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AirPods Max 2: Apple’s only failed attempt to make the best product in its category must be fixed

Published: Aug 25, 2023, 7:33 AM

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This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.

AirPods Max 2: Apple’s only failed attempt to make the best product in its category must be fixed

Here’s a fact that might blow your mind: Each and every one of the major products Apple makes is the best selling product in its category around the world… period.

The iPhone (14) is the single best-selling phone in the world; the iPad is the best selling tablet; the MacBook Air is the best-selling laptop; the Apple Watch is the best-selling smartwatch, and of course, AirPods (Pro) are the best-selling wireless earbuds in the world with nearly 30% market share as of Q4 2022. So far so good. That would make Apple pretty much an invincible power in the sector of consumer technology, but Cupertino doesn’t exactly have a 100% success rate.

The reason? The 2020 AirPods Max. Yes, I finally got around to buying and testing the AirPods Max for myself, and although I can’t tell you whether these are the best-selling ANC headphones in the world (the data isn’t out there), my guess would be that they aren’t. The obvious reason for that is how expensive they are.

However, one thing I can tell you for sure is that although you could argue the iPhone, iPad, MacBook, Apple Watch and AirPods Pro are the best products in their respective category (I’m not saying they are, I’m just saying you can make a legitimate argument in their favor), the time I’ve spent with the AirPods Max leads me to believe this might be Apple’s one and only (recent) failed attempt to make the best product in a single category.

AirPods Max are Apple’s Achilles’ heel right now, which I’d imagine must hurt at least a little bit, considering the company’s 100% success rate so far, which is why I believe Tim Cook & Co should do their best to turn the AirPods Max 2 into a great success - both in terms of sales but, more importantly, in terms of design, which is where the big problems with the AirPods Pro lie, in my humble opinion.

Here’s why AirPods Max are the first Apple product I’ve bought and tried. And of course, I’ll also tell you and Apple how to make the AirPods Max 2 much better. Because the potential is there.

AirPods Max 2 must fix almost everything about the questionable design of AirPods Max if Apple wants to make the best ANC headphones in the world: Are AirPods Max Tim Cook’s only "failure" at Apple?

Wearing the AirPods Max felt like I was trying to balance a small fruit basket on my head.

Before I tell you how (strongly) I feel about the AirPods Max, I must make it clear that this was a genuine purchase on my end - not for review purposes, not an impulse buy.

I work from home, where it often gets loud, which isn’t exactly great if you’re trying to concentrate and put together an original article that… makes some sense. So, I decided it’s time to get a pair of ANC headphones, and I did what I always do before I spend my money on a new tech product, which is to read and watch countless reviews and comparisons to make sure I choose the best product for me.

Eventually, I settled for the AirPods Max because of how balanced they were supposed to sound compared to the likes of the Bose 700 and the latest Sony headphones; but also, because I have a Mac and an iPhone - although this wasn’t all that important to me.

For the record, it also helped that I found an unbelievable deal on a used pair of AirPods Max for literally half the price of their original retail cost on Amazon. But despite the amazing deal, I still ended up returning the AirPods Max after about a week of use. When you think about it, this makes my case against Apple’s headphones even stronger, because at least I did consider keeping them, which wouldn’t have been the case at all had I paid the full (crazy) $550 price here in Europe. That’s how much they cost in Germany nearly three years after launch.

Almost everything about the design of my AirPods Max headphones seems wrong - even in 2023

And now to all the (first world) problems I experienced with the AirPods Max, and all the reasons I returned them despite the amazing deal I got…

I find the AirPods Max very uncomfortable to wear for long, or short periods of time. I just do. And I know I’m not alone here, which makes me wonder why every other YouTuber lets that slide. You keep hearing things like: “They are heavy but the mesh on top helps spread the weight more evenly throughout your head”; “you get used to it”... No, you don’t. At nearly 400g (385g to be precise), these are quite literally the heaviest ANC headphones I was able to find while doing my research despite other brands like B&O Play and Focal using similar, premium materials.

Wearing the AirPods Max felt like I was trying to balance a small fruit basket on my head. They would wobble around with every movement, and my (relatively small) ears would bounce around the large earcups like OIS for ears (the phone nerds will get the last one).

Another thing I found contributes to the feel that the AirPods Max just move around all the time are the large earcups, which might be good if you have extra large ears but causes the headphones to wobble with every movement - even when turning your head, let alone when you’re walking around.

I love the fact that the earcups are easily removable and washable, but the fabric material Apple decided to go with gets filthy after only one day of sweating and soaks it all up. Another thing I discovered the hard way was that the AirPods Max are basically impossible to bear on a hot summer day unless you’re in an airconditioned room and take them off from time to time. I took a 2h walk with them out in the sun, and it was sweat city out there. The earcups needed to be washed after.

And now a quick fire round what’s wrong with the design of the AirPods Max if you ask me:

The weight; it’s ridiculous - they weigh 385g, and 450g with the case (and before you ask why I’m measuring the weight of the case - well because you need it to put the headphones into low power mode)

Well, speaking of the case, honestly, unlike literally everyone else, I don’t hate the minimalism of it but my problem is that it feels extremely cheap and catches dirt and dust after every touch; it just doesn’t feel “Apple” if that makes sense

No matter which button you click or which God you worship, there’s no way to turn the AirPods Max off, and knowing my headphones are losing charge just because Apple decided not to give one of the buttons an ‘off’ function is just… hilarious; they go into low/ultra-low power mode when placed in the funny case but even then - they never turn off completely

The battery life on the AirPods Max is just about acceptable considering how heavy and big they are - 20h of battery life at best isn’t good enough for headphones that weight that much; the fact that you can’t turn the headphones off definitely “helps” with the mediocre endurance

There’s no USB-C on the AirPods Max, or headphone jack for that matter, but my bigger gripe with the wired Lightning connection is that they can’t work when plugged if they are dead

Despite the questionable design choices, AirPods Max have a few magical features that Apple should be proud of

There are some amazing features on the AirPods Max like the ANC, Transparency Mode, and Spatial Audio, which quickly became a favorite of mine.

And not to be a Debbie Downer and because there really are some awesome things about the AirPods Max that I wish I had on other pairs of headphones/earbuds, here they are…

Great, very balanced sound with clear bass that’s not overpowering - you’ll love them if you like neutral sounding headphones; but the true miracle of Apple’s engineering is that the sound you get in the different modes (ANC on, ANC off, Transparency Mode) is consistent, which isn’t the case with other headphones/earbuds, which is super jarring

Spatial Audio is incredible and underrated, and I’ll miss it (which is why I’m buying AirPods Pro) - in a way, turning Spatial Audio on is almost like listening to a different pair of headphones; the bass is boomier and the highs are higher and although this doesn’t work with every genre of music, it makes vocals come to life, and after listening to some songs with Spatial Audio on, I don’t want to listen to them without it

Noise cancelling on the AirPods Max is incredibly effective, and so is the Transparency mode, which is the best I’ve ever tried - as many have said, it’s the closest thing to not wearing headphones at all

Great build quality, and I don’t just mean the use of metal (which is the easy part) but the Apple-level attention to detail - the magnetically removable earcups, the buttons, the sound crown (or whatever you call it)

Nice color options - I had the blue ones because that’s what I found on eBay but I love the green and space gray

There are better sounding and more comfortable premium ANC headphones than AirPods Max; if Apple wants me to buy the AirPods Max 2, they'll need some major design changes

Apple's AirPods Max aren't the only, or best premium ANC headphones on the market if you look at sound and comfort.

Honestly, I thought I’d like them much more but it turns out comfort is the most important thing for me when it comes to wearables, and frankly, going back to my Huawei earbuds after wearing the AirPods Max during a walk on a hot summer day felt amazing - although the sound quality was a million times worse.

Despite the absolutely incredible deal I got for my used AirPods Max (€270), I returned them due to the long list of things I don’t like about them, and I’m challenging Apple to step it up with AirPods Max 2 and make them worth the asking price, or you know - bring it down.

As it stands, the AirPods Max aren’t the best product in the category of premium wireless consumer headphone. If you’re still looking for something similar though, perhaps the Focal Bathys or B&O Play H95 will be a better buy as they seem to sound better (based on all the comparison samples I’ve gone through) while being just as premium, and lacking the weird design elements of the AirPods Max.

AirPods Max are like an amazing smartphone that has terrible battery life and it’s uncomfortable to hold. In other words, they are overall super high quality; they work and sound awesome, but actually wearing/using them feels like you’re making a big compromise. And if you can’t wear your $550 headphones for longer periods of time, that’s a deal breaker. What’s the point if you aren’t making the most off them?

AirPods Max 2 would be “perfect” if Apple changed these things

Use titanium for the earcups to make the headphones lighter; that’s one Apple product that would really benefit from the use of the lighter and tougher titanium instead of a different, heavier metal that scratches more easily

Change the weird mesh headband which makes the headphones wobble around - I wouldn’t mind a more traditional design

The telescopicmechanism for adjusting the headphones is very stiff on the 1st gen AirPods Max, and literally makes my head hurt when I adjust the headphones, so let’s do something about it, Apple?

Faux leatherearcups or a different material that lets you wipe them clean instead of having to machine wash them after one sweat (of course, keep the magnetic mechanism)

Make them a bit smaller? I just hope it’s possible to achieve a similar sounds stage with a smaller design; knowing Apple, a folding design seems like a dream, so I don’t even dare to ask for that

New case, which actually protect the headphones, please; come on; are you kidding; for real now

Let me turn the headphones off, please; come on; are you kidding; for real now

Improve batterylife; at least 30h would be nice

USB-C; wired playback when the headphones are dead

A lowerprice would be nice, unless Apple really nails it this time around, and makes the AirPods Max feel like the same great value as the AirPods Pro, which are expensive but almost perfect

Can AirPods Max influence the ANC headphone market in the wrong way? Unlike Android phone-makers, Sony, Bose, Bang & Olufsen, Focal seem to resist following in Apple's footsteps

I'm sticking to the AirPods Pro 2 for now.

Look, I do think Apple will eventually take the design of the AirPods Max into a direction that truly makes them more comfortable and practical. We’ve seen instances of Tim Cook & Co eventually “realizing” that funcion should come before form; examples are the return of the Scissor switch keyboard and the ports on MacBook; the curves in the design of the iPhone 15 (which should make it more comfortable to hold), and even the expected switch to USB-C on iPhone 15, which Apple (technically) could’ve avoided by making the iPhone completely portless.

I just hope Apple won’t take another “forever years” to change things up with the AirPods Max, which appear to be on a 3-4 year refresh cycle (at least right now). I hope we won't have to wait for AirPods Max 3 (let alone AirPods Max ) to see a truly premium but still comfortable pair of Apple headphones.

And I certainly hope the rest of the industry won’t fall for the all that familiar “Apple influence trap”, and start making AirPods Max knock-offs. Cupertino really does have the power to influence entire markets (we see that with virtually every Apple product), but (luckily) brands like Sony, Bose, B&O, and Focal haven’t tried to emulate the AirPods’ bizarre design elements… yet. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Meanwhile, if you want a pair of different feeling headphones with a sprinkle of that Apple magic, you might want to look at the new Beats Studio Pro, which offer some of the features found on AirPods Max like Spatial Audio, Transparency Mode, and even have a USB-C port and a proper case for storage.

But until Apple makes a pair of truly comfortable AirPods Max headphones, I’m team… AirPods Pro. So, Apple wins either way. Damn it.

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Martin, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, brings a unique blend of humor and insight to his work. His fascination with smartphones began with a Galaxy Young and evolved through a series of trades and upgrades, making him a self-proclaimed smartphone nerd. Martin's content often combines current analysis of market trends with historical references and future predictions. Whether it's a deep dive into technical issues or a first-person commentary on industry events, Martin's articles are designed to inform and engage. His critical perspective is driven by genuine curiosity and a desire to keep readers informed, not by any corporate sponsorship.

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