Every once in a great while, Apple comes out with something truly Awful, these headphones check many bad decision boxes. Obviously, the out-of-touch with current and future reality price. They look like the designer's left the room and the engineer's were left in charge of their creation. Or maybe it was just the opposite, I can't decide. They seem like a cluster X of bad decisions. (I also hate puff pieces, Macrumors, they waste people's time.)
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Five Reasons Why You Might Want to Consider AirPods Max
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I always thought with Beats anyway you paid for the brand name. aprt from build/sound quality.. Whats different here?
Taking out the whole convenience factor
Noise cancelling sounds good, ut if soeone wants to talk to you, how can you get their attention without competing volume levels, or tapping someone on the shoulder ? Just one reason it raises the bar of "acceptable sound volume" MUST be a factor..
Taking out the whole convenience factor
Noise cancelling sounds good, ut if soeone wants to talk to you, how can you get their attention without competing volume levels, or tapping someone on the shoulder ? Just one reason it raises the bar of "acceptable sound volume" MUST be a factor..
The reviewers do note that these will not sound as good as wired headphones which suggests they are compromised.
Apple is known to over-hype things too. Their product announcements are very clearly just marketing. There needs to be somewhere to get some honey opinions.
I’m the sort of guy who buys headphones and looks at sound quality first and foremost, then features and finally price, are they worth it. What am I missing as a fellow Apple customer in terms of looking at these headphones differently to other products on the market? What’s different that I need to be aware of and focusing on? I’ve watched countless reviews and read numerous articles etc, so from owning them yourself, what makes them fundamentally different and unique to earn a different approach to judgement?
I guess the TL;DR of my response is that right now at least, I agree with you that the AirPods Max will be nothing more than just an extremely expensive pair of wireless headphones for most people for now. But it also feels to me that the AirPods Max is part of a larger value proposition, and Apple is still in the midst of lining all their ducks up for a shot. Maybe the pandemic has affected their product roadmap. Something just feels missing. Something that would really allow the AirPods Max to shine. I don't believe that the AirPods Max is intended to be just an exercise in marketing.
The first thing that jumped out at me when looking at the AirPods Max homepage was the sheer amount of components inside it.
AirPods Max
The ultimate over-ear personal listening experience — in five fresh colours and fast charging with USB-C.
www.apple.com
2 H-1 chips, 9 microphones (6 outward, 2 inner, 1 for calls), a whole slew of sensors (optical, position, case-detect, gyroscope, accelerometer). These aren't headphones, they are more like 2 HomePods connected by a knit-mesh canopy.
Then we go to Neil Cybart's article about AirPods becoming Apple's second wearable's platform, where he theorises that AirPods have the potential to augment our environment by pushing intelligent sound.
Above Avalon: AirPods Are Becoming a Platform
If AirPods were magical, AirPods Pro are supernatural. Apple’s newest pair of AirPods continues to make waves with “augmented hearing” entering people’s vocabulary. However, the broader implications found with Apple’s AirPods strategy are just as impressive. Apple is quickly removing all available o
www.aboveavalon.com
We are already seeing some of the pieces come together in the form of active noise cancellation, transparency mode and (now) spatial audio with the AirPods Pro. Apple is expected to update the next Apple TV with support for Spatial Audio and Fitness as well. Perhaps in the future, we could have a scenario where your Apple Watch tracks your heart rate while you are working out, while your AirPods uses this data to adjust your music playback to match your workout pace. I dunno, just a random idea.
Given the price, I agree that the AirPods Max is clearly not aimed at the mass market. My immediate guess is that given the existence of the AirPods and AirPods Pro, the AirPods Max is aimed at people who desire an audio experience over and beyond what the AirPods Pro can deliver, while also seeing value in said product being so deeply integrated with the apple ecosystem.
Another feature that intrigues me is the swappable ear cups. I have basically sworn off over-the-ear headphones because I wear spectacles, and find that the sensation of the cups pressing my ears against the spectacle frame quickly gets uncomfortable after a while (basically anything beyond 30 minutes). I wonder if in the future, we may see an option for a ear cup that can accommodate a pair of spectacles (perhaps with some sort of cutout or indentation inside). Right now, it's a pretty underreported feature (heck, I don't think people can even buy standalone ear cups to play around with yet), but I will be keeping an eye out on where Apple goes with this in the future.
Sorta like the way we can swap out our watch bands, but again, given the final price of everything, I will probably just settle for AirPods Pro when my current set of AirPods die out and Apple next updates their AirPods lineup.
But I concede that when buying a product, it's only fair that we evaluate a product based on what it does right now, not what it could be in the future. But I also wish the conversation could go beyond just focusing on the price of the AirPods Max, and other very surface comparisons like the case or the lack of a power button.
The Airfly is suck a marketing gimmick. It's a $10 bluetooth transmitter, marketed "for planes".
And people complain about Apple charging 3x the price
Personally I wouldn't use one, much as wireless is nice to have, its likely to be something that's easily left behind on the plane.
Regarding sound quality, I prefer reading reviewers who specialize in evaluating audio equipment. WhatHifi writes:
"Sound quality. Of course for us, this is the big one. And – spoiler alert – we have been blown away by the AirPods Max. They really do take sound quality from wireless, noise-cancelling headphones to a whole new level compared to the Bose and Sony.".
So, the only question I am left with is: Are the extra features of the AMP, including their seamless integration in the Apple's ecosystem, and the apparently better sound quality, worth the extra 200-300 for me.
This is a totally subjective decision, and I really don't understand the whole discussion here. For some people they worth it, for others they don't, just like with any other product on earth.
"Sound quality. Of course for us, this is the big one. And – spoiler alert – we have been blown away by the AirPods Max. They really do take sound quality from wireless, noise-cancelling headphones to a whole new level compared to the Bose and Sony.".
So, the only question I am left with is: Are the extra features of the AMP, including their seamless integration in the Apple's ecosystem, and the apparently better sound quality, worth the extra 200-300 for me.
This is a totally subjective decision, and I really don't understand the whole discussion here. For some people they worth it, for others they don't, just like with any other product on earth.
a waste of time is product commentary from someone who has never tried the product. Thanks MR for an objective assessment so that those with an open mind can learn something more than a fact missing waste of text opinion based on personal bias.
apples and orange. Want to guess how good wired only headphones sound with a Bluetooth signal? Wired only is compromised on your scale. APM is not designed for the wired only crowd. The sound is first in class for Bluetooth. At least to my ears, but I’m not a basehead.
The fact is I don’t need to spend £550 on a pair of wireless headphones. Just bought a pair from a different brand for considerably cheaper and thoroughly happy with the performance and audio quality. Thanks though Apple
good for you?
This sites starting to feel like apples newest marketing strategy or something
Wait for next model to row in 2021-2022 with refinements! Otherwise, Bose/Sony will be making a better version of this at $400.00 by them too!
I only have two reasons to consider the AirPods Max it: H1 chip and ANC.
ANC is on par with Sony/Bose. So that leaves paying more than double the price just to get the H1 chip over the Sony/Bose.
So AirPods Max is by overwhelmingly overpriced for me. The Beats Solo Pro I own has the H1 chip, audio is fine, ANC is not as good, but its less than half the price of the AirPods Max.
ANC is on par with Sony/Bose. So that leaves paying more than double the price just to get the H1 chip over the Sony/Bose.
So AirPods Max is by overwhelmingly overpriced for me. The Beats Solo Pro I own has the H1 chip, audio is fine, ANC is not as good, but its less than half the price of the AirPods Max.
Exactly all the reasons I am not getting those headphones. I still hope for some great headphones from Apple or Beats that make switching devices so easy but don't have the strong bass sound of the current beats
Sounds like your typical Apple product. You can have a laundry list of everything that's wrong with it, but it excels in this one core experience that outweighs every other drawback combined.
You realise they are called "Beats" because of the strong bass right ?
Whats wrong with people that they cannot just EQ a bit if they are otherwise happy with the features / sound quality?
It exists for this very reason.
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Not water resistant/proof makes me not want them. Well, and the price. They don't mention water resistance/proofing on either page at Apple.com. According to Slash Gear:
I can imagine this being yet another headache for Apple on the support end. Exactly how non-water resistant they are remains to be seen I guess. Anyone reporting moisture issues yet?
EDIT: They are sexy, so don't get me wrong, but wow... For an active life? Hmm...
I can imagine this being yet another headache for Apple on the support end. Exactly how non-water resistant they are remains to be seen I guess. Anyone reporting moisture issues yet?
EDIT: They are sexy, so don't get me wrong, but wow... For an active life? Hmm...
Don't forget the iPod. So many said it wouldn't sell. Yeah, it sure didn't...
I can't believe I forgot that one! You are so right! So many naysayers.
Doesn’t strike me as designed for working out or any sweat producing activities, also taking the weight into consideration.
I’d rather go working out with the AirPods Pro.
I’ll be honest I’ve never understood why someone like yourself thinks it’s not possible to like Apple products on the whole, buy them, use them, but not ‘love’ everything Apple does and releases elsewhere. There is no set rule or guidelines to suggest if you use iPhones, iPads, Macs, watches etc, that you can’t criticise some of Apples products, services that you don’t support of like. This isn’t a fan club, it’s a forum for discussing the products we buy and are interested in.Always understand when people on MR hate on Apple products that's code for "DAMNIT I KNOW THEY WILL SELL AND PEOPLE WILL LOVE THEM AND IT JUST BURNS ME UP".
