition than the HomePod was even at $199. The HomePod sounds awful. Nest Audio, especially in pair, takes it to the shed.

I won't even mention the Mini, lol.

 

[venom600]

I want more control over the EQ settings. I'd prefer more bass, and I love the way the Sonys give you the ability to change the EQ to fit your preferences. The changes should remain in effect on every device you connect to, not just the iPhone or iPad.

Cheaper earpad replacements. $70 to replace the earpads is ludicrous.

The ability to use them wired and bypass the internal DAC entirely like every other wireless over the ear headphone does.

 

[BigPotatoLobbyist]

I want more control over the EQ settings. I'd prefer more bass, and I love the way the Sonys give you the ability to change the EQ to fit your preferences. The changes should remain in effect on every device you connect to, not just the iPhone or iPad.

Cheaper earpad replacements. $70 to replace the earpads is ludicrous.

The ability to use them wired and bypass the internal DAC entirely like every other wireless over the ear headphone does.

Agree. I really dislike Apple overdoing the treble, feels like Sony and bass.

RE earpads, eh, dekoni's velour usually push 50 and Sony's XM4 earpad replacements are 15.95 *each* so $32 a pair on sony.encompass.com, and I don't think shipping is free. The material on the APM cushions is significantly better than most anything else I've used (Though the HX causes less warmth due to the way it fits; e.g. looser, but even that lambskin isn't quite as moisture-friendly independent of the design). Lastly they are easily replaceable via the magnetic attachment, which is a thumbs up from me given I expected an onerous disassembly process from Apple, and certainly others (Sony et. al) don't make this a simple snap.

So tbh, given the quality, distribution (any Apple store), easy modularization via magnetic function, I'm totally fine with the marginal $20 more for the APM mesh earpads. It may be my favorite part of the APM.

 

[BigPotatoLobbyist]

That having been said, the lack of a 3.5MM jack or better yet the inclusion of lightning and lack of an included lightning to 3.5 or lightning to lightning cable (wired iPhone use) is just absurd and undoubtedly a money grab, plainly an insult to injury.

 

[BigPotatoLobbyist]

$30 for an effing lightning to 3.5 cable, only one that works is via Apple iirc.

 

[Cashmonee]

They should have just started with a sport/regular edition in the 300-400 range, with an off button, multiple colors & a regular case, so XM4 clones albeit less bass (so a superior stock sound profile), and more comfort (mesh earpads) but keeping a similar light & plastic design.


I don't really know why they did what they did. Probably APM will end up like the HomePod at this rate.

I kind of agree that this iteration may end up like the HomePod. I say this as someone with 2 HomePods and the AirPods Max. I think they just missed the target with both of these. Lots of cool tech that costs a lot of money but people don’t see the value in. I would be curious to know how well these are selling. I do not think the fact they are sold out is a good indication that they are selling well. There are many reasons they have low stock (not the least of which could be COVID related).

I want more control over the EQ settings. I'd prefer more bass, and I love the way the Sonys give you the ability to change the EQ to fit your preferences. The changes should remain in effect on every device you connect to, not just the iPhone or iPad.

Cheaper earpad replacements. $70 to replace the earpads is ludicrous.

The ability to use them wired and bypass the internal DAC entirely like every other wireless over the ear headphone does.

To be fair, if you look at earpads from a lot of OEMS, $70 is about right. B&O charges $70 for the H9 pads and $100 for the H95 pads. Bose charges $35 for their synthetic leather pads. Sony doesn’t make it easy to purchase pads from them more or less forcing you to third parties. Admittedly those are cheap. I mean $70 is definitely a premium price, but not unheard of, especially for magnetic pads.

As for EQ, that would be awesome, but will never happen. The Adaptive EQ makes it impossible.

 

[Cashmonee]

That having been said, the lack of a 3.5MM jack or better yet the inclusion of lightning and lack of an included lightning to 3.5 or lightning to lightning cable (wired iPhone use) is just absurd and undoubtedly a money grab, plainly an insult to injury.

I think the 3.5mm port would be useless unless the headphones worked without power. Otherwise you are taking a digital signal, making it analog, and turning it back into digital to run through the headphone DAC. B&O does the same thing and the results show no improvement. Now, using USB C with the B&O’s does show some improvements in latency and volume.

 

[BigPotatoLobbyist]

I think the 3.5mm port would be useless unless the headphones worked without power. Otherwise you are taking a digital signal, making it analog, and turning it back into digital to run through the headphone DAC. B&O does the same thing and the results show no improvement. Now, using USB C with the B&O’s does show some improvements in latency and volume.

Agree I was mainly saying as much under the assumption they wouldn’t do lightning audio, but in hindsight that made no sense.
As we know though, 3.5MM inclusion is often overrated in terms of SQ on Bluetooth headphones; for an Apple device with AAC I can’t imagine a meaningful improvement in sound quality, but latency... that’d be a boon for portable theater stuff.

 

[BigPotatoLobbyist]

I think the 3.5mm port would be useless unless the headphones worked without power. Otherwise you are taking a digital signal, making it analog, and turning it back into digital to run through the headphone DAC. B&O does the same thing and the results show no improvement. Now, using USB C with the B&O’s does show some improvements in latency and volume.

Yeah the USB-C function on the Beoplays is fantastic, great volume/oomph here too. Used on M1 device.