Why Apple Isn't Making New AirPods Max Anytime Soon

[Alexander_im]

I sold mine (grabbed a pair on launch day, used a lot). The fabric on the headband stretched to the point where I felt all the weight with my head. 1-2 hours in these and my head would have felt dizzy.

Just like some other Apple inventions (trash can Mac, I’m looking at you) this (breathable) design was great in theory and aesthetically pleasing — but didn’t work out in reality. Over time I found myself using XM5 more than Max.

But I look forward to seeing Gen 2 in 2027.

 

[citysnaps]

They have been coasting on many things the past few years. Eventually it’s going to catch up with them. Nothing lasts forever.

People have been saying that about Apple on MR for around two decades. Perhaps in 2050?

 

[HMI]

If you build it, they will come!

 

[transpo1]

Apple was hoping for better sales. Since it underperformed, they don't want to waste more money in R&D on it.

How much R&D does it take to put in an H2 chip and give it feature parity with the current AirPods Pro? I see tons of AirPods Max around NYC but I’m sure they’d sell better with better features. 🍎 = lazy

 

[flottenheimer]

Any other company with a more reasonable valuation would be all over this update.
Heck, why not just hire 20 more people to make it happen if the 150.000+ you have on hand are all booked.
Real artists ship, Apple.

 

[Selena Agna]

Tim Cook just doesn't care about any business that he can't turn into subscription revenue.

 

[whiteashsaturday]

Disagree, the AirPods Max have superior uses to any other brand in ANC. I've owned three(3) working units for 4 years. I use two, and a family member uses one. I have had numerous replacements under Apple Care+ however most of the issues related to software bricking after firmware updates, or the units would become unresponsive and never reset. Bose and Sony never upgrade their firmware (or rarely), they upgrade their hardware instead.

After the last year worth of software updates the issues with the AirPods Max have reduced to nearly zero, except if you have them connected to macOS, and then turn off Bluetooth.. the Max can get confused "who they were connected too", and become unresponsive until you enable bluetooth again on the Mac. Regardless of your attempt to connect from iOS.

These software bugs added to a crippling return rate that cost Apple more than expected. They did this pre-pandemic and took the hit so that the AirPods Max could be used during the lock down.

I'm using third party sheep skin ear pads for maximum comfort compared to Apples OEM pads, but otherwise, I keep extra care of the headband by simply NEVER touching the elastic with my fingers. Only using the "frame" to adjust and my last "mesh" has lasted 2 years with minimal signs of stretching. I clean them regularly with high pressure air to clear any particulate.

 

[Macbookey]

Yeah sure, how else would you run a company that is one of the world's largest for a reason. As has often been said, all over these forums, but tech is slowing down, and it's very expensive. Look at what Meta is willing to pay to get AI software engineers. Around 5 years ago, Apple made the announcement of a transition to their own silicon, and that takes time, and resources. Divesting those resources, in filling a product inventory, that includes everything an Apple user might want, is insane.
Networking is better in the hands of specialist companies, over the headphones too. What the future holds, who knows, and I sure haven't seen anyone on here describing that future, or learning a skillset to be an enabler, instead of a complainer.

It’s about balance. You can do both successfully. Serve the shareholder and push something forward. The AirPods Max can be more than they are. You can do smaller things to strengthen the brand and cultivate new ideas to spread across the line, as opposed to zeroing in on target devices that you become tunnel visioned with and then get blindsided. See AI as an example. To suggest that “networking” is better left in the hands of “specialist” companies is off base. Need I remind you who brought the first truly wireless laptop to market, the importance of Bonjour, AirPort, and 802.11n networking in the marketplace, and what role Apple played in that? Apple can move into any market they think serves them best, but charging premiums for a neglected product that is an afterthought, deserves them getting called out on it. If they are not going to make something worthy of their brand, get rid of it. A wireless router by Apple that strengthens their presence in people’s homes while respecting our privacy in ways “specialists” never would, is worth having. Combining it to make a killer home product would be worth spending time on. That takes thought and vision outside of spreadsheets and then comes back to the spreadsheet to make it work. Balance. homeOS is rumoured to be a thing. So yeah, I think Airport routers and mesh networking that makes communications between HomePods and other  branded smart home products (rumoured to be coming) better is worth having.

Charging customers higher and higher prices is fine, if cost equals value and the consumer bites. Stretching that elasticity has snapped back to hit them too. See Apple TV+ cancellations and the Vision Pro on many fronts. Innovation is iteration over many years.  Silicon perfect example. That started at the A4 in the iPhone 4 (Jobs was still alive), and then gets carried forward to be the powerhouse it is. Go all in because you see where it leads. When you don’t think something is worth doing further, stop selling it or making half assed upgrades to it just because. The AirPods Max have a lot of room to grow, and can be as awesome as AirPods Pro.

 

[frownface]

I thought the max's had a refresh about a year ago?
To add usb-c and a couple new colours. They didn't even raise the price.

If they were actually going to update it, then would've been the time. Since they didn't I can only assume that they were comfortable with their product.

I see lots of people using the max; way more than competing products from sony, AT or bose. A lot of that will come from being the default choice and not necessarily the best choice. In that regard they don't have to do anything and can continue riding on being the default.

Ears don't evolve year on year so there's an upper limit to how good things can sound. The only differentiators apple can do when compared to competing products from mature players are soft. They can integrate them better with other apple products and that's enough to keep them the default.

 

[Macbookey]

I thought the max's had a refresh about a year ago?
To add usb-c and a couple new colours. They didn't even raise the price.

If they were actually going to update it, then would've been the time. Since they didn't I can only assume that they were comfortable with their product.

Like others said, it's a saturated market with no shortage of mature players with mature products; and the max is a mature product. Ears don't evolve year on year so there's an upper limit to how good audio can perceivably get. I see lots of people using the max; way more than competing products from sony, AT or bose. So really there's not really any need for them to update them.

They could add features the AirPods Pro gen 2 have, make them lighter, latest chips, improved case etc. Would it break their bank account to do as such? Mature players in mature markets can also be lazy. Apple’s influence in the world of audio cannot be understated. I think they can make the Max better than it is today and would love a pair that is lighter and on par with my gen 2 Pros in features.

 

[citysnaps]

They could add features the AirPods Pro gen 2 have, make them lighter, latest chips, improved case etc. Would it break their bank account to do as such? Mature players in mature markets can also be lazy. Apple’s influence in the world of audio cannot be understated. I think they can make the Max better than it is today and would love a pair that is lighter and on par with my gen 2 Pros in features.

Serious question... Would you, or anyone else here who owns and uses an AirPods Max, be willing to write a thoughtful and detailed letter to Craig F at Apple listing all of the improvements you believe Apple should be making to AirPods Max?

 

[delsoul]

Can we quit giving Gurman a platform? Him and Kuo make a (questionable) living based upon nothing but speculation. For all we know, APM 2 will eventually come out when Apple believes it’s time. Some guy giving his opinion on if it does, or doesn’t, happen isn’t going to change anything.

 

[Macbookey]

Serious question... Would you, or anyone else here, be willing to write a thoughtful and detailed letter to Craig F at Apple listing all of the improvements you believe Apple should be making to AirPods Max?

Is that our job? Why Craig? It takes a lot of people to make a product happen. Is it not becoming obvious to sell the least amount of product for the most amount of money to a mighty strong user base is becoming a creed at Apple? So when that mighty strong user base feels that they can do better and expresses it, is that not a good thing?

 

[JTK Awesome]

Apple was hoping for better sales. Since it underperformed, they don't want to waste more money in R&D on it.

hey maybe they can pull a homepod — cancel them, then release a new downgraded model!

Just like HomePod V1... Meaning APM v2.0 (the current model is v1.1) will have wimpier drivers, crappier mics, and some cheaper materials, all for a $50 drop in MSRP.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Just like HomePod V1... Meaning APM v.20 (the current model is v1.1) will have wimpier drivers, crappier mics, and come cheaper materials, all for a $50 drop in MSRP.

That will make room for the AirPods Pro Max

Just gotta' put on the Tim "Cook" chef$ hat

 

[citysnaps]

Is that our job? Why Craig? It takes a lot of people to make a product happen. Is it not becoming obvious to sell the least amount of product for the most amount of money to a mighty strong user base is becoming a creed at Apple? So when that mighty strong user base feels that they can do better and expresses it, is that not a good thing?

Nope... not your job. Just curious how strongly you felt about the current APM, and if you were willing to take a few minutes to express your opinions making a case to someone at Apple who could actually cause improvements to be made.

Seems many here love to complain, but don't want to take the wee bit of time it would take to foster product improvements by simply writing a thoughtful letter to the right people at Apple.

"So when that mighty strong user base feels that they can do better and expresses it, is that not a good thing?"

It would be a great thing if that user base was motivated to write *thoughtful* letters to those who have that power at Apple and could be convinced to make changes. But a so-called "user base" of people complaining everyday about how awful Apple is today would for sure be ignored.

 

[SFjohn]

I’m really happy with my OG AirPods Max, I’m not really craving more of anything. My battery still is great & I love the black. I’m not sure what Apple could do to make me want to replace or upgrade them. 😉

 

[Macbookey]

Nope... not your job. Just curious how strongly you felt about the current APM, and if you were willing to take a few minutes to express your opinions making a case to someone at Apple who could actually cause improvements to be made.

Seems many here love to complain, but don't want to take the wee bit of time it would take to foster product improvements by simply writing a thoughtful letter to the right people at Apple.

"So when that mighty strong user base feels that they can do better and expresses it, is that not a good thing?"

It would be a great thing if that user base was motivated to write letters to those who have that power at Apple and could be convinced to make changes. But a so-called "user base" of people complaining about how awful Apple is today would for sure be ignored.

If they would listen to feedback it would help. I can cite examples where they ignore it routinely. Whether it is beta testers like me, end users like me giving product experience feedback, and then developers (because that relationship is not completely broken, right?). Only when it garners massive response (see Finder icon stuff and iOS 18 Photos.app) they listen. It is obvious that the APM is behind the Pros 2 and soon to be here 3. They are doing the least they have to and not the best they can. I’m positive you can see that too. They are arrogant enough not to care, but they were also once really good at giving us what we didn’t know we needed on many fronts. If you like the Max as is, that is your right to and you vote with your wallet, as will I. A lot gets shunted by finance and product marketing, and Apple has the talent for better but the vision for better is eroding from the top down. An open forum is where we enthusiastically express that. It’s all good fun and passion. No disrespect meant.

 

[turbineseaplane]

@Macbookey

Your feelings are echoed by many of us.

Unfortunately, the forum has polarized to the point where some just disagree with others for the sake of it I think.

Nobody should be defending the absolute nothing that has happened to the AirPods Max for years now.

We are all Apple customers and fans, and this is not good for any of us to have this level of stagnation. I have no idea why anybody would defend it.

 

[Macbookey]

@Macbookey

Your feelings are echoed by many of us.

Unfortunately, the forum has polarized to the point where some just disagree with others for the sake of it I think.

Nobody should be defending the absolute nothing that has happened to the AirPods Max for years now.

We are all Apple customers and fans, and this is not good for any of us to have this level of stagnation. I have no idea why anybody would defend it.

These 2 links are so succinct in expressing modern Apple, and it is frustrating considering the sources.

Jobs on Xerox

John Siracusa on modern Apple leadership

 

[turbineseaplane]

These 2 links are so succinct in expressing modern Apple, and it is frustrating considering the sources.

Jobs on Xerox

John Siracusa on modern Apple leadership

Great links indeed…

I sort of foolishly thought this couldn’t or wouldn’t happen to Apple, but I guess I do have to remind myself that a pretty important cog at the top passing away was always going to be tough ….eventually.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Maybe we can get new AirPods Max if we agree to subscribe to them?

 

[citysnaps]

If they would listen to feedback it would help. I can cite examples where they ignore it routinely. Whether it is beta testers like me, end users like me giving product experience feedback, and then developers (because that relationship is not completely broken, right?). Only when it garners massive response (see Finder icon stuff and iOS 18 Photos.app) they listen. It is obvious that the APM is behind the Pros 2 and soon to be here 3. They are doing the least they have to and not the best they can. I’m positive you can see that too. They are arrogant enough not to care, but they were also once really good at giving us what we didn’t know we needed on many fronts. If you like the Max as is, that is your right to and you vote with your wallet, as will I. A lot gets shunted by finance and product marketing, and Apple has the talent for better but the vision for better is eroding from the top down. An open forum is where we enthusiastically express that. It’s all good fun and passion. No disrespect meant.

Years ago, while working at tech company in Silicon Valley as a systems engineer and developing a system for a large customer, I've worked with Apple (integrating their products in mine) and it was a good experience. I've also written Craig F in the past with a suggestion and received a letter back thanking me for writing.


"An open forum is where we enthusiastically express that. It’s all good fun and passion. No disrespect meant."

Sorry... the daily negative (and worse... ie unprofessional) tone here will have zero effect on Apple product improvements. That's why I emphasized writing a *thoughtful* letter, one that a professional would write.

 

[citysnaps]

Nobody should be defending the absolute nothing that has happened to the AirPods Max for years now.

Who was defending that?