Apple’s AirPods Max
Apple says AirPods Max are designed to provide high quality sound, active noise cancellation, convenience and quality. They have spatial sound (with head detection), so it may seem like sounds are coming from all around you as you watch movies and programs. They also have a transparency mode that allows you to listen to the outside with the push of a button. They are designed to be extremely comfortable to wear, even during long sessions.
The canopy, or the upper part of the AirPods Max that rests on your head, is made of a knitted mesh material that, according to Apple, distributes the weight evenly to relieve the pressure you may feel when wearing other headphones. The frame is made of stainless steel, and the cups are anodized from aluminum, with memory foam pads that feel comfortable around your ears while also blocking sound.
At the top of one of the cups you will find the control panels. There’s a button to change the listening mode, and there’s a digital digital crown (or button) from Apple Watch that lets you control the volume, skip tracks, answer the phone, and activate Siri.
To power the active noise cancellation feature, AirPods Max has six external microphones that listen to the noise around you. Then they deploy an equal but opposite ‘anti-noise’ in the earbuds that effectively destroys the sounds of the outside world.
AirPods Max can detect when you take it off your head, and they will interrupt the music or podcast you are listening to. If you store them in the Smart Case they come with, they automatically go into ultra-low-power mode to save battery life. Speaking of battery life, Apple says that AirPods Max lasts 20 hours between charges.
And like other AirPod models, it’s easy to connect to any other Apple products you have. They have a one-touch setup mode that appears automatically when you place your AirPods Max for the first time near your iPhone or iPad. They also offer seamless switching when you go from your iPhone to iPad to MacBook.
They also have two internal microphones to monitor the sound you hear, and additional microphones to record your voice for calls.
All of these features and all of Apple-style design obviously come at a cost. AirPods Max definitely costs more than many other wireless headphones on the market. But then audiophiles know that you can spend a lot more on headphones than that.
Chris Reed is a trade editor and trader expert at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.