I‘d rather wait for the H3 chip - would be disappointing to wait so long just to be on par with the AirPod Pro 2.
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Next AirPods Max Could Adopt These Five Features From Beats Studio Pro and AirPods Pro
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I think the problem there is the Beats Studio 3 were so bad. The reviews were kind to them. IRL the BOSE and SONY at the time were far superior in every way except looks. Their adaptive NC was absolutely diabolical. Maybe the new ones are better???
I have AirPods Max. With a little bit of force things can push through the mesh or stretch it out of shape. I am not going to put my AirPods Max in my backpack with the 1/2-case it came with in the box.
My current AirPods Max apply uncomfortable pressure to my larger than average head. I would hope that Apple would add an adjustment for head pressure on the next generation AirPods Max.
100% agree. If they could do Hi-Res Lossless I'd be in line to get a pair. IMHO, without it there's no point.
The biggest problem with AirPods Max is everyone clamoring for lossless audio drowns out all the other very legitimate complaints and suggestions for the product.
You won’t hear any difference with lossless audio folks, not unless you‘re in a sound treated listening room with $5000 of speakers, preamp, DAC, etc. There’s never going to be any point in consuming it on mid range consumer headphones with noise cancellation running, just let it go. I do blame Apple for this for putting it on HomePods when it is completely pointless there too.
You won’t hear any difference with lossless audio folks, not unless you‘re in a sound treated listening room with $5000 of speakers, preamp, DAC, etc. There’s never going to be any point in consuming it on mid range consumer headphones with noise cancellation running, just let it go. I do blame Apple for this for putting it on HomePods when it is completely pointless there too.
Not wirelessly. But there are plenty of bluetooth wireless headphones that deliver lossless music through a USB input. Some of these headphones - such as the Focal Bathys and Mark Levinson 5909 headphones - are more expensive than the AirPods Max. But there are also less expensive headphones that have this feature (i.e., the ability to accept and decode hi res digital via via a usb input), such as the PSB M4U 8 Mk II. The new Beats Studio Pro headphones do this as well, although the digital input is limited to 48kHz/24 bit, which barely qualifies as hi res.
Fair point! I was assuming the poster was expecting wireless.
It's frustrating because the APM do feature a wired connection, but it's apparently too limited to be able to deliver lossless.
I have them too. I've carried them in plenty of backpacks and luggage over the past 2 1/2 years and the only thing that's happened to the mesh is that it's just gradually sagged and loosened up from being on my head.
I wish the G2 would have larger ear cups. I bought a pair and loved them but had to return them because the ear cups felt too small and sorta crimped my ears a bit. Made it fatiguing and uncomfortable to wear for more than 5-10 minutes. Also, I don’t have particularly large ears, so I’m guessing that others had this problem, too?
Wouldn’t be too hard to offer a few alt sizes for the ear cups, the way AirPods Pro do. I also think adding lossless, as well as an optional cable for pros to use while editing, etc.
That’s my wish list!
Wouldn’t be too hard to offer a few alt sizes for the ear cups, the way AirPods Pro do. I also think adding lossless, as well as an optional cable for pros to use while editing, etc.
That’s my wish list!
What about a better case? I won’t even consider purchasing until they 1) have a normal/better case, and 2) a better mechanism to turn them “off”.
Sometimes Apple’s design decisions are very frustrating.
Sometimes Apple’s design decisions are very frustrating.
There’s already way too much latency with *wired* stuff going into a Mac, even a fast Mac. Makes me insane. I’m ready to go back to analog tape.
There’s no way anything over Bluetooth will ever have acceptable latency. Not ever in a thousand years.
Why does nobody want wireless charging in the Airpod max.
While rumors about second-generation AirPods Max have been slim so far, there are a handful of features that the over-ear headphones could adopt from the new Beats Studio Pro and the second-generation AirPods Pro.
Below, we have listed five features that are likely for the next AirPods Max, which are expected to launch later next year at the earliest.
Potential New Features
USB-C Port
Like the Beats Studio Pro, the second-generation AirPods Max could be equipped with a USB-C port for charging rather than Lightning. Apple has gradually phased out Lightning across its product lineup over the past few years, with all four iPhone 15 models launching later this year expected to be equipped with a USB-C port as well.
H2 Chips
The current AirPods Max have an Apple-designed H1 chip in each ear cup, and an upgrade to H2 chips is likely for the next model. Introduced with the second-generation AirPods Pro, the H2 chip enables several benefits, including improved sound, increased active noise cancellation, and Adaptive Transparency mode.
Increased Active Noise Cancellation
With the H2 chip, the second-generation AirPods Pro provide up to twice as much active noise cancellation as the original AirPods Pro, according to Apple. A similar improvement in noise cancellation is likely for the next AirPods Max.
Adaptive Transparency Mode
Transparency mode lets some outside noise in, allowing you to hear a conversation and other ambient sounds. The second-generation AirPods Pro take this feature a step further with Adaptive Transparency mode, which can reduce loud environmental noises, such as a passing vehicle siren, construction tools, or loud speakers at a concert. With H2 chips, the next AirPods Max will likely feature Adaptive Transparency mode as well.
Conversation Boost
Conversation Boost is designed to help people with mild hearing challenges stay more connected in conversations. The feature uses the AirPods Pro's beam-forming microphones to boost the volume of a person talking in front of you, making it easier to listen to a face-to-face conversation, and there is also an option to reduce ambient noise. Given the AirPods Max also have beam-forming microphones, perhaps Conversation Boost will eventually be expanded to the over-ear headphones.
Other Possibilities
In January, we outlined several other potential features for the second-generation AirPods Max, including longer battery life, new color options, Bluetooth 5.3 support, a U1 chip that would enable Precision Finding in the Find My app, and more.
Launch Timing
The current AirPods Max launched in December 2020 for $549 in the U.S. and have not received any hardware upgrades since then. The headphones are available in five colors: Space Gray, Silver, Green, Pink, and Sky Blue.
Apple will likely release new AirPods Max in the second half of 2024 or the first half of 2025, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, so the headphones are still over a year away from receiving an update based on that estimate. New color options are always a possibility in the interim, as happened with the HomePod mini in late 2021.
Article Link: Next AirPods Max Could Adopt These Five Features From Beats Studio Pro and AirPods Pro
I have not used it but I started looking at it today hoping it would have wireless charging but it does not.
The other bluethooth headphones i used have USB typeC charging and many models cannot be used while charging or have a very short cable.
I think having wireless charging for a headphone would be a great feature. They can make a stand with wireless charging or add the wireless charging feature to a smart. Thought it would take the same steps and time putting the headphones into the smart case as plugging in a charging.
But I think having a stand a hanging one or a desktop one that can wirelessly charge would be perfect for wireless headphones.
Earbuds/phones have wireless charging but that is probably because adding a typec port would take up space and make it look ugly.
fix the damn headband stretch net, and I will buy another pair. I love them, use them 8 hours a day for working zoom meetings, but no support for replacing the removable headband, that is so stretched out that the bars lay on my head now. Apple told me to toss them, they don't have the parts to replace. Weird, sim pin ejector tool removes them and cleans the contacts which cause earpiece(s), pick one, to loose connection via bluetooth.
I tested the Beats Studio Pro the last two days with the result, that im really back in love with my Max.
In my use case the only pro of the beats is the weight and they feel a lot more comfortable on my head then the max. Everything else is so much better with the Max. I watch a lot of movies/tv shows with headphones and the spatial audio is not even comparable in my opinion. More virtual atmos sound, deeper bass, just better in every aspect. Just wish the Max would be more comfortable on my head.
I know that a lot of reviews say that the studio pros are almost as good as the max, i cant agree at all. Staying with my Max, returning the beats and wait for Max 2.
In my use case the only pro of the beats is the weight and they feel a lot more comfortable on my head then the max. Everything else is so much better with the Max. I watch a lot of movies/tv shows with headphones and the spatial audio is not even comparable in my opinion. More virtual atmos sound, deeper bass, just better in every aspect. Just wish the Max would be more comfortable on my head.
I know that a lot of reviews say that the studio pros are almost as good as the max, i cant agree at all. Staying with my Max, returning the beats and wait for Max 2.
Yes technically the wire can’t deliver true lossless because the AirPods Max has to digitize the lossless analog signal sent from your phone (which converts it from digital to analog in the first place). The difference is there only because analog essentially has an infinite bitrate vs the 24bit 48KHz (i.e. CD level quality) on the AirPods. In a real life scenario even audiophiles shouldn’t be able to tell the difference, especially since Apple Lossless is also 24bit 48KHz. With Apple Music’s lossless it’s 24bit 48KHz > analog > 24bit 48KHz.
The digitization is needed for noise cancellation/transparency. In other ANC headphones that can play "real" lossless through a wire you’ll notice that it usually can’t do noise cancellation at the same time. The audio is also typically worse because a phone would have weak drivers, so to take full advantage you’ll need a dedicated DAC. What Apple can do is to increase the bitrate even more in future version to support Hi-Res Lossless at 24-bit 192 kHz (although the noticeable difference is seriously debatable) but it’s not physically possible to ever have true lossless on ANC headphones if you want to use ANC at the same time.
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Agreed. I really hope the next AirPods Max can support MagSafe through one of the ear cups. The current version is already robust enough to stand on its own on one ear cup.
Been using mine constantly since they came out, and I didn't realize how bad the stretching was until I took mine in for battery replacement ($80) and they were nice enough to replace the headband with a new one. I'd forgotten how nice and springy the mesh was when I first got it. Anyway, the statement that they don't have any parts to replace is hogwash. My advice to you, if your battery is at all seeming past its prime, is to maybe spring for the battery replacement and see if they hook you up?
I'll also add that for no particular reason they also replaced the right ear-cup on mine. Not the foam pad, but the entire thing. Maybe the tech at the service center was just in a good mood.
Wouldn't do much for me, frankly. I've got a million lightning cables kicking around and it's very easy to just plug one in. Same with USB-C, which I assume my next iPhone and next AirPods Max will have. It's not like I'm popping it on and off charging many times a day. It's like once or twice a week. I wouldn't care if they had Magsafe, as long as it doesn't add significant weight or expense.
Maybe because wireless charging is not actually wireless, produces a lot more heat and is much slower than charging with a cable?
Honestly if you’re going to be listening to Hi-Fi (lossless) though headphones you’ll need to have an open back designed pair.
Since listening to Hi-Fi is all about ‘hearing as it’s intended to be heard,’ open back headphones open the sound stage offering a more accurate listening experience.
Yeah, I have a pair of Grados which I love, though they're utterly useless in public because of the open-backness. Wonderful in a quiet room, though, and feather light.
But if I'm being honest I don't know if my hearing is actually good enough at this point to pick out the tiny details of lossless reproduction. I can hear the difference between highly compressed audio (like, streaming radio) and good high-bitrate AAC -- but the tippy top of quality has probably been eroded by my years of going to punk shows sans earplugs.
The inefficiencies beats the need to finagle the charging cord into the port every time. Besides, headphones need a lot less to charge so fast charging should still be possible. It's so much better to come home and plop down the AirPod Pro's case on a pad on the desk and it's fully charged the next time you pick it up. I really hope Apple can find a way to add MagSafe to one of the Max's ear cups.