Apple on Tuesday announced AirPods Max, innovative wireless headphones that bring the magic of AirPods to an over-ear design with high-fidelity sound. AirPods Max combine a custom acoustic design, H1 chips, and advanced software to power computational audio for a breakthrough listening experience with Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and spatial audio. AirPods Max come in five gorgeous colors, including space gray, silver, sky blue, green, and pink.
Matthew Panzarino for TechCrunch:
First, they’re gorgeous. The earcups are beautiful. The band is incredibly sturdy. The netting feels like a high-end piece of furniture. The stems are very well done, with a precision pull out mechanism that acts like a precision milled car piston.
The netting, the ear pads, the clever (though now somewhat common) magnetic centering and clasp. The tuck and roll of the earcup covers providing an invisible seam as they attach to the body. The single piece of aluminum each of the ear cups is made of. How high quality is the build here? Like, this shouldn’t ship for $550 high. Judging from materials execution alone, the AirPod Max feels like it should be more expensive if anything.
There is a tradeoff here that I feel I must mention even in this early review, though: These things are heavy… If you have very high end headphones, you may be expecting this kind of weight, most people I think will not be… the crown feels almost exactly like an Apple Watch crown, with maybe slightly more tension. The Siri functions work totally fine, either with a long press of the crown or a ‘Hey Siri’. The earcups have precision detection of position so you can pause by simply lifting one cup.
Taking the headphones off and setting them down turns them off, there is no power button. This feels super natural and nicely Apple-ey. Just put them on to use and take them off to stop… Ok, that’s it for now, more as I continue to check them out. Shortly: super high quality, very heavy, sound solid so far.
MacDailyNews Take: All very high quality headphones come with some weight. As we said on Tuesday, “These gorgeous new premium headphones will sell like crazy. Bravo, Apple!”
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Feel free to send them a bonus!
PPP stimulus checks should be higher so recipients can buy a pair?
And, stocks (valuations) are cheap?
I thought putting them on the case puts it in low power mode? But hot does it turn off when taking it out of your head? I’m confused.
Update:
According to brownlee, the AirPod max doesn’t turn off when taking out of your head. That means it will go on and on until you put it on the case.
What this website needs is more exclamation marks!
iJustine has fun video review. I learned you CAN use as wired headphones, for “studio” use when the latency (of wireless) is an issue. Connect with Lightning to mini-stereo jack cable. AirPods Max will be immensely popular, maybe more profitable for Apple (over time) than the small AirPods.
Wired connection? If so I will buy. Hopefully Apple will add hardwired connection to the HomePod.
These aren’t something you take outside, they’ll be very profitable and popular but AirPods will be 10x that because you can take them everywhere, especially to work out.
Apple will sell a lot more small AirPods, but profit per AirPods Max will be several times higher. And why wouldn’t people wear them outside? When “everyone” now has small AirPods (or something similar) in their ears, these BIG headphones 🎧 will be desirable (especially when scarce). An there’s less risk of loss or damage from falling out.
It sounds crazy, but I’m actually looking at wearing these for working out. AirPods are serviceable (love them for general uses, calls, listening to video while working on other stuff) but the AirPods Pro have been a difficult transition for my ears. I really appreciate their sound quality and the noise cancellation, but my ear … holes, if you will … are set in further so it’s tough for me to get a good seal. I’ve always had to fiddle with them way more than the regular AirPods.
Enter these — I see a ton of people working out with full cans, much to my surprise. It got me thinking, and then rumors started about the Max’s. I’m curious to hear how they are for people who go on walks or how they’ll be for some of the Fitness+ workouts. I’m not exactly a triathlete, so my workouts don’t have me doing cartwheels…LOL
If there is an opportunity to thank the author of a good article, I will always take this opportunity. I don’t often have a reason for this, but now I’m ready to say thank you to the author!
‘…Apple should charge more…’
At $550, I find this statement HILARIOUS! They’re already guaranteed a huge profit per pair, why NOT charge more!
Beats in Fag colors… nope not this Cow Boy….MAGA 2020!
MAGA lawsuits in 2020 (so far): 1 win, 53 losses. Guys who call other guys “fags” are losers, and so are the politicians who pander to that demographic.
No Women in your life? Midnight Cowboy….