Why the soft launch of AirPods Max?

[7thson]

Thinking it over and it really seems Apple could have included the AirPods Max in the One More Thing event last month. Curious if anyone has any thoughts on why they went this route vs giving them their due along side all the other kit. Would’ve made for a great One More Thing at the end.

 

[Royksöpp]

The AirPods Pro deserved a more formal introduction as well. AirPods are a major product that really should get more attention than a press release.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

One More Thing -- at least in the Jobs era -- was a showstopper.

AirPods Max are a $500+ pair of noise-cancelling headphones. But that's not a showstopper and it's difficult to demonstrate noise cancellation in a visual presentation.

There would be a tendency of some people to say, "OK, we got the AirPods Pro last year and this year you made it bigger and are charging more money for it?" Remember that AirPods Max have credible, well entrenched competitors in Bose (QuietComfort) and Sony (several generations of ANC headphones).

At least on paper, there's not enough differentiation between Apple's new entry and the two defending champions.

My guess is that AirPods Max will sell 1/5th the number of units as AirPods Pro. Probably less.

 

[masotime]

My guess is that AirPods Max will sell 1/5th the number of units as AirPods Pro. Probably less.

Already sold out in all colors till 2nd March 2021 😱 (12-14 weeks)

 

[Erehy Dobon]

So poor supply. Another reason why it didn't feature in the last media event.

Why make a big announcement splash and have it instantly go "sold out"?

AMD, Nvidia, Sony, and Xbox did this recently and now it is nearly impossible to find an honestly priced unit since the scalpers have decimated availability.

There is no goodwill generated by having something sell out immediately.

Again, we are talking about a pair of ANC headphones that is hundreds of dollars more expensive than the premium competition (Sony, Bose).

The long lead time for Apple's AirPods Max only benefits Sony and Bose now.

 

[Eric Idle]

So poor supply. Another reason why it didn't feature in the last media event.

Why make a big announcement splash and have it instantly go "sold out"?

AMD, Nvidia, Sony, and Xbox did this recently and now it is nearly impossible to find an honestly priced unit since the scalpers have decimated availability.

There is no goodwill generated by having something sell out immediately.

Yep. This is an epic fail by Apple. I was going to buy a set of these headphones for christmas, but instead ordered some Bose headphones. I can't wait 15 weeks.

 

[7thson]

@Royksöpp good point about the AirPods Pro. It puts the AirPods Max in better perspective.
As far as the supply, I think this may be the reason for the delay. Ideally these would have been released weeks ago, with reviews written and good buzz driving interest. However, the pandemic has had an effect on the supply chain that Apple can’t control and now here we are in the second week of December with the latest product sold out within hours for months.
Perhaps we are lucky to even see them this year. Wasn’t there speculation that they could be delayed until 2021? Did something come together at the last that persuaded Apple to launch now?

 

[steelestar]

It was a compromise. Apple obviously wanted the release/incremental revenue in 1Q21, but didn't have the production required to meet the significantly higher demand that would have resulted from an official announcement at one of the fall events. Significant slippage in shipping/delivery dates says as much. It's kind of a shame - they deserved the spotlight of a more formal release and event presentation. And yet.... with all the production delays, it still seems they were rushed to market, sacrificing significant functionality features that a number of reputable leakers told us would be incorporated into their design. The next generation or additional edition (Pros?) will make things more interesting. At least to me.

 

[7thson]

Oh god, no, not AirPods Max Pro. Please don’t let that happen. And not AirPods Max Plus, either.