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Apple Releases New AirPods Max Firmware With Lossless and Low-Latency Audio Support [Updated]

0xjf said:
Call me crazy, but I just bought the silver lightning model the other day even when I knew of this feature coming. That’s how much I hate the new colors. 😅
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The new colors are spectacularly awful. Where did you get the Silver Lightning model? I’d like to buy a pair.
 
turbineseaplane said:
So much for the "world class customer support" from Apple

What a shaft job to all the nearly users of the near identical OG APMs
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Absolutely sloppy bs. It's just par for the course with them right now. They need a major intervention. This is a microcosm of a much larger issue within Apple.
 
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er2429 said:
Absolutely sloppy bs. It's just par for the course with them right now. They need a major intervention. This is a microcosm of a much larger issue within Apple.
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Agree

If there's a technical reason they should be very clear and public about what it is.

If there's not -- it's inexcusable to dump the Lightning APM folks behind. I'd imagine that's a very large portion of the APM user base.
 
What app does support this lose less music?.
Does it sound noticeably different?. Not just “don’t care if you are over 40 because you can’t hear the difference”, how about a real life test with AirPods Max?
 
ralphthemagi said:
Maybe a bandwidth issue? Or simply no accessible DAC via Lightning.

Lightning can support USB 3.0 speeds, but in most of the controllers only USB 2.0 is supported. No idea why they did this. The only Lightning device I know of with USB 3.0 was the OG iPad Pro, but there may have been others.
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I guarantee you that the USB-C port in the new AirPods Max is also limited to USB 2.0 speeds
 
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SoldOnApple said:
Looks like the doubters are wrong, Apple can do lossless over bluetooth on their own headphones after all.
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Yeah, if it's a few inches from the transmitter (Vision Pro).

I do expect this will be coming with an H3 chip or later revision though.
 
Nothing from Macrumors on this topic. There is quite literally no firmware update. I wish they would actually do some reporting for a change and call this out.
 
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jcshas said:
Technically Apple explicitly said that Apple Lossless was coming in April.
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Good point. Hopefully this means there's still a chance Logic will get updated.

I'm going to be real disappointed if they don't let you pipe the spatial audio directly to the headphones because it's going to be such a small upgrade over the existing audio cable option. The press release didn't mention anything about a version so maybe that's not happening which would be unfortunate.

The literal only benefit then would be lossless audio for mixing but the difference vs. the ADC cable is probably incredibly mimimal... likely not worth the upgrade for that specific use case.

AppelGeenyus said:
USB-C port.
Ability to use them while charging.
Full headset support over USB-C on both Mac and Windows.
Lossless audio over USB-C.
Remove the faulty-by-design mesh headband and replace it with foam.
Foldable design.
Reduce weight by ~100 grams.
BT 5.3(or higher).

2 down, 6 to go.
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Good list, although I hate foldable headphones and hope they don't do that. I'd also add a ****ing power button and probably a better case. Really, they could just update the firmware and let you use a long (~5-10 second) press to turn them on and off and add a sound effect. Doubt that'll happen though.

My headband is great and I use my AirPods Max a LOT. I don't know what people are doing with them where it's an issue, I've had them since launch and don't notice any problem but I've seen it mentioned elsewhere too, hrm.

TheSl0th said:
This isn’t right I’m afraid - the cable for the lightning version takes an analogue output from a device, runs that through an ADC and then feeds that into the headphones’ DAC. They also released an equivalent cable for the USB C version that does the same thing.

Neither of those options is lossless or latency free ...
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FYI there is basically no latency with the cable on the old one and I assume the new one. They literally advertise it as low latency which makes the no Logic update I wrote about above even more confusing. There's a noticeable quality upgrade using the lightning -> 3.5mm cable and probably a pretty minor upgrade from that cable to the usb-c lossless, although the newer AirPods Max do have very slightly better high frequency response according to a couple independent tests.
 
AirPods Pro 2 sounds way better than max and weighs only 5g each side as compared to wearing a 380grams weight resting on your brain.
 
Low latency for use with GarageBand recording voice and guitar is very tempting. I am looking for headphone that are good for music listening and recording.

But I wish they managed to do low latency wirelessly. Whatever it takes, this is what Apple innovating would have been.
 
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Octavius8 said:
What app does support this lose less music?.
Does it sound noticeably different?. Not just “don’t care if you are over 40 because you can’t hear the difference”, how about a real life test with AirPods Max?
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I imagine apps that offer the ability to stream lossless music eg Amazon Music, Tidal etc.

However I don’t have AirPods Max USB-C myself so can’t confirm.
 
teknikal90 said:
im willing to bet noone on macrumors (likely over the age of 35 on average) will be able to tell the difference.
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Hearing deteriorates faster than eyesight. Just look how many people over 30 have glasses or contact lenses.
 
Now how about Apple add lossless audio output for apps for the ATV please.
 
Mistletoe66 said:
AirPods Pro 2 sounds way better than max and weighs only 5g each side as compared to wearing a 380grams weight resting on your brain.
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😂 absolutely not.

This isn't even a subjective thing or where I'm meant to say "well, they're close I guess some people might prefer them".

I've had multiple sets of both APMs and APP2s, they don't even come close. APMs have bigger drivers, the soundstage is MUCH wider, bass is richer.

As for comfort, I much prefer the APMs, but I get that is a more subjective thing. Health wise it's proven over ear headphones are better than earbuds.

Don't get me wrong, the APP2s are very good, but they're not in the same ballpark as APMs when it comes to sound.
 
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Seems MacRumors have jumped the gun with this article.

Nothing in any of the press releases mentioned a firmware updated for AirPods Max, and nobody is able to download it.

The last official word from Apple was a few days ago when they just said it would be available in "April", without a date.
 
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