The first set of wireless headphones — the AirPods Max — launched to much fanfare in 2020. At $549, the aluminum-covered cans raised eyebrows for their price and design. But despite their cost and some odd design decisions (like the lack of a kill switch), reviewers were nearly unanimous in their praise, especially for the Max’s standout features, active noise cancellation (ANC ) and transparency mode. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely.
Do we really have to know What about the AirPods Max 2? No, we don’t. Considering the original AirPods Max is over two years old, we would have expected at least a few hints at this point, if not full leaks. But so far, all we have are crickets.
It could mean several things. There may be nothing to know. Maybe the OG AirPods Max are all there will be, like how unique the original HomePod turned out to be. Or it could mean that Apple has upped its secrecy and security game, and it’s just that nothing leaks.
Or maybe that means AirPods Max has a longer refresh cycle than other AirPods. Or that we’re just in between, so there’s nothing to know yet.
Either way, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to talk about. Here’s what we think could be on the horizon if and when things update.
A special case
There’s a lot to love when it comes to AirPods Max, but most people seem to agree: the included travel case is terrible. Maybe it’s that it barely protects the earcups and offers zero coverage for that fancy (and comfy) headband. Or maybe you can’t turn off the headphones unless you put them in the case. The bottom line is that Apple’s case – which has earned itself the rather unflattering nickname “the bra” due to its double cup shape – needs a serious overhaul.
Every high-end set of cordless cans we can think of, from the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 to Sony WH-1000XM5, it comes with a fully protective, contoured, zippered travel case. And we don’t see why AirPods Max should be the exception. This worst case scenario should be an easy win for Apple over the AirPods Max 2.
Not to put too blunt a point on this, but Apple needs to resolve this case. full stop.
lose some weight
Is it possible for a helmet to be both incredibly heavy and surprisingly comfortable? Until AirPods Max, we would have said no. Still, there’s no denying that despite weighing 13.6 ounces (much more massive than the WH-1000XM5’s 8.8 ounces), Apple’s cans are seriously comfortable. Not so comfortable, however, that you can wear them for hours without fatigue. After a while, that weight – again, they’re almost a full pound – starts dragging you down.
It will be a challenge to shave ounces off if Apple sticks to its aluminum and steel materials, but it has to be tried. What’s the point of having state-of-the-art active noise cancellation if you just want to tear your earbuds off two hours after your flight? Apple is a master of materials and design, so we’re confident the AirPods Max 2 can tip the scales at 10 ounces or less without sacrificing an ounce of luxury.
fix that sound
Here’s the thing about the AirPods Max. They sound good. But they’re being held back by a confusing decision on Apple’s part.
If you are a fan of hi-res audio – the kind of sound quality that we consider better than CD quality – Apple has a lot of Lossless Hi-Res Tracks to Apple Music up to 24bit/192kHz. There is no way to transmit this full, lossless quality to a set of wireless headphones using the Bluetooth Codecswireless headphones therefore usually come with an analog cable that allows you to transmit that very high quality sound from a compatible phone or digital-to-analog converter (DAC) directly into your cans.
The AirPods Max have an analog cable option (which for the modest sum of $35), but it does not send an analog signal directly to the pilots. Instead, Apple’s cable takes the analog signal and converts it to digital, but at a lower quality level than true lossless high-resolution. There is currently no way around this limitation.
So hopefully Apple will provide at least one cable connection capable of transmitting unprocessed digital audio from a phone or computer to the AirPods Max 2. In an ideal world, a similar quality path would exist for the AirPods Max 2 as well. analog signals. .
Set a new wireless audio standard
A better cable solution would go a long way to giving the AirPods Max 2 the kind of sound quality that its predecessor lacked – but why stop there? As a set of wireless headphones, the AirPods Max 2 shouldn’t be tethered if it can be avoided, and Apple is perfectly positioned to revolutionize how wireless audio works.
Bluetooth is limited when it comes to audio quality. Even the latest advances from Qualcomm, which deliver lossless CD quality via Snapdragon Sound, can not reach the level of lossless high-resolution audio. It just doesn’t have enough bandwidth.
However, ultra wideband (UWB) has enough bandwidth – tons, in fact – and it’s designed to deliver that bandwidth over very short distances, with very low latency and very low power consumption. . Best of all: Apple already has a lot of experience with UWB — every iPhone since iPhone 11 has a UWB radio, and Apple’s UWB-based U1 chips now reside in products like the AirTag and iPhone case. charge for the Second-generation AirPods Pro.
Granted, until now Apple has only used UWB for its space-aware location capabilities, but we know the technology can do so much more. Let’s hope Apple makes the AirPods Max 2 the first wireless headphones that eliminate the sound quality compromises inherent in Bluetooth devices.
Ditch the Lightning Port
This one is a no-brainer. Apple has already started using UBS-C on the iPad, and the European Union has released new rules that will force Apple to convert the iPhone to USB-C in the near future.
The writing is on the wall: Lightning has to go, and we think it’s almost guaranteed that the AirPods Max 2 will come with USB-C, not Lightning, for all your charging and wired audio needs.
Maximum MagSafe?
Speaking of charging, Apple may find a way to add its MagSafe wireless charging technology to the AirPods Max 2. Apple may have done this on the iPhone as well as charging cases for the Third generation AirPods and second-generation AirPods Pro, but the AirPods Max 2 might pose a tougher challenge. MagSafe needs a metal ring to perform the “mag” part of its functions, but actual wireless charging doesn’t work well with metals like aluminum. And since the current AirPods Max are almost entirely aluminum on any surface that would be large enough for a MagSafe connection, it’s hard to see how that would work.
Still, Apple is notorious for placing plastic inserts inside its aluminum cases when needed. We could see Apple embedding a discreet, circular plastic insert on one of the AirPods Max 2 earbuds – possibly with an Apple logo – to enable this feature.
More colors, more autonomy
Finally, no Apple product update would be complete without some basic improvements. The AirPods Max are currently available in five colors: space gray, pink, green, silver and sky blue. But Apple has a long history of adding additional colors to its products over time, and it wouldn’t surprise us to see the AirPods Max 2 come in new wearable options, perhaps in sync with Apple’s patterns. Watch 8: starlight, black, and product (red).
When it comes to battery life and wireless products, more is always better. It’s a truism that Apple has used to ignore over the years, and it’s fair to say that while the AirPods Max’s 20-hour battery life isn’t the worst in the world of wireless headphones, it is very close to the bottom.
Do you absolutely need more than 20 hours? Maybe not on a day-to-day basis, but if you’re a frequent traveler, you might not find yourself near a power outlet when you need it. Having a little extra headroom would be really helpful, so let’s hope the AirPods Max 2 gets a boost in the power department. Although more battery capacity usually means increased weight, which is something we certainly don’t want to see more of on the AirPods Max.
AirPods Max 2 price, availability
As we said at the start, there has been almost no buzz about the next generation of AirPods Max. Some observers even wonder if Apple will continue to manufacture its most expensive headphones. Apple doesn’t release sales numbers for the AirPods family, so it’s hard to say how well the Max is doing.
But if Apple does indeed create a sequel to the AirPods Max, and if history is any guide, it’s likely Apple will announce it around the time of the product’s third anniversary – December 2023 – or possibly fall 2023 for coincide with the next iPhone.
Apple tends to keep pricing static on its generational upgrades until it introduces a major change, so we’d expect it to keep the AirPods Max 2 at the current price of $549. When the AirPods Max debuted, that number was incredibly expensive. But since then, we’ve seen several new wireless earbuds eclipse that price, including the $699 Bowers & Wilkins Px8$599 Master and Dynamic MW75$999 Mark Levinson No. 5909and $800 Focal pathswhich not only makes the AirPods Max less outlier, but also reduces the pressure on Apple to sell the AirPods Max 2 at a lower cost.
So there you have it: our crystal ball set of hopes and dreams for the AirPods Max 2, a set of headphones that Apple is likely to announce, although we can’t say exactly when. As soon as we have something more concrete, we’ll come back with an update.
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