Apple AirPods Max

AirPods Max

Product Brand: Apple

Editor's Rating:
4.7

Pros

• Excellent sound quality with Adaptive EQ and Spatial Audio.
• Active noise cancellation for immersive listening experience.
• Comfortable over-ear design with breathable mesh canopy and memory foam ear cushions.
• High-quality build materials and construction.
• Digital Crown for easy playback control and Siri access.
• Long battery life with up to 20 hours of listening time.
• Smart case preserves battery life and initiates low-power mode.
• Quick and easy pairing with Apple devices.
• Find My app compatibility for easy location tracking.

Cons

• High price point compared to other headphones.
• No water resistance rating.
• Heavy weight may not be comfortable for extended use.
• Limited color options.
• Limited compatibility with non-Apple devices.

AirPods Max is a wireless Bluetooth over-ear headphone designed by Apple and released on December 15, 2020. They are Apple’s highest-end option in the AirPods lineup, sold alongside the base model AirPods and mid-range AirPods Pro.

The main changes of the AirPods Max over the mid-range AirPods Pro are the over-ear design with larger speakers, the inclusion of Apple’s Digital Crown (found on the Apple Watch), more colour options, and longer battery life.

Apple announced AirPods Max via a website refresh on December 8, 2020, and released them on December 15, 2020. AirPods Max features an over-ear headphone design.

AirPods Max has an H1 chip in each ear cup, also found in the second-generation AirPods and AirPods Pro. AirPods Max, like the AirPods Pro, comes with Apple’s Active Noise Cancellation technology for blocking outside noise and Transparency mode for listening to sounds around users.

The “Digital Crown”, similar to the Apple Watch, allows users to play or pause audio, control volume, skip tracks, control phone calls, and activate Siri. Proximity sensors automatically detect when they are on a user’s head and play or pause audio accordingly. Spatial audio uses built-in gyroscopes and accelerometers to track the movement of the user’s head and provide what Apple describes as a “theatre-like” experience.

Apple claims 20 hours of battery life, with five minutes of charging delivering 1.5 hours of listening time. AirPods Max is charged via the Lightning port. The Lightning port can also be used for line-in audio, with Apple selling cables with USB-A, USB-C, and 3.5mm headphone ends.

AirPods Max is bundled with a Smart Case for storage. The Smart Case includes magnets that switch AirPods Max to low-power mode.

AirPods Max is available in five colours: Space Gray, Silver, Sky Blue, Green, and Pink. Users can select from these five colours separately for the ear cushions and external chassis for 25 colour combinations (or 125 if using two different ear cushion colours).

AirPods Max is compatible with any device that supports Bluetooth, including Android and Windows devices. However, certain features such as Siri require an Apple device running iOS 14.3, iPadOS 14.3, watchOS 7.2, and tvOS 14, or macOS Big Sur.

Full Technical Specifications