Apple cannot preserve promoting costly AirPods Max headphones on the similar value with out the slightest replace for 4 years — after which anticipate us to be glad once they make the weakest “improve” doable.
Apple introduced loudly and fairly proudly that it was going to disclose updates to the whole AirPods line on the “It is Glowtime” occasion. They weren’t mendacity, however when you bought excited for brand new AirPods Max, you had been in for a nasty time.
It isn’t true that the AirPods Max bought the least of all of the updates introduced on the “It is Glowtime” occasion. There’s the Apple Watch Extremely 2, which is now obtainable in black however is in any other case the identical machine as final yr.
And truly, whereas it gave the impression to be getting a extra substantial replace, AirPods Professional did not actually transfer the needle a lot in any respect. For all its new listening to well being performance, Apple itself remains to be calling it AirPods Professional 2 as a substitute of AirPods Professional 3.
It is solely two years because the AirPods Professional 2 first got here out, although, so for coming near abandonware, AirPods Max wins. It is as if there may be simply nobody at Apple who likes these headphones.
This lack of consideration has been occurring for therefore lengthy that it is not stunning. It might have been extra startling — if extra welcome — if the AirPods Max had been given any new options past a unique charging port.
There are new colours
As an alternative, as was rumored again in February 2024, Apple mainly simply swapped out the Lightning charging system for a USB-C one. It is not as if that is a nasty change, because it’s actually one which customers have needed.
Then, too, Apple has up to date colours that the AirPod Max might be purchased in. It is now obtainable in midnight, blue, purple, orange, and starlight.
Plus with a future iOS 18 replace, AirPods Max ought to help Customized Spatial Audio.
However there may be nonetheless no listening to excessive bitrate lossless audio wirelessly. Because of this a headline characteristic of Apple Music Classical is completely wasted on the AirPods Max.
It is not a technical barrier, and hasn’t been for years. Bluetooth 6 can convey excessive bitrate lossless audio wirelessly.
For some motive Apple did not trouble with it, and stayed on Bluetooth 5.0.
And, there isn’t any signal of Adaptive Audio. That is AirPods Professional characteristic that has leveraged Energetic Noise Cancellation and Transparency — which the AirPods Max fashions have — to intelligently regulate the audio combine.
So that is how AirPods Professional can know to tune out loud metropolis noises at one second, however then change instantly to let in dialog.
There’s an argument that AirPods Max is perhaps aimed toward individuals working in studios, as a substitute of strolling throughout cities chatting to individuals. Possibly, initially, however we have seen a startling variety of them in public, simply strolling the streets of America.
Most of those are options Apple champions in its different AirPods. All of them appear to be ones that would simply have been added to AirPods Max through the years.
Apple has the H2 chip, it is simply not utilizing it
That plus a bunch of different seemingly simple additions to the AirPods Max — equivalent to listening for “Siri” as a substitute of “Hey, Siri” — all come right down to the identical factor. AirPods Max has been utilizing Apple’s H1 processor from the beginning.
And it nonetheless does. AirPods Max nonetheless use H1. Thw new AirPods 4 characteristic the H2.
H2 is an Apple processor that handles Spatial Audio, and actually nearly all the things within the AirPods Professional and now AirPods 4. Apple launched its first units with the H2 processor in 2022.
So it isn’t as if Apple has lacked choices for upgrading the AirPods Max. To be truthful, it additionally is not that the AirPods Max are indirectly unhealthy, it is simply that they need to so simply be higher now.
It is also not that there’s an obvious lack of demand. Solely Apple is aware of the precise gross sales figures for the AirPods Max, however solely the requires a USB-C model have been extra vocal than calls for that Apple repair condensation issues.
After which there’s this — in addition to virtually ignoring the AirPods Max for therefore a few years, there’s additionally yet one more factor Apple has didn’t do.
It hasn’t touched the worth.
AirPods Max appeared expensive at $549 once they had been first launched in December 2020. The very same mannequin, completely untouched, was nonetheless $549 yesterday, and the barely-updated new ones are too.
Or a minimum of, AirPods Max have stayed locked on $549 when you’re shopping for from Apple. Nearly in all places else retains discounting them, and generally by as a lot as 30%.
That is nonetheless about twice with AirPods Professional 2 price.
The outlier within the AirPods vary
The place all different AirPods are small and white, AirPods Max and enormous, cumbersome, and brightly-colored. They’re additionally virtually shunned by Apple.
Apple did not have to maneuver AirPods Max to USB-C, they might have simply carried on with Lightning. The EU is not forcing USB-C on outdated AirPods Max, as an example.
However then, nobody is forcing Apple to even stick with it making the AirPods Max.
They have to be promoting in enough portions to make it cost-effective to proceed producing them. However generally it appears as if there is just one individual at Apple who likes AirPods Max — and she or he has little clout with the executives.