Apple's AirPods Max likely lacks U1 Ultra Wideband chip
Contrary to rumors leading up to Tuesday's AirPods Max release, the high-end headphone does not appear to incorporate Apple's U1 Ultra Wideband chip for orientation awareness.
Though it features a slew of sensors, AirPods Max lacks Apple's specialized U1-based positioning technology, according to a device specifications webpage.
Apple notes each ear cup holds an optical sensor, position sensor, case-detect sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope and microphones. The type of position sensor used in AirPods Max is not revealed, but if the company did include a U1 chip -- generally referred to as a positioning system -- it would likely be referenced by name in the tech specs breakdown.
The impressive suite of onboard sensors provides a basis for advanced features like Spatial Audio and on-head detection.
MacRumors in a report today said it independently confirmed the absence of Apple's U1. Customary teardowns should provide a definitive answer in the coming weeks.
Previous rumors claimed the incorporation of Ultra Wideband technology would allow AirPods Max to "sense" how a user wears the headphone, negating the need for dedicated left and right drivers. The U1 would also facilitate integration with a rumored update to the Find My app that is expected to support so-called "AirTags" trackers.
Apple unveiled AirPods Max early today via press release. Priced at $549, the wireless headphones boast two H1 chips for processing computational and adaptive audio, an array of nine microphones that inform active noise cancelling and transparency modes, 40-mm Apple-designed dynamic drivers, memory foam ear cushions, a 20-hour battery and more.
Though it features a slew of sensors, AirPods Max lacks Apple's specialized U1-based positioning technology, according to a device specifications webpage.
Apple notes each ear cup holds an optical sensor, position sensor, case-detect sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope and microphones. The type of position sensor used in AirPods Max is not revealed, but if the company did include a U1 chip -- generally referred to as a positioning system -- it would likely be referenced by name in the tech specs breakdown.
The impressive suite of onboard sensors provides a basis for advanced features like Spatial Audio and on-head detection.
MacRumors in a report today said it independently confirmed the absence of Apple's U1. Customary teardowns should provide a definitive answer in the coming weeks.
Previous rumors claimed the incorporation of Ultra Wideband technology would allow AirPods Max to "sense" how a user wears the headphone, negating the need for dedicated left and right drivers. The U1 would also facilitate integration with a rumored update to the Find My app that is expected to support so-called "AirTags" trackers.
Apple unveiled AirPods Max early today via press release. Priced at $549, the wireless headphones boast two H1 chips for processing computational and adaptive audio, an array of nine microphones that inform active noise cancelling and transparency modes, 40-mm Apple-designed dynamic drivers, memory foam ear cushions, a 20-hour battery and more.
Comments
The AirPods Pro sit between two markets and I may be wrong , but I don’t see strong sales, outside or early adopters with money, who just love Apple Stuff.
Is this the first use of the H1 ?
If there's no U1 shouldn't it be using at the very least the W1 ?
Perhaps the U1 tech is integrated in the H1.
There's no evidence that the H-series include the ultra-wide band feature.
Not only that, it's normal priced for pro headphones.
If these sound like Sennheiser than the price is cheap!! Since Sennheiser only offers sound and no computation chips.
Are you one of those that complain that AirPods are too expensive? If not, forgive me but... Still, why are you comparing a $549 headset to a $1000 one?
If you're not the target market, why don't people just fuck right off, we don't give a shit whether it's not for you or whether you think it's too expensive, we can form our *own* opinions and don't need armchair product managers who actually know absolutely nothing about how to run a company giving us their "expert" opinions.
My guess is that they’ll be as good as Sennheiser Momentum 3 & Sony 1000XM4 for general use and music listening.
I think they might however be the best home cinema headphones you can get due to the spatial audio.
They can be used wired, but might not sound better when they are wired. It would mean they could be used with a PS5 though...
So I might get these, might not.
I often use $400 IEMs and I can hear the difference between them and the $400 headphones I have tried very easily.
I get not everybody can afford everything they want and also that not everybody can hear the difference between $200 and $2000.
Some posts are so perfect, "Like" alone does not do them justice.