Things to Know About Apple AirPods Max Wireless Headphones
In this article, we offer you a review of the AirPods Max wireless headphones. The headband is made of mesh fabric that distributes the weight of the headphones and allows for a comfortable fit. The ear cups are attached to the headband with a telescoping mechanism that allows them to pivot and rotate. The ear cups have an acoustic design that provides passive noise isolation. The AirPods Max also features Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode.
Apple's AirPods Max is the company's first over-ear noise-canceling headphones, and they come with a high price tag to match their premium features. In our AirPods Max review, we'll go over everything you need to know about these headphones, from their design to their performance.
Design
Apple AirPods Max is designed with the following features to reduce environmental impact: Brominated flame retardant–free; PVC-free; Beryllium-free; magnetically-attachable memory foam ear cushions, stainless steel telescoping arms, and Custom Acoustic Design.
Sound quality
Apple's AirPods Max is its first noise-canceling, over-ear headphones. They have a stylish design and excellent sound quality. The AirPods Max combines high-fidelity audio with industry-leading Active Noise Cancellation to deliver an unparalleled listening experience.
Active noise cancellation
The AirPods Max features Active Noise Cancellation, which allows you to enjoy your music or movies without being interrupted by outside noise. With the 4E71 firmware update, some users have reported that the Active Noise Cancellation has become even stronger, providing an immersive experience.
The headphones also feature Transparency Mode, which allows you to hear your surroundings while still listening to your audio, and Adaptive EQ, which automatically adjusts the sound to fit the shape of your ear.
Transparency mode
The AirPods Max has top-notch noise canceling and a transparency mode to let you hear what's going on around you with the click of a button. You can allow your AirPods Max to connect to your iPhone or iPad in the usual way, by taking them out of the Smart Case and putting them on. On your iPhone, head to the Settings app, then tap Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Headphone Accommodations > Transparency Mode.
The AirPods Max has great noise-canceling and a transparency mode to let you hear your environment, which is useful when you're out and about.
Battery life and charging
Apple's AirPods Max headphones offer around 20 hours of listening time or talk time on a single charge when you have Active Noise Cancellation or Transparency mode turned off. If you use this with its own 20W charger, a five-minute charge will give you around 1.5 hours of listening time. To see the battery level on your AirPods Max, simply unlock a connected iPhone and bring it close to the headphones. An onscreen info box will appear with the current charge percentage.
Apple AirPods Max Review
Apple AirPods Max is the tech giant’s first true foray into the premium (i.e expensive) headphones space. The in-ear AirPods are definitely premium earbuds in their own right, but if you’re serious about higher-quality audio, then over-ear headphones are the tool
These headphones are very expensive. They cost $200 more than the other, cheaper Bluetooth headphones that are available. In fact, these headphones cost as much as a mid-priced, high-quality wired headphone.
The headphones are mostly metal and have a lot of features packed into them. They feel like they are made by Apple, and listening to them is a really great experience. But are they worth the price? I spent a lot of time with my pair of headphones, and this is what I think about the price.
Design: Very specific and very Apple
The AirPods Max looks like other Apple products, such as the AirPods and Apple Watches. For example, the Digital Crown on the top of the right ear cup is a bigger version of the crown on Apple watches. The color options for the AirPods Max are the same as the latest iPad Air 4.
I like how the AirPods look. The arms that hold the headband are shiny and feel smooth. The mesh and silicone coating on the top feels soft and fits well. The earcups might take some getting used to because they are shaped more like a rectangle than a circle.
The ear cups on the AirPods Max are very large. This is helpful for people with larger ears, but it does mean that it’s quite obvious when you’re wearing them. Time will tell whether the look of these headphones will become as popular as the first AirPods, but one thing is for.
Comfort: Nice materials, to a fault
It’s hard to talk about an Apple product without mentioning the build quality. The attention to detail makes these headphones feel good on your head.
The soft-touch silicone and delicate fabric mesh make for a nearly undetectable point of contact on the top of your head. The ear cups use a similar woven fabric as their covering.
This product seems like it's not as good as others because it's not as soft. But the memory foam inside is a perfect balance of bouncy and form-fitting. And the ear cups are big enough that even people with big earlobes will be comfortable without getting too hot.
The choices for these headphones make them uncomfortable. They are also very heavy, weighing more than 13 ounces. If you are sensitive to heavy headphones, you should not buy these.
Apple has done something remarkable with how they distribute the weight on your head. Thanks to the ultra-strong headband and the dispersing mesh canopy that rests on your head, a lot of the weight is diverted to either ear. This means that the headphones don’t feel as heavy as they could. However, they.
Durability and Build Quality: Premium, premium, premium
The AirPods Max is made from high-quality materials that feel premium and durable. The ear cups are made from a single piece of anodized aluminum, which makes them both strong and long-lasting.
The parts of the headphones that connect to the cups are made of high-quality stainless steel. The weaker parts (the woven ear pads and the headband) only feel delicate. I am impressed with how durable these actually seem under normal use.
The AirPods Max uses a telescoping, almost hydraulic mechanism to smoothly resize the headband. Even the way the ear cups pivot, turn and bend outward feels like an intentional mechanism, rather than putting stress on delicate plastic points.
The case does not fully cover the headphones, so be careful with them. The product is not very strong, and it will get damaged easily if it gets scratched.
Sound Quality and Noise Cancelling: Glossy and impressive
The truth about the sound quality question for these headphones is that they sound great. They are not the best-sounding headphones available, but they are just as good as the others. Apple uses a lot of fancy terms on its website, like “the driver’s dual-neodymium ring magnet motor minimized
There are many types of headphones that use similar speaker arrays. The sound quality of these headphones is very good for a pair of consumer headphones.
The headphones have a good amount of bass and can be turned up very loud without distortion.
Active noise cancellation is a feature that helps headphones to cancel out noise. Sony's WH line has the best active noise cancellation, but Apple's headphones are also very good at it. There are six outwardly facing mics and two that face inward to help the headphones read your environment with an impressive degree of precision and blot out only
The mics on these headphones help to isolate sounds like voices and wind. I think Sony's noise cancellation is a little more subtle, but if you want to be immersed in your music, then these headphones will work well for you. There are other features like being able to customize the sound a little bit, but mostly you.
Battery Life: Pretty reliable for the functionality
The AirPods Max can be used as an “aural augmentation accessory,” which means it can improve the sound around you. It also has a spatial audio and transparency mode that makes it cooler than other headphones. Even with all of these extra functions, the battery life promises up to 20 hours of use.
The AirPods Max are not the best headphones in terms of how long they last on a single charge, but they last longer than most other headphones. When you plug them in to charge, you only need to leave them for five minutes to get an hour and a half of additional battery life.
The case that comes with the AirPods Max has magnets in it which make the headphones go into a low-power mode. This conserves battery life.
Connectivity: Seamless with the Apple ecosystem
If you want to use Apple products together, it works best if you only use Apple products. For example, if you have an iPad, Mac, and iPhone, you can easily move from one device to another. Also, the H1 chip in each headphone lets you connect to an Apple device without having to go through the Bluetooth
The actual connection protocol is Bluetooth 5.0, and the codecs are SBC and AAC, depending on the device. This means that all of the latency and sound quality is left to Apple’s signal processor software on board. You can connect the headphones to any Bluetooth device (Android included), but you won
The headphones worked great with my iPhone and Mac, but it was much more difficult to connect to a non-Apple tablet. I had to disconnect from my Apple devices before putting the headphones into Bluetooth pairing mode. I think these headphones are too expensive if you’re going to use them with non-Apple products, but if.
Software and Extras: Plenty to like, but not much you need
Because you can't choose which features you want on these headphones, you might end up with a lot of extras that you don't really need or want.
Apple's Spatial Audio feature is available in the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. This software makes it sound like you're in a surround sound system. You can also set up a reference point so that the sound you're hearing stays in the direction of your source device, even if you move your head
The transparency mode allows you to hear what is going on around you while still wearing your headphones. Most headphones have this option, but Apple's headphones have a better quality transparency mode because of the impressive mic array. This feature is cool, but it might not be used often by the average person, especially since Apple's headphones are more
The ear pads on these headphones are attached with strong magnets, which makes them much easier to remove and reattach than most other types of headphones. You can also buy replacement ear pads in different colors.
Price: Objectively too expensive
Apple has launched products before at a much higher price than what is available in the market, in order to provide a better quality product.
So, the question comes down to how important Apple’s brand is to you. History has taught us that Apple can command an entire segment of a market that would have otherwise been thought of as niche. But are these ultra-premium headphones an example of this? That’s really up to you.
Apple AirPods Max vs. Sony WH-1000XM4
There are no headphones that are exactly the same as these ones for $549. The best that consumer Bluetooth ANC headphones can do is around $300, and all the other headphones that cost more than $550+ are wired, DAC-focused, audiophile models.
There are other headphones that are similar to the AirPods Max. The Sony WH-1000XM4s is one example. These headphones have great sound quality, and noise canceling, and can be customized to your liking. The AirPods Max also has a more durable build and some extra features that you can't find anywhere.
Final Verdict
Incredible for a very specific listener
Looking at everything these headphones offer—incredible build quality, next-level features, and rich, balanced sound—it’s nearly impossible to give them poor marks. In fact, it’s really only the price that drags them into questionable territory. For $350, I’d have forgiven the heaviness on my head and the abysmal awkwardness of the case. For $549, these are factors you really have to consider.
At the end of the day, I think these are awesome luxury headphones for day-to-day use, but for traveling, where a better case and a more affordable price tag are appreciated, this is a harder sell. But, Apple fans will certainly be happy with their purchase here, and we all know that Apple is a premium brand. So the final decision lies with what you can afford and how much you like the ecosystem.
