AirPods Max to Gain Lossless Audio and Low-Latency Audio in iOS 18.4

[MacRumors]

Apple will bring lossless audio and ulta-low latency audio to AirPods Max in its upcoming iOS 18.4 software update arriving in April, according to the company.

From Apple's press release:

With this update, AirPods Max will unlock 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio, preserving the integrity of original recordings and allowing listeners to experience music the way the artist created it in the studio. Lossless audio also extends to Personalized Spatial Audio to deliver a more sonically accurate, uncompressed, and immersive experience, and users can enjoy more than 100 million songs in lossless audio with Apple Music.

[...]

Lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio enable music creators to fully utilize AirPods Max throughout their entire professional workflow on Logic Pro and other music creation apps. Using the USB-C cable, AirPods Max will become the only headphones that enable musicians to both create and mix in Personalized Spatial Audio with head tracking.1 By delivering lossless, high-resolution digital audio with low latency, artists can seamlessly record and mix with AirPods Max without compromising fidelity.

Introduced in December 2020 and updated in September 2024, the AirPods Max have now been in Apple's product lineup for four years now, but the company does not release new AirPods models on a regular basis, so this update should be a welcome change for fans of the over-ear noise-canceling headphones.

Apple says lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio will be available in April as a free firmware update with iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4 for AirPods Max with USB-C.

Apple also said that today it is making a USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable available to buy for $39 from its online store, Apple Store app, and authorized resellers. The cable lets users connect AirPods Max to 3.5mm audio sources like airplane audio ports or connect their iPhone or iPad to speakers or car stereos with 3.5mm inputs.

Article Link: AirPods Max to Gain Lossless Audio and Low-Latency Audio in iOS 18.4

 

[novagamer]

WHAT.

Did not have this on my bingo card. Wow.

…

Editing this post to add the attachment: it appears that lossless requires the use of a USB-C to USB-C cable (included).

@MacRumors may want to reach out to Apple for confirmation because the way it’s worded it seems to imply the update is going to enable this wirelessly which doesn’t seem to be the case.

 

[AlexStudios]

Took them long enough.

 

[kslingo]

• Lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio will be available in April as a free firmware update with iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4 for AirPods Max with USB-C.

Really apple? It's the same thing as the lightning version, why are you limiting it????

 

[UltimateSyn]

That’s neat, it’s wired only on the USB-C version?

 

[infinitejest]

Using the USB-C cable, AirPods Max will become the only headphones that enable musicians to both create and mix in Personalized Spatial Audio with head tracking.

So we can finally use the USB-C AirPods Max with a cable?

 

[shaown]

I wonder if they will add the headphone jack support with an adaptor cable

 

[PotentPeas]

After much hemming and hawing, I bought AirPods Max *old Lightning version* on Saturday. Saturday!!! I picked the old version because I wanted to be able to use wired audio input, to avoid latency issues with Bluetooth.

They fixed both of these things two days later. A low-latency wireless option *and* a new wired audio input option for USB-C.

Good thing my headphones hadn't shipped yet. Switching over to the new ones... What timing, I guess I am glad this announcement didn't come a month or so later after it was too late to return my "old" AirPods Max.

[Edit]
Reading the press release more closely, Apple is being strangely coy about it but it sounds like both low-latency and lossless require using a wired USB-C connection and will not be supported over wireless. (Whatever, still fine with me, I plan to use it wired most of the time.) It seems like this update just enables using the USB-C port on the headphones for audio input, which they should have had from the start.

 

[Veinticinco]

• Lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio will be available in April as a free firmware update with iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4 for AirPods Max with USB-C.

Really apple? It's the same thing as the lightning version, why are you limiting it????

You really have to ask? Bless…

 

[Arek2217]

I really hope that will work for both Lightning and USB-C models as literally nothing changes. But then knowing Apple 😏

 

[Koni17]

Introducing lossless audio to their $500 audiophile headphones only 4 years after launch, light-years ahead!

 

[ThomasPicard]

That's a nice "Easter-Gift" from Apple - THX a lot

 

[Sydnxt]

Woah?! What the ****. They're adding USB audio out too? Amazing.

 

[mapsdotapp]

As far as I can tell this does not mean wireless lossless. For some reason the USB-C APM did not launch with wired lossless and they are just rectifying that.

 

[Sydnxt]

I really hope that will work for both Lightning and USB-C models as literally nothing changes. But then knowing Apple 😏

Introducing lossless audio with their $500 audiophile headphones only 4 years after launch, light-years ahead!

They've confirmed in the blogpost it's USB-C models only sadly.

 

[rsnhakan]

Do you need to connect the AirPods Max with a USB-C cable to use Lossless Audio? Or can you use it over bluetooth?

 

[Mazda 3s]

They've confirmed in the blogpost it's USB-C models only sadly.

I don't get it. That makes no sense. Why would they gatekeep such a feature?

 

[raythompsontn]

With most of the music today, over compressed, clipped volumes, generally crappy mixing, auto-tune perhaps it is better to keep the old format with the losses.

 

[PotentPeas]

The press release says:

"Using the USB-C cable, AirPods Max will become the only headphones that enable musicians to both create and mix in Personalized Spatial Audio with head tracking."

Does this mean they're supporting audio over USB-C? (I see that they are releasing a 3.5mm cable/adapter thing today, but, I'm talking about audio with just a USB-C cable only.)

 

[Koni17]

They've confirmed in the blogpost it's USB-C models only sadly.

Well that's a huge slap in the face for first gen owners.

 

[jonify]

Do you need to connect the AirPods Max with a USB-C cable to use Lossless Audio? Or can you use it over bluetooth?

According to the press release, it's only via USB-C cable.

 

[bookcase]

The biggest news here IMO: Apple also said that today it is making a USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable available to buy for $39. Ridiculous price, but it's about time.

 

[Sarcastro]

Misleading headline, it should read "Some AirPods Max models to gain lossless and low-latency audio, but only wired via USB-C cable"

 

[Haiku_Oezu]

Does wired mode also allow microphone use or is it just audio out like the first gen?

 

[huanbrother]

They know those hardware are capable but just want to create barriers between products.