Apple Prototyped Hundreds of AirPods Max Designs, Says Smart Case is Designed for Storage Efficiency

[MacRumors]

In a recent interview with Japanese website Casa BRUTUS, shared by Mac Otakara, Apple's VP of industrial design Evans Hankey, VP of product marketing Bob Borchers, and industrial designer Eugene Whang reflected on the new AirPods Max.

The interview is in Japanese, but with a translation, some key points can be gathered. For starters, Hankey said that Apple prototyped hundreds of AirPods Max designs over a lengthy development period, as the company worked to balance comfort and sound quality. Apple's design team conducted a significant amount of research on the shape of the headphones to ensure they are comfortable to wear while delivering a tight seal.

The interview also reveals that Apple tested touch controls for the AirPods Max, as exist on some over-ear headphones from competitors like Sony and Bose, but Apple ultimately settled with a larger version of the Apple Watch's Digital Crown, offering precise, tactile volume control. The headphones also have a noise control button for switching between Active Noise Cancellation and the more natural sounding Transparency mode.

AirPods Max come with a carrying case called the Smart Case, and many reviewers and customers have criticized the case's peculiar design. Whang, who apparently oversaw design of the case, said that while many headphones come with a large, cumbersome case, the Smart Case was designed to be storage efficient. Whang added that it was not necessary for the headband to be covered since it was built to be strong.

AirPods Max are designed with magnetically-attachable memory foam ear cushions, stainless steel telescoping arms, and a headband with a "breathable knit mesh" that distributes weight to reduce on-head pressure, according to Apple. Priced at $549, the over-ear headphones are available to order on Apple.com with a lengthy 12-14 week delivery estimate.

Article Link: Apple Prototyped Hundreds of AirPods Max Designs, Says Smart Case is Designed for Storage Efficiency

 

[HiVolt]

Still not having a power button is pretty silly, and be forced to use this "case" in order to save battery life.

 

[WiiDSmoker]

Sure, Jan.

 

[Polaroid]

Sorry but any woven mesh will easily tear lol

 

[Polaroid]

Still not having a power button is pretty silly, and be forced to use this "case" in order to save battery life.

I wonder if they can do a software update to allow holding one of the buttons to turn off...?

 

[EmotionalSnow]

Still not having a power button is pretty silly, and be forced to use this "case" in order to save battery life.

Not really, I heard that the battery drain is really minimal.

 

[macsplusmacs]

Sure, Jan.

Marcia. Marcia. Marcia!

 

[AJACs3]

Total conjecture:
if apple could, they would have designed it for no case at all, but that doesn’t work with the ear cushions

these things are built like a truck except
im guessing tossing them in your backpack would mangle the ear cushions
the cover is the most minimal case to protect the cushions and encourages people to use it by the added benefit of putting the headphones in low power mode (a bit of social engineering?)

that all said, definitely too rich for my tastes

 

[toph2toast]

Personally, I'd rather have a large, cumbersome case to protect my headphones when in a briefcase, backpack or carry-on vs. what they developed with the "smart case". It's not about the headband being strong (which is still up for debate), but instead so they don't get caught or wedged in with other items and possibly break when I go to remove them. That's just my preference though.

 

[dszakal]

Honestly the storage efficiency makes sense. I have more headphone covers I don't use because they take too much space.

What doesn't make sense is why we still don't know if it's 256kbps AAC or lossless over wireless somehow?

Does the new Airpod Max support lossless audio on wireless?

Earlier AirPods and AirPods Pro models send audio over 256kbps AAC. As I use Tidal HiFi (lossless streaming) and some offline flac/wav files, I still need to use wired headphones, and I need to get...

apple.stackexchange.com

 

[larrylaffer]

As someone who frequently travels for business during non-pandemic times, storage efficiency isn't as important as storage function. I wouldn't feel confident throwing these in a backpack full of things and expect them not to get scuffed or damaged over time.

 

[XXPP]

The digital crown is a much better solution. I have SONY headphones and the touch operation is so imprecise and poorly done that I had to turn it off.

 

[dannyyankou]

The case is such bad design

 

[djcerla]

About the case: a normal case for these would really fill up a backpack as they’re big.

I believe this was the reasoning behind the odd choice and I, for one, agree. I don’t keep keys or coins in the backpack, but space is a scarce resource.

Edit: also, a normal case does not come with a handle.

 

[CaptFuzzyBuns]

Next Apple event: New AirPods Max Storage Case MAX. $199.

 

[dannyyankou]

About the case: a normal case for these would really fill up a backpack as they’re big.

I believe that was the reasoning behind the odd choice and I, for one, agree. I don’t keep keys or coins in the backpack, but space is a scarce resource.

They could get the case pretty compact if they folded in

 

[NMBob]

Still not having a power button is pretty silly, and be forced to use this "case" in order to save battery life.

Plus, having them on 'just a little bit' is electricity that is going to have to be replaced by, probably, coal-fired power plants. Not good for the environment. Viva la power buttons! (I like electronic things to be ON or OFF, and not semi-both.)

 

[munpip214]

For $550, throw in hard case that costs $.50 to make. And let the user decide whether they want it or not. Or design one and let the user redeem it in store for free. Anyways, I’m sure we will see third party cases soon.

 

[Manatee]

They should sell the case separately, like the ear cups, in case someone wants to have a case in a contrasting color - or to collect them all.

But seriously, I’ve been wearing the Max a couple of days now (using them as my headset for conference calls), and they’ve become pretty comfortable. I’m not noticing the weight anymore. It can still be uncomfortable to wear reading glasses with them, but not too bad.

 

[EvilEvil]

 

[FuzzMunky]

"You're looking at it wrong."

 

[typecase]

Headphones this expensive should have the option of a 3.5mm headphone cord so you can plug it in to high end equipment, vintage equipment, etc. The fact that you can only use it via bluetooth is crazy.

 

[AustinIllini]

back to the drawing board.

This is overthinking it

 

[LongWayHome]

I don't know, the mesh in the headband doesn't feel like its especially strong. Honestly I guarantee I could easily rip it if I tried to. The case is just not good.

 

[ruslan120]

I’ve been using the AirPods for two days now and there’s virtually no power drain by just taking them off and leaving them by one’s bedside. I’ll be going completely caseless and don’t foresee any issues (maximum 1-2% drain if even that overnight)