Apple's AirPods Max likely lacks U1 Ultra Wideband chip

Posted:
in General Discussion edited December 2020
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.

AirPods Max


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.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 37
    Seriously Apple , I am a genuine audiophile and understand that you can pay £1000 + Sennheiser HD 800 headphones that are out of this world.  The £500 + price tag is too expensive for most consumers who know that Beats and Bose headphones are great premium headphones in the £300 range. They won’t appeal to professionals who shop in the £1000 + range either.   It’s at a crazy price point, £350 would have put it above the AirPods Pro yet still within reach for people looking for Apple designed headphones. 

    I love Apple products and even defended the Mac Pro price, because it is aimed at a particular market.

    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. 
    elijahgflyingdpAlex1Nwilliamlondonchemengin1razorpit
  • Reply 2 of 37
    flydogflydog Posts: 1,123member
    bfranks said:
    Seriously Apple , I am a genuine audiophile and understand that you can pay £1000 + Sennheiser HD 800 headphones that are out of this world.  The £500 + price tag is too expensive for most consumers who know that Beats and Bose headphones are great premium headphones in the £300 range. They won’t appeal to professionals who shop in the £1000 + range either.   It’s at a crazy price point, £350 would have put it above the AirPods Pro yet still within reach for people looking for Apple designed headphones. 

    I love Apple products and even defended the Mac Pro price, because it is aimed at a particular market.

    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. 
    Why do people keep commenting on the price of something that they have never tried. 
    gregoriusmbageljoeyjony0anantksundaramJWSCphilboogieGraeme000williamlondondangermouse2mike1
  • Reply 3 of 37
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    flydog said:
    bfranks said:
    Seriously Apple , I am a genuine audiophile and understand that you can pay £1000 + Sennheiser HD 800 headphones that are out of this world.  The £500 + price tag is too expensive for most consumers who know that Beats and Bose headphones are great premium headphones in the £300 range. They won’t appeal to professionals who shop in the £1000 + range either.   It’s at a crazy price point, £350 would have put it above the AirPods Pro yet still within reach for people looking for Apple designed headphones. 

    I love Apple products and even defended the Mac Pro price, because it is aimed at a particular market.

    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. 
    Why do people keep commenting on the price of something that they have never tried. 
    Trying it wouldn’t affect my purchase decision, I am not in the market for any headphones that cost more than $150–i don’t care how awesome. 
    I just don’t see why people take the price/market slot so personally. If it isn’t for you, have some popcorn and wait to see how it sells. There are plenty of options in all price ranges...

    jony0gregoriusmJWSCflyingdpphilboogieGraeme000JapheyAlex1NwilliamlondonStrangeDays
  • Reply 4 of 37
    jony0jony0 Posts: 378member
    Does anyone know anything about the H1 chip ?
    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.
    patchythepiratewatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 37
    KTRKTR Posts: 279member
    flydog said:
    bfranks said:
    Seriously Apple , I am a genuine audiophile and understand that you can pay £1000 + Sennheiser HD 800 headphones that are out of this world.  The £500 + price tag is too expensive for most consumers who know that Beats and Bose headphones are great premium headphones in the £300 range. They won’t appeal to professionals who shop in the £1000 + range either.   It’s at a crazy price point, £350 would have put it above the AirPods Pro yet still within reach for people looking for Apple designed headphones. 

    I love Apple products and even defended the Mac Pro price, because it is aimed at a particular market.

    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. 
    Why do people keep commenting on the price of something that they have never tried. 
    Apple products is like a car going from 0-60.  Sales starts off slow, then it accelerates.  Then you see the copy cates.  Like Samsung lol

    Graeme000Alex1NwilliamlondonStrangeDaysrazorpitwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 37
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    flydog said:
    bfranks said:
    Seriously Apple , I am a genuine audiophile and understand that you can pay £1000 + Sennheiser HD 800 headphones that are out of this world.  The £500 + price tag is too expensive for most consumers who know that Beats and Bose headphones are great premium headphones in the £300 range. They won’t appeal to professionals who shop in the £1000 + range either.   It’s at a crazy price point, £350 would have put it above the AirPods Pro yet still within reach for people looking for Apple designed headphones. 

    I love Apple products and even defended the Mac Pro price, because it is aimed at a particular market.

    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. 
    Why do people keep commenting on the price of something that they have never tried. 
    I think it reasonable that these be available in the price range of similar brand name products, like the Bose 700 and the Sony XM4. Both of those will be the products these are measured against. At USD$549 Apple has given a swag of points to the competition right off.
    edited December 2020 Graeme000Alex1N
  • Reply 7 of 37
    XedXed Posts: 2,519member
    jony0 said:
    Does anyone know anything about the H1 chip ?
    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.
    The H1 replaced the W1. Nothing absolute as to why Apple switched naming schemes for the W- and H-series chips but I'd wager that they wanted the W to stand for watch, hence the W2 and W3 being used for the Apple Watch, and the H being used for their headphones. I'd also wager the original W1 refers to wireless.

    There's no evidence that the H-series include the ultra-wide band feature.
    edited December 2020 Alex1Nrazorpit
  • Reply 8 of 37
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    bfranks said:
    Seriously Apple , I am a genuine audiophile and understand that you can pay £1000 + Sennheiser HD 800 headphones that are out of this world.  The £500 + price tag is too expensive for most consumers who know that Beats and Bose headphones are great premium headphones in the £300 range. They won’t appeal to professionals who shop in the £1000 + range either.   It’s at a crazy price point, £350 would have put it above the AirPods Pro yet still within reach for people looking for Apple designed headphones. 

    I love Apple products and even defended the Mac Pro price, because it is aimed at a particular market.

    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. 
    You know, complaints (whining) like this gets really old.  Who are you to comment on something being too expensive if you've never tried it?  What if it is comparable to a $1,000 Sennheiser?  Is it still too expensive?  What if it compares to a Bose headset of the same prices?  Is that still too expensive?

    Give it a rest, or get a better-paying job.
    Alex1Nwilliamlondondangermouse2mike1anantksundaramStrangeDaysBeatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 37
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    It’s a Bluetooth wireless headset. Comparing it to audiophile headsets is just wrong.Bluetooth will never match a $1000 sannheiser
    edited December 2020 Alex1Nmobird
  • Reply 10 of 37
    entropys said:
    It’s a Bluetooth wireless headset. Comparing it to audiophile headsets is just wrong.Bluetooth will never match a $1000 sannheiser
    Bluetooth is a lossless communication method. How would that make a difference? The other aspects of the device could make it audiophile quality: codec, drivers, dsp, etc.
    edited December 2020 patchythepirateAlex1Nanantksundaramjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 37
    entropys said:
    It’s a Bluetooth wireless headset. Comparing it to audiophile headsets is just wrong.Bluetooth will never match a $1000 sannheiser
    Bluetooth is a lossless communication method. How would that make a difference? The other aspects of the device could make it audiophile quality: codec, drivers, dsp, etc.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 37
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    flydog said:
    bfranks said:
    Seriously Apple , I am a genuine audiophile and understand that you can pay £1000 + Sennheiser HD 800 headphones that are out of this world.  The £500 + price tag is too expensive for most consumers who know that Beats and Bose headphones are great premium headphones in the £300 range. They won’t appeal to professionals who shop in the £1000 + range either.   It’s at a crazy price point, £350 would have put it above the AirPods Pro yet still within reach for people looking for Apple designed headphones. 

    I love Apple products and even defended the Mac Pro price, because it is aimed at a particular market.

    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. 
    Why do people keep commenting on the price of something that they have never tried. 

    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.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 37
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    bfranks said:
    Seriously Apple , I am a genuine audiophile 
    And that’s where I stopped reading. Anyone who refers to themselves as a genuine audiophile, usually isn’t. 


    williamlondondangermouse2DancingMonkeysmike1anantksundaramrealjustinlongStrangeDaysrazorpitjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 37
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    entropys said:
    It’s a Bluetooth wireless headset. Comparing it to audiophile headsets is just wrong.Bluetooth will never match a $1000 sannheiser
    Wait so Apple selling a $549 Headset is expensive but Sennheiser selling a $1000 headset is fine?

    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?
    mike1StrangeDaysjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 37
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    Beats said:
    entropys said:
    It’s a Bluetooth wireless headset. Comparing it to audiophile headsets is just wrong.Bluetooth will never match a $1000 sannheiser
    Wait so Apple selling a $549 Headset is expensive but Sennheiser selling a $1000 headset is fine?

    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?
    Let me take the reverse view - why is it ok to defend a $550 price tag when you’ve never tried it? 

    The sennheiser headset is expensive but has earned its reputation for the niche market that it targets. Historically, Apple has targeted a mass market audience. For that audience it cannot be argued that the price is not high. 

    Maybe they do sound incredible and as good as a $1000 headset. In that case they would be a good deal, at least for the people willing to pay that much. For many others, this is a car payment and when the obvious competition includes products like the Sony 1000XM4 that has earned universal praise and costs half as much, Apple has a high bar to clear. 
    crowleywilliamlondonmuthuk_vanalingamchemengin1
  • Reply 16 of 37
    bageljoey said:
    flydog said:
    bfranks said:
    Seriously Apple , I am a genuine audiophile and understand that you can pay £1000 + Sennheiser HD 800 headphones that are out of this world.  The £500 + price tag is too expensive for most consumers who know that Beats and Bose headphones are great premium headphones in the £300 range. They won’t appeal to professionals who shop in the £1000 + range either.   It’s at a crazy price point, £350 would have put it above the AirPods Pro yet still within reach for people looking for Apple designed headphones. 

    I love Apple products and even defended the Mac Pro price, because it is aimed at a particular market.

    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. 
    Why do people keep commenting on the price of something that they have never tried. 
    Trying it wouldn’t affect my purchase decision, I am not in the market for any headphones that cost more than $150–i don’t care how awesome. 
    I just don’t see why people take the price/market slot so personally. If it isn’t for you, have some popcorn and wait to see how it sells. There are plenty of options in all price ranges...

    But it doesn't stop people from coming in here and claiming to know all about the market, the target demographic, the pricing strategy and what Apple's goals are with the product and then concluding how they're so utterly certain it will fail, does it?

    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.
    dangermouse2DancingMonkeysanantksundarammike1StrangeDaysjony0Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 37
    We’ll have to wait for the reviews.

    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.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 37
    MplsP said:
    Beats said:
    entropys said:
    It’s a Bluetooth wireless headset. Comparing it to audiophile headsets is just wrong.Bluetooth will never match a $1000 sannheiser
    Wait so Apple selling a $549 Headset is expensive but Sennheiser selling a $1000 headset is fine?

    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?
    Let me take the reverse view - why is it ok to defend a $550 price tag when you’ve never tried it? 

    The sennheiser headset is expensive but has earned its reputation for the niche market that it targets. Historically, Apple has targeted a mass market audience. For that audience it cannot be argued that the price is not high. 

    Maybe they do sound incredible and as good as a $1000 headset. In that case they would be a good deal, at least for the people willing to pay that much. For many others, this is a car payment and when the obvious competition includes products like the Sony 1000XM4 that has earned universal praise and costs half as much, Apple has a high bar to clear. 
    Um... we have evidence? The evidence is, that's what the company that made it and sells it thinks it's worth, presumably after judging the product in context with its competition? 

    Everything else - including your clever retort - is nonsense?
    StrangeDaysjony0Beats
  • Reply 19 of 37

    bageljoey said:
    flydog said:
    bfranks said:
    Seriously Apple , I am a genuine audiophile and understand that you can pay £1000 + Sennheiser HD 800 headphones that are out of this world.  The £500 + price tag is too expensive for most consumers who know that Beats and Bose headphones are great premium headphones in the £300 range. They won’t appeal to professionals who shop in the £1000 + range either.   It’s at a crazy price point, £350 would have put it above the AirPods Pro yet still within reach for people looking for Apple designed headphones. 

    I love Apple products and even defended the Mac Pro price, because it is aimed at a particular market.

    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. 
    Why do people keep commenting on the price of something that they have never tried. 
    Trying it wouldn’t affect my purchase decision, I am not in the market for any headphones that cost more than $150–i don’t care how awesome. 
    I just don’t see why people take the price/market slot so personally. If it isn’t for you, have some popcorn and wait to see how it sells. There are plenty of options in all price ranges...

    But it doesn't stop people from coming in here and claiming to know all about the market, the target demographic, the pricing strategy and what Apple's goals are with the product and then concluding how they're so utterly certain it will fail, does it?

    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.
    ^^

    AI, can you please be innovative, and create a new "Like^2" button?

    Some posts are so perfect, "Like" alone does not do them justice. 
    jony0Beatswilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 37
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    I don't know how many were produced already, but the current 12-16 week lead time tells me that they have easily sold out.
    watto_cobra
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