Apple’s products are notoriously difficult to deconstruct and reassemble, but that has not stopped people from taking the new AirPods Max apart to see how it taps.
It just so happens that the people are the talented team at iFixIt as well as a Chinese YouTube channel, and what they mostly found is not surprising: two 40mm-designed Apple dynamic drivers; two magnetic cushions corresponding to the color; two Apple H1 chips; and eight microphones for active noise suppression.
But there was one surprise in the headphones that gave it a loop: the headband can be removed quite easily by applying pressure to a small hole in the pin near the top of the headphones. The headband appeared without any problems, and this led to the suspicion that Apple could release interchangeable headbands.
One of the key features of the AirPods Max is the interchangeable ear pads, but this is the first we hear that the headband itself can be removed – and conceivably replaced – although Apple has not said anything about it yet.
Why swap headbands?
The reason it is newsworthy is that headbands are notoriously fragile and that the owners usually have little choice but to buy brand new headphones when they break.
This will not be the case with the AirPods Max if you can swap it.
Of course, this is not yet a feature that Apple has officially introduced, but it’s something the company will be able to hype later if it decides to expand replacements – or, given the preference to release many Apple Watch tires, adaptable variants. If nothing else, however, it means that your $ 549 / £ 549 / AU $ 899 investment will not become an expensive paperweight if someone accidentally sits on it, which is a good consideration.