AirPods Max Are Falling Behind, So Are New Apple Headphones Coming This Year?

It was inevitable that Apple’s AirPods Max headphones would eventually miss out on the company’s latest software enhancements, despite their hefty $549 price tag. Headphones are now basically computers and have evolved into their own platform, so like any iPhone or Mac, Apple’s ecosystem tricks up and new features require more powerful silicon and modified components.

We started seeing the swan song for the two-and-a-half-year-old AirPods Max earlier this month at WWDC, when Apple announced a number of new features coming this fall that will apply to almost all cases, especially the second- Generation AirPods Pro – and no other model. The headlining feature is called “Adaptive Audio,” a new sound mode that intelligently blends noise cancellation and transparency modes based on your surroundings. “You can be present in your environment while distracting noises are automatically cut out,” said Apple’s Ron Huang during the keynote presentation. Adaptive audio will generally silence the outside world, but you’ll clearly hear certain sounds—bike bells, car horns, etc.—that are important for personal safety.

Adaptive Audio is based on the Adaptive Transparency mode that debuted with the second-generation AirPods Pro. On those earbuds, Apple’s passthrough mode can instantly soften ear-piercing sounds like sirens and construction work. The company said this on-device processing is made possible by its H2 chip, which is (so far) only available in the latest AirPods Pro. The AirPods Max have an H1 chip in each ear cup, but apparently, that’s still not enough to create adaptive audio.

Adaptive Audio promises some unique functionality, and I look forward to testing it out. But some of Apple’s other new audio features — again, all exclusive to the latest AirPods Pro — seem inspired by what we’ve seen from the earbud competition.

Personalized Volume is one of those tips announced at WWDC. Over time, AirPods Pro will learn your volume preferences in different situations and automatically try to keep the sound where you like it. It’s an idea Google pursued with previous Pixel Buds, but the company abandoned it adaptive sound With Pixel Buds Pro. Apple is very conscious of listening health, so I’d be willing to bet that personalized volume will only enhance your music so far.

And then there’s conversation awareness, which is a feature I’d argue Sony pioneered before other earbuds adopted a similar concept. That said, Apple’s implementation seems a bit more sophisticated than just turning down the volume and turning on transparency mode as soon as you start talking. Conversation awareness certainly reduces music, but Apple has said it can “amplify voices in front of the user, while reducing background noise.” It focuses on separating sound frequencies which is not present in other methods I have tried so far.

But again, the bad news for AirPods Max owners is that none of this new functionality is coming to Apple’s most premium headphones. They are not being completely ignored; You’ll be able to quickly mute yourself on a call with the Digital Crown, and Apple has said that the sometimes unexpected automatic device switching will be more reliable after this round of software updates. But the most useful upgrades aren’t coming. Even little features like the shorter “Siri” activation word — no longer requiring “Hey” — are only for the second-generation AirPods Pro. Ouch.

Case in point, I’m looking at the AirPods Max everywhere lately. There are two people wearing these at the coffee shop I’m writing this. I’m sure much of that momentum is due to frequent discounts offered by retailers, as it’s so easy to find sales on them at the moment. Still, even with discounts, they’re generally more expensive than many competitors.

Anyhow, most of the time, they are being used on busy city roads. Adaptive audio would definitely be a beneficial feature for this product. And why wouldn’t I want conversational awareness while wearing these to the office? You won’t see a lot of complaints during the summer beta cycle, but once these features become available to everyone in September, I’ll bet some AirPods Max owners will be upset about what they’ve lost. have been — If they have any idea about the new features.

Will Apple really keep the current models for another year (or more) and leave them with fewer features than the AirPods Pro? Still, after listening to the WWDC announcements, I feel a little weary about going to the Apple Store and spending $549 On headphones that have almost run out of new features.

Rumors about the next AirPods Max are scant. Supply Chain Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo does not expect anything By the second half of 2024 or even later. It seems… It’s too late. I expect we’ll see a new version of the company’s noise-canceling headphones alongside the iPhone 15 lineup this fall. The iPhone’s pending transition to USB-C opens the door to an “easy” AirPods Max refresh: Apple could replace the Lightning port, upgrade the silicon to the more advanced H2 chip, and discontinue it sooner. I wouldn’t take it more than anything. The AirPods Pro are very likely to get a USB-C charging case, and will probably remain so until the third generation set arrives.

But I expect we’ll see much more of the AirPods Max than that. It can’t be denied that despite all their careful design considerations, Apple’s headphones are overweight And can get tiresome over time. hell we got people are getting worried about getting teeth on their heads Nowadays. If the company can reduce some of that load, it could result in a meaningful improvement in extended comfort. And then there’s the pathetic “case” that offers little in the way of actual protection for the premium compartment. It could use a stricter change at some point. And as an audio fidelity expert, I’m still dreaming of the day we’ll get some kind of wireless Apple lossless support. However, I’m not holding my breath for that last one. Longer battery life would be nice, given that companies like Sennheiser have reduced the playback time of the AirPods Max.

It’s clear that Apple is calculated and deliberate when it comes to the new AirPods hardware. 2nd generation AirPods Pro look Very Identical to the original – very disappointing for anyone hoping to see new colors or a refreshed design – but offers substantial improvements in sound quality, noise cancellation, transparency and reliability. they haven’t been hurt hoarse/static distress Which often troubled the first pair. Noise cancellation aside, I’m yet to encounter any general issues with the AirPods Max since the headphones were released.

Apple is operating on a solid (albeit very expensive) base. But like any iPhone that has come and gone over the years, we’re starting to see that the company’s headphones can only last so long with the latest software enhancements. The open question is how long Apple will wait before bringing the AirPods Max back on par.