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AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far
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You don’t need to replace them simply because a new version is out.
It's not one their main, high-volumes products, so it doesn't need to only be pitched to their "main customers".
More realistically, Apple is so big now that their "main customers" are whoever has the money to pay for the products and is prepared to give Apple that money.
Apple charge high prices, but they're not particularly elitist beyond that. It's a mistake to feel special or entitled because Apple will sell you things. They sell things to anyone.
I like your "buy it for life" thought, DonutHands. As long as my AirPods Max keep working, they can be "for life" just like my AKG's and others. But I appreciate that Apple would continue to update the headphones because new buyers would then get the latest and best product to start with, as I did when I bought mine. Also, if someone wants to dump their old set on eBay and get an updated one, the refresh cost then is potentially much less than $500.
It's a mistake to feel special or entitled because any company will sell you things. What company doesn't sell things to anyone with money?
I bought the APM on day one. I thought the sound quality was good, but you can find better in this price range. Also, they were heavy and started to hurt my head over time. The bra case needs to go for sure. I think the APM would be a great value if they were priced between $300-350.
re: sound quality, lack of EQ discussion … I use Boom 3D (by Global Delight) on my Mac, and it takes the sound to a whole new dimension! I just love it for both my AirPods Pro 2's as well as my AirPods Max. The Boom 3D software occasionally hangs which annoys me; but it just makes everything sound so much better when set up the way I like it. Just my 2c.
Highly recommend SoundSource also.
Phenomenal long long time Mac software company with tremendous products.
I consider SoundSource to be essential software, as I really enjoy having far more fine grained (and even per App) sound control on my Mac.
Exactly. There's no point quibbling about Apple's "main customers", as if there are requirements , other than having the money and desire to buy, to be a customer.
There is a strange attitude on here sometimes that it's a privilege to be an Apple customer. It's not. Buying Apple stuff doesn't make a person special.
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Sad. I had an Airpods Max, but it became unreliable. The auto detection didn't really work, and with no on/off button that was problematic. I started having to do a hard reset several times a day.
It was great when it worked, but it needs work on reliability and a power button. For me, the weight wasn't an issue and it was very comfortable.
I've since bought Sonys, when Apple updated_but_not_really last year and it became apparent that no real update would be coming for a while. I first the M5, and recently the M6. Even on the M5 noise cancellation was better than on the Max, and M6 improves it further - and since I sit in a noisy area, I put enough of a premium on this that I bought M6 even though M5 was great.
That said, if they put in a real effort and get good reviews, I'll buy a new Airpods Max set shortly after release- while I'll never buy anything earbuds.
It was great when it worked, but it needs work on reliability and a power button. For me, the weight wasn't an issue and it was very comfortable.
I've since bought Sonys, when Apple updated_but_not_really last year and it became apparent that no real update would be coming for a while. I first the M5, and recently the M6. Even on the M5 noise cancellation was better than on the Max, and M6 improves it further - and since I sit in a noisy area, I put enough of a premium on this that I bought M6 even though M5 was great.
That said, if they put in a real effort and get good reviews, I'll buy a new Airpods Max set shortly after release- while I'll never buy anything earbuds.
1. Reliability. I had issues with with it not pairing, not turning off (or on) automatically as it should, and just being confused. At one time I even had it repaired because it got stuck into a loop that not even running out of battery or a hard would fix. Just before I switched, I had to hard reset (and re-pair) it multiple times a day.
2. Noise cancellation. The Airpods Max almost caught up with Sony when released, which was remarkable - Sony was way ahead of anyone else. Since then, Sony and others have improved while Apple have been standing still.
3. Sound quality improves for the competition, but not for Apple.
4. Features. When you see how many features they add to their earbuds (I can't stand putting them or anything else in my ear), you see how much you're missing out on.
5. The case was just bad and ridiculed - for good reason - since day 1.
My "Apple's main customers" point was that Apple's customers come from the tech world where they're used to seeing a constant stream of product updates and thus have expectation for that.
There are countless people that won't buy APMs simply because they are already seven years old and, in their minds, technology has gone forward by leaps and bounds, so it's unwise to buy something that old at full price.
Said another way, a company doesn't get to choose its customers, the customers choose the company - which is why every company need to some degree adhere to the expectations of their "main customers".
I have to disagree. The majority of people who buy Apple's products are not from the tech world. The tech world will be a minority of their sales. Every category of buyer will be a minority. This is what happens when a company gets so big. Because they sell far more iPhones worldwide for one segment of the customer-base to be the majority.
Spending too much time in any "community", whether tech, Star Wars fans, collecting BArbvies etc, is going to give you a very skewed view of the market.
So again, tech-aware people are most definitely NOT the majority of Apple's customers. There isn't enough tech-aware people, relative to the amount of iPhones sold (which are by far Apple's highest selling range), for them to be the majority.
Everyone buys iPhones. That's the truth. And neither you nor I have any real idea who the "type of person" is who buying AirPods Maxs. Apple doesn't publicly release such information, at least not in a way to make any valid market analysis.
All you know about the people who buy AirPods Max is that they have the money to do so. Neither of us know anything more than that, and saying anything more than that is just projection and random speculation.
The best parallel is McDonalds. McDonald's is far to big to be able to specific it's core customer base. Because their core customer base is anyone who has enough money in their pocket to buy some of their food.
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I wanted to buy these, but the lack of updates to even keep pace with the AirPods Pro made me too nervous. About a year and a half ago, I went with a pair of Bose. I'd rather have the Max, but Apple needs to take care of the product or it won't be popular enough not to discontinue.
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version?
According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier options in the premium over-ear headphones category. It is unclear what other changes they might have, beyond weighing less.
Both Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Ming-Chi Kuo believe that new AirPods Max are on the way. Kuo expects the AirPods Max 2 to enter mass production at some point in 2027—seven years after the first-generation model launched.
In 2024, Apple updated the AirPods Max with a USB-C charging port and new color options, but they are still considered to be first-generation AirPods Max. The headphones did not receive Apple's H2 chip that debuted in the AirPods Pro 2 in 2022, so they continue to miss out on Adaptive Audio features, and there were no other changes. The AirPods Pro 3 have a range of features that could feasibly come to the next-generation AirPods Max, including:
- IP57 dust, sweat, and water resistance
- H2 chip
- 2.4GHz and 5GHz connectivity
- Lossless audio support with Apple Vision Pro
- "Siri" voice commands
- Adaptive Transparency
- Adaptive Audio
- Loud Sound Reduction
- Hearing Protection
- Hearing Test
- Hearing Aid
- Conversation Boost
- Conversation Awareness
- Live Translation
- U2 chip for Precision Finding
By 2027, the AirPods Pro could be even more advanced than the recently unveiled third-generation model, adding the "H3" chip and IR cameras. As a result, these features are also possibilities for the second-generation AirPods Max.
A refreshed design seems likely, especially given the rumored weight reduction and complaints from some users about the durability of the headband's mesh canopy. The Smart Case, which simply serves to put the headphones into their ultra-low power state, could also be due a redesign.
Gurman said that the long wait for a new model is due to the fact that the headphones are stuck in a kind of commercial limbo—"too popular for Apple to stop selling them, and not popular enough for the company to invest a ton of time and money into creating a new version." Apple's audio team is apparently more focused on annual updates for earbud AirPods and supporting audio components across other products.
Article Link: AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far
It's a self-fulfilling cycle. They don't update them. I buy Bose instead when I wanted to buy the AirPods Max. Assuming others do the same, then Apple will see less reason to update them. Continue to improve them and they will become a more dominant product. Just look at how many people still buy them when they are 7 YEARS OLD! What would happen if they actually updated them every 3 years or so?
I honestly don't think the people buying them (and this includes me - I was given them as a 50th birthday present - they were cheaper than a Ferrari ) are thinking of them as "something that must be upgraded". They are what they are. If you really like what they are, and are prepared to pay the price (and I will fully admit that they are overpriced), them, be happy with them, and just enjoy them.
It seems that people complain a lot about Apple having gotten boring, between they do release a quirky product, people also complain. I love my AirPod Max. I like how they look, I love that they're not just another set of plastic headphones (even though they are heavy) - I like the sound and the integration. I don't use them like I'd use actual AirPods, they're just a set of big, overhead headphones to be used at home.
TLDR: They are what they are. I'm very happy with mine. They are overpriced. They're not a core Apple product (not in the way AirPods and AirPods Pro are), and they're not a "must have" product. I do like that it's a brief spark of Apple Wierdness that we don't see so much of these days. If you don't like them, ignore them. I do think Apple's attitude with them is "take it or leave it".