If i jab it with a hot metal poker, it will tear. If I toss it in my bag, in which I do not keep any samurai swords, hungry piranhas, lawnmower blades, lawn darts, minecraft creepers, angry pitbulls, or jackhammers, I believe it will be fine.
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Apple Prototyped Hundreds of AirPods Max Designs, Says Smart Case is Designed for Storage Efficiency
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Apparently AirPods use magnets in the Smart Case to tell when they're inside.
I wonder how long before somebody finds out where the sensors are and just carries around a magnet to pop on whenever they want to take the AirPods off.
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DAMAGE CONTROL
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
I remember when Apple put effort into design.
Apple isn’t going to knock $50 off the price in exchange for the case. That’s silly.
Apparently lightning’s days are not numbered, since Apple keeps coming out with new products that use it. (Hint: how do you think the new Apple TV remote will charge?)
Why is 2 hours insane? It doesn’t use full power during those 2 hours. You lose only a percent or 2 of battery life, as everyone has reported. Not sure where people are getting the idea that 2 hours unplugged and out of the case is equivalent to 2 hours playing music.
Spatial audio will probably come to Mac at some point, but Apple TV may be tricky - how would it know where your screen is? (Spatial audio is referenced to the screen, so that if you turn your head, the sound seems to keep coming from your screen).
No for it’s purpose which is explained in the article it is very good design.
It’s just not a protective hard case obviously.
I love the headphones so far (had them for two days), but the case does suck. Provides very little protection, is actually a pain to get the headphones in and out of (I’m constantly doing it backwards), and it doesn’t do much to save battery life (2 or 3%). All it does is protect the ear cups, and only from certain types of incidents. A power switch and two Airpod Socks to cover the cups would be, in net, a 2% better solution.
"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,"
Tough for Whang to be fired this close to the holidays.
Tough for Whang to be fired this close to the holidays.
Maybe the worst apple product ever.
The only redeeming quality is the headband.
but it looks like the mesh doesn’t have enough support and your left with 2 hard bands on your head.
Maybe not initially but that mesh will wear down.
So complete fail across the board.
how do you test so many prototypes and test comfort but reviewers already say theyre too heavy.
no amount of interviews will save that absolutely horrendous case design
no off button. Get real.
if you spend $549 on these, you deserve it.
The only redeeming quality is the headband.
but it looks like the mesh doesn’t have enough support and your left with 2 hard bands on your head.
Maybe not initially but that mesh will wear down.
So complete fail across the board.
how do you test so many prototypes and test comfort but reviewers already say theyre too heavy.
no amount of interviews will save that absolutely horrendous case design
no off button. Get real.
if you spend $549 on these, you deserve it.
They chose this design because the others were too expensive. The folding version would have been $999
Especially for us baldies. I'll have to try it out in-store.
Function should inform design. Not the other way around. I fail to see any technical function that this feckless case accomplishes. Ultra Low Power Mode could be initiated from audio output setting in control center - this is ridiculous. Headphones look to be great - but Apple did wrong by trying to reinvent the wheel on the case. Look at Bose and other headset manufacturers - no one is doing this. Plus you look silly AF walking around with headphones that read like you're carrying a purse. DUMB! and the corners aren't even covered.... 🤦♂️
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You can actually connect these to a headphone jack to remove latency or use with non-bluetooth devices, but it requires the purchase of a USD$35 cable https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MXK22AM/A/lightning-to-35-mm-audio-cable-12m-white
It would have been better for this to have been included at the price point.
And I suppose if you want to connect it to an iPhone without Bluetooth, you'd also need the Lightning to 3.5mm jack adapter: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMX62AM/A/lightning-to-35-mm-headphone-jack-adapter 🤣 – mostly a joke, but also with only 2 min of wasted internet searching because I can't find evidence of a male-to-male lightning-only cable for sale.
White headband and white earcups. Yep, they will be white and not grey for ever. One other reason for a case.
Riiiight, cos nothing's going to tear the fabric or cut/scratch the rubbery material on the headband.
Admit it, it's an awful design. For people who want protect this doesn't offer it. For people who only use these at home and don't need protection this is an unnecessary faff instead of just having a power button.
As for space efficiency, they could have filled the unused space in the case between the cups and the band with a battery, so it can recharge like AirPods/Pro.
And there's no excuse for that material in any product. It's awful on the iPad Keyboard, I suspect it may turn out to be awful on the Duo charger, and it'll be awful here (if it is the same thing, which it looks like).
Admit it, it's an awful design. For people who want protect this doesn't offer it. For people who only use these at home and don't need protection this is an unnecessary faff instead of just having a power button.
As for space efficiency, they could have filled the unused space in the case between the cups and the band with a battery, so it can recharge like AirPods/Pro.
And there's no excuse for that material in any product. It's awful on the iPad Keyboard, I suspect it may turn out to be awful on the Duo charger, and it'll be awful here (if it is the same thing, which it looks like).
It’s actually a very nice product, as evidenced by almost every review, including from many audiophiles. One thing everyone agrees on is that they are very comfortable, especially the mesh headband, which you don’t feel at all. And I can confirm that this is the case. You don’t feel the head band, let alone the “2 hard bands.” The power button is a non-issue - take the phone out of the case, leave it on your desk, and after 24 hours you lose 2% of battery. So what?
As for “too heavy“- I haven’t seen people say that. I’ve seen them say they are heavy, but not “too heavy.” They are certainly heavier than, say, Beats or other lower end cans. But they don’t weigh more than many high end headphones, like master & dynamic, sennheiser, Hifiman, meze, etc. I agree, these are not good for workouts or the like, but that’s not the goal of these headphones.
Storage efficiency?! Yeah, because every time I've put other over-ear headphones into their case, I've thought to myself, "This case is such an inefficient waste of space!" 
I thought the butterfly keyboard or the trash can Mac Pro would take the cake in terms of 'form over function', but I believe the AirPods Max case may eclipse both of those.
I thought the butterfly keyboard or the trash can Mac Pro would take the cake in terms of 'form over function', but I believe the AirPods Max case may eclipse both of those.
You don’t need to use the case...the headphones go off by themselves when you remove them; the case puts them in an ULTRA low-power mode. The existence of a lower-power mode doesn’t mean that the headphones aren’t “off” when they’re not being used.
Do you have a pair?
i have been testing the battery drain without the case, and the AirPods Max definitely go into a sleep mode, without the case.
marquis wnd many other reviewers somehow got this wrong.
test it out yourself!
I’m not the biggest fan of these, but I also think it’s pretty ridiculous to judge a product I’ve never seen and never used based on what I think might happen in the future.
Also, not a single review said they’re “too heavy.” And this whole “off button” thing is nonsense.
Yes, $50 off is a wishful thinking on my part, but with Apple charging $59 for iPhone 12 leather case, which is smaller and has a simpler design, it would be one way for Apple to deflect some of the criticisms.
I do think Lightning's days are numbered. Both iPad Pro and iPad Air have USB-C port, not Lightning. Heck, even Beats headphones like Beats Flex have USB-C.
I stand corrected on 2 hours timer.
As for Spatial Audio on Apple TV, I frankly don't get why dynamic head tracking is required for spatial audio feature. I just want surround sound. I think everyone would be fine with dynamic head tracking becoming disabled when using a display without an accelerometer.
That makes sense to you? That Apple—or any company really—would release a product that burns through the same amount of battery when off as when it’s being used? Give me a break. There’s plenty of actual things to criticize about these without grasping at straws.
Spatial audio is different than surround sound, of course. Not sure whether it supports any kind of surround other than spatial audio.