Why is Apple sleeping on the AirPods Max?

Apple announced a new group of AirPods Max during its event past week, updating them pinch USB-C and successful a caller group of colors. The move to USB-C is simply a invited one, to beryllium sure, but Apple changed thing other astir them. And that feels weird, right? What gives?

Apple’s high-end luxury headphones were impressive erstwhile they launched successful 2020. They had each the features of the AirPods Pro and made clever usage of the Apple Watch’s integer crown for measurement control. They besides sounded awesome — still do, successful fact! But the remainder of the marketplace didn’t beryllium still; alternatives from Sony, Bose, and much recently, Sonos, each connection comparable features and sound — astir notably, they each compete pinch the AirPods Max erstwhile it comes to sound cancellation (Bose does this the best) and transparency modes (AirPods Max still reign, but the Sonos Ace are close).

Despite being among the astir costly headphones you tin bargain without going into ultra-high-end audiophile territory, the AirPods Max look to person caught connected successful caller years. Apple doesn’t break the headphones’ numbers retired erstwhile it reports its earnings, but they’re each complete the spot successful New York City, and I moreover spot them connected a batch of heads successful my location metropolis of Milwaukee too. You’ll spot them successful airports and planes, metropolis transit, aliases conscionable stepping astir the block. There was a full inclination astatine 1 constituent of group sharing AirPods Max accessories connected TikTok. I’m fond of the crocheted ones:

There’s besides a very visible marketplace for “dupes,” aliases knockoffs. They person a hefty beingness successful Reptronics, a 115,000-member-strong subreddit wherever group stock deals connected cheaper clone versions of celebrated products. (TikTok, again, has tons of videos astir dupes.)

27 minutes into episode 6 of the splashy Netflix play The Accident, a teen is wearing AirPods Max knockoffs that I’m definite are the nonstop brace I bought a mates of years ago. I gave excavation to my child, who quickly collapsed them. 

So why didn’t Apple update the AirPods Max? Is it because it’s focused connected Beats and doesn’t person clip for the AirPods Max? Did it conscionable request to get thing retired the doorway truthful the EU doesn’t travel down connected it for not switching complete to USB-C earlier the region’s December deadline requiring it to? Does Apple deliberation that it did a perfect, no-notes occupation for its first over-ear headphones correct retired of the gate, moreover pinch its several-years-old H1 chip? 

They’re so, truthful expensive, but they’re besides a stellar brace of headphones that I emotion listening to euphony through. The ecosystem benefits for illustration being capable to brace them to my Apple TV to watch a movie astatine nighttime aliases quickly move them from my machine to my telephone to my iPad are great. And they still consciousness arsenic coagulated now, 2 years aft I bought mine, arsenic ever.

But successful their original iteration, they’re highly Apple — you request a typical cablegram that only Apple sells for wired listening because they don’t person a 3.5mm audio jack. They don’t person a powerfulness button, truthful you person to spot that they’ll spell into low-power mode and will beryllium fresh for you adjacent clip you put them on. (This has been very inconsistent for me.) 

Apple didn’t alteration any of that, and now it’s difficult to consciousness for illustration they’re the astir premium headphones of Apple’s lineup, acknowledgment to the glaring omission of the AirPods Pro H2 spot that was introduced 2 years ago. Without it, they won’t get features for illustration Adaptive Audio aliases Conversational Awareness — aliases those coming to the AirPods Pro later, for illustration doubling arsenic proceeding aids.

I wouldn’t upgrade for those features, and I don’t needfully deliberation anyone other should either. But the AirPods Pro being much “advanced” judge takes the premium radiance disconnected of the AirPods Max, doesn’t it? It doesn’t thief that the marketplace has much aliases little caught up, either. All of that really makes their $549 pricetag a difficult pill to swallow successful 2024.