AirPods Max are wireless

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

over-ear headphones designed by

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

, and released on December 15, 2020. They are Apple’s highest-end option in the AirPods lineup, sold alongside the base model

AirPods AirPods are wireless Bluetooth earbuds designed by Apple Inc. They were first announced on September 7, 2016, alongside the iPhone 7. Within two years, they became Apple's most popular accessory. The most recent model, AirPods (3rd generation ...

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, inclusion of Apple's Digital Crown (found on the Apple Watch), more color options, and longer battery life.

Overview

Apple announced AirPods Max on December 8, 2020 via a website refresh, and released them on December 15, 2020. AirPods Max features an over-ear headphone design. AirPods Max have an H1 chip in each ear cup, which is also found in the second-generation

and first-generation AirPods Pro. AirPods Max, like the AirPods Pro, come with Apple's

Active Noise Cancellation Active noise control (ANC), also known as noise cancellation (NC), or active noise reduction (ANR), is a method for reducing unwanted sound by the addition of a second sound specifically designed to cancel the first. The concept was first develop ...

technology for blocking outside noise, and Transparency mode for listening to sounds around users. The "Digital Crown", similar to that of the

Apple Watch Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...

, allows users to play or pause audio, control volume, skip tracks, control phone calls, and activate

Siri Siri ( ) is a virtual assistant that is part of Apple Inc.'s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and audioOS operating systems. It uses voice queries, gesture based control, focus-tracking and a natural-language user interface to answer qu ...

Proximity sensors A proximity sensor is a sensor able to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. A proximity sensor often emits an electromagnetic field or a beam of electromagnetic radiation (infrared, for instance), and looks for ...

automatically detect when they are on a user's head and play or pause audio accordingly. Spatial audio uses built-in gyroscopes and

accelerometers An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is acce ...

to track movement of the user's head and provide what Apple describes as a "theater-like" experience. Apple claims 20 hours of battery life, with five minutes of charging delivering 1.5 hours of listening time. AirPods Max are charged via the Lightning port. The Lightning port can also be used for line-in audio, with Apple selling cables with

USB-A Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

USB-C USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conn ...

and 3.5mm headphone ends. AirPods Max are bundled with a Smart Case for storing. The Smart Case includes magnets that switch AirPods Max to low-power mode. AirPods Max is available in five colors: Space Gray, Silver, Sky Blue, Green, and Pink. Users can select from these five colors separately for the ear cushions and external chassis for a total of 25 color combinations (or 125 if using two different ear cushion colors).

Compatibility

AirPods Max are compatible with any device that supports

, including Android and Windows devices, although certain features such as

require an Apple device running

iOS 14.3 iOS 14 is the iOS version history, fourteenth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. for their iPhone and iPod Touch lines. Announced at the company's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Worldwide Developers ...

, iPadOS 14.3, watchOS 7.2,

tvOS 14 tvOS (formerly known as Apple TV Software) is an operating system developed by Apple Inc. for the Apple TV, a digital media player. In the first-generation Apple TV, Apple TV Software was based on Mac OS X. Starting with the second-generation, ...

macOS Big Sur macOS Big Sur (version 11) is the seventeenth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s operating system for Macintosh computers. It was announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 22, 2020, and was released to the publi ...

Criticism

The AirPods Max Smart Case's design has been mocked by technology reviewers, along with users on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

for its resemblance to that of a

bra A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, or ; ), is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover breasts. It can serve a range of other practical and aesthetic purposes, including enhancing or reducing the appea ...

or purse. Reporter Daniel Piper of Creative Bloq states: "If we're not entirely convinced by the design of the AirPods Max themselves, we're utterly baffled by that of their charging 'Smart Case'. The shape resembles, well, lots of things, from handbags to body parts." Numerous people have reported that condensation can build up near the drivers of the closed-back headphones after prolonged use under the removable ear cups. It has been suspected that the major cause is its full-metal body that naturally has temperature-dependent

thermal conductivity The thermal conductivity of a material is a measure of its ability to conduct heat. It is commonly denoted by k, \lambda, or \kappa. Heat transfer occurs at a lower rate in materials of low thermal conductivity than in materials of high thermal ...

References

{{Apple hardware since 1998 Headphones IPhone accessories Apple Inc. peripherals Products introduced in 2020

Overview

Compatibility

Criticism

See also

References