charlesn

AirPods Max review: Two years later the headphones hold up

charlesn

December 2022

As an owner of the Airpods Max since they debuted, I found this to be a "glass half-full" summary--not wrong, per se, but it glosses over some significant faults:

1) No "off" button. This … (more)is just inexcusable. The main reason I continue to use my Sony XM4 MUCH more often than my APM--even though I think the APM sounds better and has better ANC--is that my APM are usually dead when I pick them up. I don't care what Apple says about powering off automatically--they don't, at least not completely. I can go long periods of time without using my XM4 and they still maintain a charge--no such luck with the APM unless I keep them charging all the time.

2) No ability to listen to lossless audio. Yes, Apple Music is now filled with lossless audio files, Apple Digital Masters, etc -- you just can't listen to any of them through Apple's $549 headphones. I could excuse this massive shortcoming in one of the most expensive bluetooth headphones if it just applied to wireless listening, but it doesn't--the APM doesn't support lossless listening even through a wired connection. The quality of audio in a playback system is always defined by its weakest link, and in this case, the weak link is the lossy, compressed, AAC codec, which is the best you'll do through a wireless or wired connection to the APM.

3) Oh, you plan to use APM on an airplane? That will cost you $35 more! This is a case of Apple at its greediest, most consumer-abusing worst. It's just despicable that a $549 headphone doesn't come with the cable you need to connect to an airline's entertainment system. And no, you can't just pick up some cheap third-party cable with Lightning on one end and the airline adapter on the other. You need Apple's special $35 cable that converts the analog audio from the airline system into digital audio that the APM can process. (That's right, the APM has no ability to play analog audio even through a wired connection--it has to be converted to a digital signal first.) And hey, I'm not complaining about the need for the special cable, even though my Sony XM4 have no such requirement--but for $549, include the cable in the box!

4) It's not really great as a "travel" headphone. The APM are fairly bulky since they don't fold at all. The "bra" case, as has been covered ad nauseum, is a joke that offers almost no protection. A better case, while available through third parties, makes them bulkier still for travel. These aren't 'phones that you readily toss into a backpack or your carry-on bag--they take up quite a bit of room, much more than their premium competitors. But forget about carrying them "naked" -- the aluminum ear cups will scratch up easily and the headband mesh fabric is delicate.

If none of the above bothers you, then I can recommend the APM, especially at some of the current discounted prices. Just know what you're buying before you take the plunge. Personally, I'd wait for APM 2.0, assuming Apple decides it's worth it to bring to market.

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Up close and hands on with Apple Vision Pro at Apple Park

charlesn

June 2023

h4y3s said:

Remember folks, this is just an early prototype of the eventual "Apple iGlasses". This one built for programmers and developers to get their hands on something

… (more)

iPhone 15 Pro review: Best balance of performance to price yet in an iPhone

charlesn

September 2023

CONGRATS! I haven't read a single review, until this one, that clearly addresses what you LOSE with the new 5X telephoto lens on the Pro Max. It's a lot. At 3x and 4x... and really all the … (more)

Masimo CEO steps down, but not because of Apple Watch dispute

charlesn

September 2024

melgross said:

anonymouse said:

Are we really certain that Apple didn't covertly engineer this coup?

Yeah. He was under a lot

… (more)

Review: Brydge Pro Keyboard for iPad Pro beats Apple's offering in nearly every way

charlesn

May 2019

Given that the purchase of an iPad is often driven by considerations for minimizing size and weight, why pretend that weight doesn't matter by failing to mention it in a review like this, … (more)

Man beaten, robbed of $95,000 worth of iPhones outside Apple Store

charlesn

November 2022

Hey, I've got an idea: I'm going to go to the main NYC Apple Store at around 2AM, buy a QUARTER-MILLION DOLLARS worth of iPhones, then walk to my car with them in three large Apple … (more)

Apple TV+ has something planned for January 4 & 5

charlesn

December 2024

AppleZulu said:

“the fact that the dates fall on a weekend suggests that the company may be preparing to open access to Apple TV+ for everyone for a limited time.”

… (more)

Is Apple Vision Pro a 'first year flop' or tomorrow, today?

charlesn

October 2024

Another masterpiece from Daniel. Let the sheep go on bleating as they have since Apple's founding. It's unfortunate that for every Daniel article that sets the record straight, … (more)

Review: 802.11ac Synology RT2600ac router is the best AirPort replacement we've found yet

charlesn

December 2018

Reviewing routers in a meaningful way that measures throughput performance in various networking scenarios is not for the casual reviewer. You can't approach it the same way you would for … (more)