Compared: AirPods Max vs AirPods Max with USB-C
After almost four years, Apple has finally updated the AirPods Max. This is what has changed in Apple's premium headphones.
AirPods Max new colors: starlight, orange, purple, blue, midnight
Apple introduced the original AirPods Max in December 2020, and hasn't changed them at all since then. While other products have received changes over time, the AirPods Max stayed static.
With the AirPods Max approaching four years since their introduction, it was overdue to get an update. As part of the "Glowtime" special event in September, Apple did just that.
The new AirPods Max are pretty close, if not almost identical, to the old ones. This is less an overhaul and more a refinement and an upgrade.
Here's what Apple did to its premium headphones after four years.
New AirPods Max vs Old AirPods Max - Specifications
| Specifications | AirPods Max (2020) | AirPods Max (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $549 Blowout savings | $549 |
| Weight (ounces) | 13.6 | 13.6 |
| Foldable | No | No |
| Primary Materials | Aluminum | Aluminum |
| Noise Cancellation | Yes | Yes |
| Transparency Mode | Yes | Yes |
| Charging port | Lightning | USB-C |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Microphones | 9 Total | 9 Total |
| Battery Life | 20 hours with ANC | 20 hours with ANC |
| Fast Charging | 1.5 hours from 5 minutes | 1.5 hours from 5 minutes |
| Controls | Digital Crown, Button | Digital Crown, Buttons |
| Other Sensing | Optical sensor, Position sensor, Case-detect sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope | Optical sensor, Position sensor, Case-detect sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope |
| Colors | Space gray Sky blue Pink Green Silver | Midnight Blue Orange Purple Starlight |
New AirPods Max vs Old AirPods Max - Physical design
The original AirPods Max were made of a combination of aluminum and steel. Large, rounded earcups attached by telescopic arms to a shiny steel frame going over the user's head.
AirPods Max didn't get a design update, but there are new colors
The frame was interesting in design, as it divided into two spokes that formed the actual headband. A stretchy fabric between the spokes was pulled down between the tubes, creating a form of cushion without needing padding.
The smooth earcups, uniquely Apple in design, also had massive, removable ear cushions.
At 7.37 inches tall, 6.64 inches wide, and 3.28 inches thick when fully deployed, the original AirPods Max were pretty chunky headphones. The extensive use of metal also meant they were fairly weighty at 13.6 ounces.
Apple's design also meant that the AirPods Max didn't fold down for storage. However, the earcups could rotate so that they could lie flat, such as in their Smart Case.
Inside each earcup is an Apple-designed dynamic driver, intended to deliver audio over a wide range.
It's a 40mm unit designed with a dual neodymium ring magnet motor. This was meant to maintain total harmonic distortion to less than 1 percent across the entire audible range.
The design has remained identical as Apple only introduced new colors. The color selection is now blue, purple, midnight, starlight, and orange.
New AirPods Max vs Old AirPods Max - Controls and sensors
Aside from using Apple's software integration with its operating systems, you had a few control options on the original AirPods Max. Both physical controls appeared on the same earcup, at the top.
The Digital Crown remains
The first was the Noise Control button, which was a simple option to switch between the various ANC modes built into the headphones.
The other was a Digital Crown, borrowed from the Apple Watch. This could be twisted around for volume control, or pressed in to handle various functions, like answering phone calls.
While you could make changes to playback manually, you could also take advantage of Siri support. Uttering "Hey Siri" enables hands-free control of the headphones.
The list of onboard sensors in the original AirPods Max is extensive. Each ear cup had an optical sensor to detect if they were worn, a position sensor, a case-detect sensor, and an accelerometer.
The left ear cup also had a gyroscope.
Apple incorporated a total of nine microphones in the original AirPods Max. Eight of the microphones fed the Active Noise Cancellation functionality.
The one remaining microphone, as well as two shared with the ANC features, were used for voice pickup.
These features remain unchanged with the 2024 update.
New AirPods Max vs Old AirPods Max - Audio processing and features
Powering the processing of the original AirPods Max is the H1 chip. With one in each earcup, the Apple-designed chip handled all of the processing for the various onboard features.
No changes to audio processing or chipset
This chiefly means Active Noise Cancellation. This is an onboard system that captures external sounds and produces a waveform that is piped to the user, to block out the external environment.
Connected to ANC is Transparency Mode, which is similar in concept. However, it does filter through some environmental audio to the user's ears, so they are aware of their surroundings.
To improve audio quality further, there's an Adaptive EQ, which can tune the sound automatically. Meanwhile, Personalized Spatial Audio is available, complete with dynamic head tracking using the onboard accelerometer.
Apple did not update the AirPods Max with the H2 chip. Therefore, the processing and audio remain identical.
New AirPods Max vs Old AirPods Max - Connectivity
The original AirPods Max uses Bluetooth 5.0 to connect to other devices, like an iPhone or a Mac. Since the H1 chip remains, so does Bluetooth 5.0.
As for physical connectivity, the original model used Lightning to handle charging and wired audio. This consists of a Lightning to USB-C cable, though you could also use a Lightning to 3.5mm Audio Cable to plug the AirPods Max into a headphone jack.
The only significant hardware change for the 2024 AirPods Max is the USB-C port. Users can use it the same way the Lightning port was used -- for charging and a 3.5mm headphone jack adapter.
New AirPods Max vs Old AirPods Max - Battery life
As a pair of headphones, the AirPods Max benefit from having heaps of internal space available for batteries. Apple took full advantage of this from the start.
AirPods Max have the same battery life but charge over USB-C now
The original AirPods Max was said by Apple to last for up to 20 hours of listening time from a single charge with ANC or Transparency enabled. It also managed 20 hours of Spatial Audio audio playback, and up to 20 hours of talk time.
To recharge the old AirPods Max, you connected it to the Lightning cable. A five-minute charge resulted in about 1.5 hours of listening time.
The battery rating hasn't changed.
New AirPods Max vs Old AirPods Max - So what's new?
While it's been practically four years since their introduction, the AirPods Max has been a first-generation device for quite some time. As usual for Apple's initial hardware releases, the second attempt doesn't make any major changes to the design or functionality, but instead gets a bit of a tidy-up.
Unlike an iPhone, where it's more apparent where upgrades are made, it's certainly not that way for the AirPods Max. In fact, Apple did less than the bare minimum and didn't even provide the obligatory chip upgrade.
All that changed was the USB-C port and the new color options. Existing owners need not apply.
Where to buy AirPods Max
The 2024 USB-C update to AirPods Max went up for preorder on Monday, September 9. They are available starting September 20 and cost the same $549.
Blowout AirPods Max deals are in effect on the Lightning port-equipped models, with Amazon dropping the over-ear headphones to as low as $399 at press time. You can compare prices across the entire range in our AirPods Price Guide.
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Comments
But for a deep woke company it's all about colors and not about specs. And we see this we this old AirPods Max and the AppleWatch Ultra as well.
At $549, most of the people will buy it may already bought it within the last 4 years, if Apple did add all latest AirPods Pro features to APMax@$649, I don’t think it will boost the sales figure much, to cover the re-engineering cost.
Dramatically upgrade the sound quality is the tentpole to the next upgrade, BT6 may not enough, for Apple perspective, the present technology seems unachievable yet, so there is no APMax 2, if ever. The port and color update just lower the barrier to newcomer, if any, and to extend the production facilities live longer for economics scale.
Wireless Studio Headphone for professional use, I mean for the people who do music for living is quite unrealistic target market. If you pursue high quality of sound, $549 has many other option in the market.
So, a fanboy needs high quality sound and willing to pay $549, and haven’t buy APMax yet, the UPDATE is for you, the pyramid in the niche market, I can imagine the demand curve may almost stand vertical.
Apple makes a move for such a small group of people, it is a generosity.
Hallelujah.