AirPods Max just got the laziest and most disappointing update possible

Posted:
in iOS

Apple can't keep selling expensive AirPods Max headphones at the same price without the slightest update for four years -- and then expect us to be glad when they make the weakest "upgrade" possible.

Close-up of a lilac-colored over-ear headphone with textured ear padding, volume button, and metal hinge.
AirPods Max



Apple announced loudly and quite proudly that it was going to reveal updates to the entire AirPods line at the "It's Glowtime" event. They weren't lying, but if you got excited for new AirPods Max, you were in for a bad time.

It is not true that the AirPods Max got the least of all the updates announced at the "It's Glowtime" event. There's the Apple Watch Ultra 2, which is now available in black but is otherwise the same device as last year.

And actually, while it seemed to be getting a more substantial update, AirPods Pro didn't really move the needle much at all. For all its new hearing health functionality, Apple itself is still calling it AirPods Pro 2 instead of AirPods Pro 3.

It's only two years since the AirPods Pro 2 first came out, though, so for coming close to abandonware, AirPods Max wins. It's as if there is just no one at Apple who likes these headphones.

This lack of attention has been going on for so long that it's no longer surprising. It would have been more startling -- if more welcome -- if the AirPods Max had been given any new features beyond a different charging port.

There are new colors



Instead, as was rumored back in February 2024, Apple chiefly just swapped out the Lightning charging system for a USB-C one. It's not as if that's a bad change, as it's certainly one that users have wanted.

Then, too, Apple has updated colors that the AirPod Max can be bought in. It's now available in midnight, blue, purple, orange, and starlight.

Colorful over-ear headphones are arranged in a gradient pattern, showcasing various pastel shades.
AirPods Max comes in new colors



Plus with a future iOS 18 update, AirPods Max should support Personalized Spatial Audio.

But there is still no listening to high bitrate lossless audio wirelessly. This means that a headline feature of Apple Music Classical is entirely wasted on the AirPods Max.

It's no longer a technical barrier, and hasn't been for years. Bluetooth 6 can convey high bitrate lossless audio wirelessly.

For some reason Apple didn't bother with it, and stayed on Bluetooth 5.0.

And, there's no sign of Adaptive Audio. This is AirPods Pro feature that has leveraged Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency -- which the AirPods Max models have -- to intelligently adjust the audio mix.

So this is how AirPods Pro can know to tune out loud city noises at one moment, but then switch immediately to let in conversation.

There's an argument that AirPods Max might be aimed at people working in studios, instead of walking across cities chatting to people. Maybe, originally, but we've seen a startling number of them in public, just walking the streets of America.

Most of these are features Apple champions in its other AirPods. All of them seem to be ones that could easily have been added to AirPods Max over the years.

Apple has the H2 chip, it's just not using it



That plus a host of other seemingly straightforward additions to the AirPods Max -- such as listening for "Siri" instead of "Hey, Siri" -- all come down to the same thing. AirPods Max has been using Apple's H1 processor from the start.

And it still does. AirPods Max still use H1. Thw new AirPods 4 feature the H2.

H2 is an Apple processor that handles Spatial Audio, and really just about everything in the AirPods Pro and now AirPods 4. Apple launched its first devices with the H2 processor in 2022.

So it's not as if Apple has lacked options for upgrading the AirPods Max. To be fair, it also isn't that the AirPods Max are in some way bad, it's just that they should so easily be better now.

Hand holding a blue over-ear headphone cushion with textured fabric inside against a light background.
AirPods Max are over-the-ear headphones



It's also not that there is an apparent lack of demand. Only Apple knows the actual sales figures for the AirPods Max, but only the calls for a USB-C version have been more vocal than demands that Apple fix condensation problems.

And then there's this -- as well as practically ignoring the AirPods Max for so many years, there's also one more thing Apple has failed to do.

It hasn't touched the price.

AirPods Max seemed costly at $549 when they were first released in December 2020. The exact same model, entirely untouched, was still $549 yesterday, and the barely-updated new ones are too.

Or at least, AirPods Max have stayed locked on $549 if you're buying from Apple. Just about everywhere else keeps discounting them, and sometimes by as much as 30%.

That's still about twice with AirPods Pro 2 cost.

The outlier in the AirPods range



Where all other AirPods are small and white, AirPods Max and large, bulky, and brightly-colored. They're also practically shunned by Apple.

Apple didn't have to move AirPods Max to USB-C, they could have just carried on with Lightning. The EU isn't forcing USB-C on old AirPods Max, for instance.

But then, no one is forcing Apple to even carry on making the AirPods Max.

They must be selling in sufficient quantities to make it cost-effective to continue producing them. But sometimes it seems as if there is only one person at Apple who likes AirPods Max -- and he or she has little clout with the executives.



Read on AppleInsider

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    I beg to disagree. The Max got new colors AND. A new charging port. The Ultra just received a new color  :D
    mknelsonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 23
    Why do they let so many of their products die a slow death? HomePod discontinued, then a meager update years later. HomeKit and the Home app. So much potential, yet so little effort put into it. FCP went dormant for years. I don't want to make an entire list of the items that they half a$$, it's depressing. So much talent yet nothing that stands out as new and exiting or innovative. It feels like they have been rehashing the same old stuff for years. That may not be entirely true, but the perception is none the less there. It would be nice if they would step out of their comfort zone every now and then and try something groundbreaking (Apple Vision Pro is cool but not a daily use product for everyone). Heck, even if they would come out with a new HomeKit hardware device, this would be exiting. I don't know, just a little underwhelmed lately.
    elijahgwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 23
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,414member
    It's no longer a technical barrier, and hasn't been for years. Bluetooth 6 can convey high bitrate lossless audio wirelessly.

    For some reason Apple didn't bother with it, and stayed on Bluetooth 5.0.

    Not going to argue the other points, bu wasn't the BT 6 standard just adopted? If so, to expect upgrades to BT would seem unrealistic.
    edited September 10 ronntdknoxwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 23
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,921administrator
    mike1 said:
    It's no longer a technical barrier, and hasn't been for years. Bluetooth 6 can convey high bitrate lossless audio wirelessly.

    For some reason Apple didn't bother with it, and stayed on Bluetooth 5.0.

    Not going to argue the other points, bu wasn't the BT 6 standard just adopted? If so, to expect upgrades to BT would seem unrealistic.
    Bluetooth 5.2 can do it now, and that came out in 2022 and is on modern iPhones. Bluetooth 6 is pretty new, but arguably, Apple could have waited.
    elijahglotonesnubuswatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 23
    Lazy facelift… update is too strong word for what Apple has done…
    muthuk_vanalingamelijahggrandact73tdknoxwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 23

    This obsesion with “must update and replace” is really poor environmentally

    We all need to consume less, not more, and we really don’t need a new model every year (phones) yet, it appears that’s what is expected.

    ronnmbenz1962darbus69Japheywatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 23
    Looks like Apple wants to get rid of the lightening ports and is now everything on that platypus USB-C port format, that the EU has deemend needs no further innovation. Done that ... the decidedly non-pro colors again is a bit of an oddity for a Pro Device. Not sure what to make of it.

    Obviously the most relevant feature (like better theft protection, by pairing all the parts and being able to remotely brick the device), still hasn't happened. Then again the criminals these days have a way better lobby (although hide call this 'right to repair' ... repair as in re-pair stolen parts with another device for a buyer willing to support theft by buying stolen goods). Too bad.

    Suggests to me these devices are still selling good enough - as opposed to the iPhone where users need a reason (theft might be a good one) to upgrade the devices, after yet another lackluster upgrade cycle for the phone-thingy.
    edited September 10
  • Reply 8 of 23
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,977member
    Very fair points and I think spot on.

    There was a lot that could have been done but wasn't. 

    At the very least a price drop or a better case. 

    They went a whole year without upgrading the iPad and kept pricing the same as well. 

    I'm not totally surprised because Apple has decided to drip feed features and users really have to wait or swallow the bitter pill of knowing a year's old product won't even see a discount or other method to sweeten the deal. 
    edited September 10 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 9 of 23
    avon b7 said:
    Very fair points and I think spot on.

    There was a lot that could have been done but wasn't. 

    At the very least a price drop or a better case. 

    They went a whole year without upgrading the iPad and kept pricing the same as well. 

    I'm not totally surprised because Apple has decided to drip feed features and users really have to wait or swallow the bitter pill of knowing a years old product won't even see a discount or other method to sweeten the deal. 
    At least they lowered the price in May when the Air and Pro got updated 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 23

    AirPods Max might be aimed at people working in studios,

    I assure you no one in a recording studio is using Bluetooth headphones as of this writing. Whatever version of Bluetooth that is out now has too much latency when playing an instrument or singing to playback. 
    auxiolotonesgrandact73ronnmobirdIreneWMisterKittdknoxAlex_Vwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 23
    Apple just kill them off and be done with it.   Yippee more colors from it's 31 shades of ice cream collection of colors and a USBC port.    Same ridiculous price, my headphones for my audio work costless.  My guess is in a few months Apple will have it let empty the warehouse sale on these things so leaving the price crazy high so blowing them out at 30% off they'll still make money. 
    grandact73nubusentropys
  • Reply 12 of 23
    Apple is going to prioritize updating product lines that have the highest consumer demand. I see everybody and their brother with iPhones, iPods, MacBooks and Apple Watches. But I have exactly one friend who owns the AirPods Max. One. And they are quite happy with them as-is with no desire for an upgrade. Their sentiments probably reflect the average target consumer for this device. I highly doubt the AirPods Max generate a significant profit for Apple, because they are just not a high-demand item for 95% of Apple users, and so the disappointment expressed in this article regarding such a minor refresh is limited to a small cohort of Apple commentators and hardcore users.
    edited September 10 mike1ronnwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 23
    mike1 said:
    It's no longer a technical barrier, and hasn't been for years. Bluetooth 6 can convey high bitrate lossless audio wirelessly.

    For some reason Apple didn't bother with it, and stayed on Bluetooth 5.0.

    Not going to argue the other points, bu wasn't the BT 6 standard just adopted? If so, to expect upgrades to BT would seem unrealistic.
    Bluetooth 5.2 can do it now, and that came out in 2022 and is on modern iPhones. Bluetooth 6 is pretty new, but arguably, Apple could have waited.
    I think they are waiting. I think when they feel BT 6 is ready for primetime there will be an AirPods Ultra, and the AirPods Max will finally get a price drop to create a tier between the AIrPods Ultra and what will probably by then be the AirPods Pro 3. And hopefully Apple TV will finally get lossless streaming audio then also.
    edited September 10 watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 23
    bukket said:

    AirPods Max might be aimed at people working in studios,

    I assure you no one in a recording studio is using Bluetooth headphones as of this writing. Whatever version of Bluetooth that is out now has too much latency when playing an instrument or singing to playback. 
    Can the Max use a wired connection? Maybe USB-C makes that possible for lossless?

    They definitely missed the mark here, not updating to H2. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 23
    The whole event was a mess,

    Ai features that arrive later being advertised now. A lot of things exclusive to the US (INSANE in 2024)

    Same prices, no high refresh rate on the 16, no always on display. No green color (that one is for me hahahhahha) 

    And the ultra wide is not even High Res on the 16.

    Don't even get me started on the Apple watch.....
    nubus
  • Reply 16 of 23
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,268member
    ranson said:
    Apple is going to prioritize updating product lines that have the highest consumer demand. I see everybody and their brother with iPhones, iPods, MacBooks and Apple Watches. But I have exactly one friend who owns the AirPods Max. One. And they are quite happy with them as-is with no desire for an upgrade. Their sentiments probably reflect the average target consumer for this device. I highly doubt the AirPods Max generate a significant profit for Apple, because they are just not a high-demand item for 95% of Apple users, and so the disappointment expressed in this article regarding such a minor refresh is limited to a small cohort of Apple commentators and hardcore users.
    It seems quite bizarre market positioning. These headphones aren’t made in isolation. They are not market leader, they are not markedly superior than the competitor products from Sony or Bose in sound, ANC, connectivity etc.  Aluminium rather than plastic I suppose, but that also has weight downsides. But they are a lot more expensive.

    It’s like Apple went for margin rather than overall sales. And as a consequence of low sales doesn’t get the development love.
    edited September 10 watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 23
    Since other brands, like Sony and Bose, have better headphones that cost much less (especially on sale), offer more features, and have better sound quality, it is no surprise that AirPod Max at $549 has been a laughing joke.  At least all other headphones have a regular 1/8mm audio input for a wired connection, and it doesn't cost more for a special cable either.  And they don't have a special charging purse either.

    So hilarious that all Apple did was break out a few cans of Krylon to spray paint new colors and add a USB-C port, and still charge $549, calling them 'New'.  LOL.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 23
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,449moderator
    battlescarred1 said:
    Why do they let so many of their products die a slow death? HomePod discontinued, then a meager update years later. HomeKit and the Home app. So much potential, yet so little effort put into it. FCP went dormant for years. I don't want to make an entire list of the items that they half a$$, it's depressing.
    Some products don't sell in high unit volume and the attention is placed on the products that do, like AirPods Pro. Some products are also hard to improve on.

    AirPods Max don't need many improvements and their design actually influenced a lot of changes in the headphone industry like the iPhone did to the smartphone industry.

    Sony had these designs for years:


    2016-2022 and likely other models before 2016. In 2022 they changed to a radical new design, wonder what inspired that:

    One big change that headphones made is moving the split where the adjustment is down to the ear cups. This prevents hair getting caught in the gap, which happens with a lot of headphone designs. They reduced the number of visible lines and branding, moved the charging ports. The parts where the cups swivel are changed so that fingers don't get trapped in the gap when turning them.

    Nobody complained that Sony had the same designs for 6+ years and no mention that their updated design just happens to share a lot of the same design choices Apple made. AirPods Max have been available for less than 4 years.

    Apple makes designs to stand the test of time, they don't change them for the sake of change.

    The sound quality is highly rated, the negatives that people list are the weight and price. $399 and 25% lighter (smaller cups perhaps) would make them really competitive but these are well-designed, comfortable headphones and are rated as highly as Sony's. Sony sells more due to the lower price point:


    Apple has Beats headphones to cover the lower price point and they sell in higher unit volume:
    ronnfreeassociate2darbus69Alex_Vwatto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 23
    I like the colors. I like USB C. But yes, a lazy upgrade.

    Bare minimum would be H2 chip, shouldn't it get the health features?

    And for the love of all design, give us a protective case at least on par with vision pro. 

    It seems like on some of the products, they let designers run wild and with some questionable ideas.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 23
    bukket said:

    AirPods Max might be aimed at people working in studios,

    I assure you no one in a recording studio is using Bluetooth headphones as of this writing. Whatever version of Bluetooth that is out now has too much latency when playing an instrument or singing to playback. 
    Can the Max use a wired connection? Maybe USB-C makes that possible for lossless?
    If you want to use an adapter from USB-C to 3.5" then another adapter to 1/4" then maybe you can use it in a recording studio.

    Or you can just pull a regular pair of cans off the wall and get to work.
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