Honestly I don't see how anyone can say this. We are talking steel and aluminum versus plastic. The XM5's are far lighter and hence so much more comfortable on your head.
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Gurman: USB-C AirPods Max Not Coming Until 'Late 2024'
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The EU isn’t forcing Apple here. Only new products need to support USB-C, existing ones can continue to be sold as-is.
Hopefully they’re not just adding a USB-C port and are also tinkering with the internals to allow the Max to support high-resolution lossless over USB-C (or even wirelessly via non-Bluetooth means). The DAC/ADC inside the current model only supports up to 48 Hz vs 192 Hz that high-resolution lossless is delivered at.
While I would normally agree just for the amusement factor, I suspect they wouldn’t be sending out Lightning models to people if they planned to upgrade them tomorrow.
As for the rest, I doubt Gurman is doing more than spitballing. They’ll give them the APP2 features and it’ll likely be first half of next year.
I mean when they were originally released in December so it is kinda the right time frame. Will find out on Monday anyway.
If you look at the Airpods Max competitors from Sony and Bose, you’ll see that even they have no idea how to make progress with these ANC headphones. Very little has changed from Sony XM1 to XM5. It’s mostly tuning the sound and connecting to 2 devices at once. Same thing with Bose. Airpods Max are already 99% ”finished” until there/s another breakthrough in chip technology Or speaker hardware.
Headphone products throughout history have been on a looooong development cycles. Studios to this day use headphones that were made like 50 years ago. Sure, ANC headphones are digital but the drivers are small. It’s not easy to push ANC performance.
Headphone products throughout history have been on a looooong development cycles. Studios to this day use headphones that were made like 50 years ago. Sure, ANC headphones are digital but the drivers are small. It’s not easy to push ANC performance.
Gurman: No new Macs for the rest of 2023.
But they think they look cool and high status so it's all good lol
The thing I want is to be able to play lossless when wired to a DAC via USB-C and being wireless when I go out and play at "normal" quality.
jokes on the environment if you actually think Apple isn't going to use every last lightning connector port they already have committed to ordering.
I don’t get the Scary Fast event in general. I would think a pre Christmas event would be consumer oriented, not pro oriented. And something like a headphone upgrade would be perfect for this time period. Most of the other headphone makers are upgrading. For instance the new Bose headphones are getting really good reviews and at $429. are cheaper than the AirPods Max on sale. I’m in the market for new headphones but can see no reason to go for the AirPods Max at this point.
I love my AirPods Max but it’s such a shame how apple has neglected them since their inception. They seem pretty popular so I don’t understand why they wouldn’t give them a proper revision with the H2 chip, etc. I’m not sure much else would need to change with the hardware imo, I think they knocked it out of the park on the first attempt.
Exactly. Giving them away is not a good sign. They're too expensive. Better, less expensive options are plentiful. Apple hit the sweet spot with the original AirPods. They truly were a better wireless headphone. AirPods Max fails to differentiate itself from the competition and the price is ridiculous. And for goodness sakes, Apple, make a better case! The bra case is atrocious.
I won't be surprised if Apple let AirPods Max fizzle out and quietly discontinues them next year. If Apple plans to stay in the over-ear headphone market, they really need to deliver a better product at a much more reasonable price point.
Just don’t let Gurman “predictions” for something a year out influence you, remember a few weeks ago he said no event, no new Macs …
I agree. Headphones are headphones. AirPods Max might be "99% finished", but they are 100% overpriced. Sony sells the XM5 for $399. Apple lists the AirPods Max at $549. Seriously? For what? Why would anyone other than a hardcore Apple fan choose the AirPods Max? Sony has been in the game for much longer. Their headphones are lighter and more comfortable. And they cost $150 less.
AirPods Max are a ridiculous price gouge. Drop them to $349 and I bet they sell quite well.
Aside from the Apple-specific features that only work on devices with H and U-series chips, the new Bose QuietComfort Ultras meet or exceed the AirPods Max. They can even do things the AirPods Max can’t, like customise the EQ, customise noise cancellation and transparency modes, connect to anything with a 3.5mm port and listen to lossless audio without having to buy an extra dongle, and stream higher resolution (but not lossless) audio over Bluetooth with devices that support the aptX codec (ie, not Apple).
No one who is serious about audio buys Blowse. The bulk of what you listed are gimmicks.
In fairness, no one who is serious about audio buys Apple either.
It’s amazing how many people can have an informed opinion about AirPods Max having obviously never used them.
I’m a huge fan of my AirPods Max but I’d be disappointed if they released an update without at least that H2 chip. USB-C is all well and good but quite low on the list of things I care about. Again, my APM are excellent, but I think they should have feature parity with AirPods Pro.
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Guess it takes 4 years to figure out how to prevent them from dying because of humidity.
I tried them - and returned them, just like Homepod. One has to be hitting the Kool-Aid extra heavy to think either AirPods Max or Homepod are a better option than numerous other, more feature-rich, less expensive products out there. AirPods Max and Homepod are perhaps Apple's laziest products.
I bet Gurman or Kuo is secretly Tim Cook.
Apple won't update the AirPods Max until late 2024 and apart from fresh colors and USB-C charging, no other major changes are expected. That's according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Writing in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple will replace the Lightning port for USB-C to comply with European regulations and for consistency across its AirPods lineup, but Apple does not plan to add the H2 chip and its attendant features like Adaptive Audio and Personalized Volume for the foreseeable future.
Indeed, the next version of Apple's over-ear headphones will be so similar to the current models that Apple may not even change the generation number, similar to the USB-C AirPods Pro.
That said, Gurman adds that Apple's plans could "possibly" change between now and when the AirPods Max are released.
Last week, Gurman reported that all three AirPods models and Mac accessories like the Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad are likely to transition to USB-C by 2024.
Article Link: Gurman: USB-C AirPods Max Not Coming Until 'Late 2024'
