Apple AirPods Max review

Our Verdict

The AirPods Max are infrequent noise-cancelling headphones with a luxurious pattern, sophisticated soundstage and clever computational features. But the $549 price and unconventional instance are difficult to overlook.

For

Luxurious design and feel
Piece of cake-to-use controls
Well-baked and balanced audio
Spatial sound is a game-changer
Fantastic racket counterfoil

Confronting

Expensive
No on/off switch
Smart case provides no protection

Tom's Guide Verdict

The AirPods Max are exceptional noise-cancelling headphones with a luxurious design, sophisticated soundstage and clever computational features. But the $549 price and anarchistic case are difficult to overlook.

Pros

+
Luxurious design and experience
+
Easy-to-use controls
+
Well-baked and balanced sound
+
Spatial audio is a game-changer
+
Fantastic racket cancellation

Cons

-
Expensive
-
No on/off switch
-
Smart case provides no protection

Are the Apple AirPods Max worth $549? It might seem unlikely given nigh of the best over-ear headphones are a lot cheaper. And, despite existence both Apple tree's most premium pair of headphones withal and capable of using a wired connexion, the AirPods Max isn't fifty-fifty be compatible with Apple Music lossless.

Apple AirPods Max specs:

Price: $549
Colors: Infinite grayness, silver, sky blue, light-green, pinkish
Size: 7.4 x 6.half dozen x iii.three inches
Weight: 13.6 ounces
Battery life: 20 hours
Speakers: 40mm dynamic drivers
Features: ANC, spatial audio, audio sharing, Siri

And still, our reply is yes: the AirPods Max are worth $549. In fact you lot could fairly count them among the all-time noise-cancelling headphones and even the best headphones overall. Aye, in that location are cheaper AirPods Max alternatives, but the design, sound quality and features on offer make the real affair very tempting indeed.

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That said, it's certainly no impulse purchase. So I'll summarize this Apple tree AirPods Max review specifically for those wondering whether they should splurge: They look great, they sound better, and they have enough bonus features that even $549 tin be worth paying. With Apple's newest headphones you really practice get what y'all pay for.

Ane last note: the AirPods Max has won large in the Tom'due south Guide Awards 2021 Sound categories. In addition to winning our Best headphones design award overall, Apple tree's headphones likewise earned a Highly Recommended nod for the Most innovative headphones award. You can check out the primary Tom'south Guide Awards 2021 Awards hub for more awards and winners.

AirPods Max review: Price and availability

The AirPods Max price $549 and come in v colors: Space gray, silvery, sky bluish, green and pinkish. The ear cushions are magnetic and swappable, with replacement pairs costing $69.

Along with the headphones, in the box you'll become a carrying Smart Example and Lightning-to-USB-C cable, only no ability adapter. The AirPods Max too skip on the Lightning-to-iii.5mm audio cablevision, which y'all'll need to choice up for $35 if you want a non-Bluetooth listening option.

In other words, the AirPods Max is cheaper than true audiophile headphones like the Focal Clear, but volition nevertheless cost yous a pretty penny.

AirPods Max review: Design

Dissimilar the Apple AirPods, which are sheathed in an iconic white plastic, the AirPods Max come in a fun color range that lends itself well to a retro artful. The pink ones I tested remind me of candy, simply not in a childish way. The headband and case embody Pantone's infamous Living Coral hue, while the cans drip rose gold.

Apple AirPods Max review — (Epitome credit: Future)

Those pivoting ear cups are covered by oval pillows of memory cream that aren't equally pulpy as those of the Sony WH-1000XM4, but however create a spongy, secure seal effectually my ears.

They're connected past a 7.4 ten six.6 x 3.3 inch, stainless steel frame with slim, telescoping artillery that aggrandize at the top for a mesh headband. I sense the pressure relieved by the breathable canopy is what makes the 13.6 ounces feel lighter than they are. That said, the AirPods Max are noticeably heftier than the Sony WH-1000XM4 and Bose 700 headphones, which both counterbalance just eight.96 ounces.

Apple tree fabricated a clever move to borrow and enlarge the Apple Spotter's Digital Crown for the AirPods Max. Similar to how the crown provides navigation for Apple'southward smartwatch, on the AirPods Max the crown is used for book control, skipping tracks and playing or pausing audio. Information technology's also a means of summoning Siri and answering or catastrophe phone calls. I'll acknowledge there's something satisfying well-nigh swivelling the dial, although I did swipe the volume while fussing with my hair more than than in one case.

The other button on the correct earcup is a switch for noise counterfoil and transparency manner. So where is the AirPods Max ability push button, you might ask? There isn't one, which is odd no matter how yous frame it. Although they kicking into low-power mode when they're stationary for several minutes or in the magnetic smart example, I still recollect Apple should've included a manner to completely ability down the AirPods Max.

AirPods Max review: Audio performance

The AirPods Max'due south sound starts with a custom-built, 40mm dynamic driver in each cup, which are designed to evangelize deep bass, accurate mid-range sounds and clean high-frequencies. There'south besides a dual neodymium ring magnet motor that limits harmonic baloney to less than 1%, fifty-fifty at max volume. When I turned the AirPods Max all the way upwardly, music sounded balanced every bit ever, although my Apple Health noise notifications increased.

Apple leverages an H1 chip in each ear, a custom audio-visual design, and advanced software to achieve computational audio performance that's akin to the computational photography prowess of the iPhone 12. Each of the chips have 10 audio cores that tin perform ix billion operations per 2nd, supporting Adaptive EQ for tailored listening and adjusting audio accordingly on the wing.

Now, enough with the technical specs. As wireless headphones, the AirPods Max likely aren't the choice for true audiophiles or audio professionals who crave lossless playback. Apple tree's headphones still sound high-finish, perhaps non as high-end every bit wired recording equipment, but offer more complexities than most popular headphones models.

The steady bassline in Kendrick'south Lamar's "Apprehensive" rang deep, and I could hear the rapper enunciating his words with a crispness I never noticed in the song before. While the WH-1000XM4 are similarly articulate, they don't provide the same degree of definition. Likewise, Alicia Keys sounded more polish, nonetheless precise in the opening run of "You Don't Know My Name," through the AirPods Max. With both these songs, information technology felt like I listened from a studio.

For more than of a concert experience, I turned to Aerosmith'due south "Sweet Emotion." Tom Hamilton's bass guitar vibrated through my ears, while Joe Perry's acoustics were intentional and Steven Tyler'southward sharp vocals transported me dorsum to my start live Aerosmith prove at an outdoor Long Island amphitheater. Metallica's "Enter Sandman" supplied a similar outcome; the bass drum boomed through the song's signature rumble.

I plant something to appreciate most the AirPods Max's soundstage across all my favorite musical genres, but my favorite aspect of testing didn't come from music. Spatial audio, which Apple introduced with the AirPods Pro and helped put them among the best wireless earbuds, is a game-changing listening feature.

Spatial audio is basically surround sound simply for a headset. It supports 5.1, 7.one and Dolby Atmos video content, and uses built-in caput tracking means to make sound relative to what you're seeing on screen while watching video on your iPhone or iPad. For example, every bit ships zoomed from the left side of the screen towards the right and down towards a planet in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, their buzzes and hums followed with precision from my left ear to my ear one. Spatial audio also recalibrated when I moved my head, which never failed to print me.

AirPods Max review: Noise cancellation and transparency mode

Only a few months ago, I picked upwards the AirPods Pro to drown out the sounds of screaming babies, noisy appliances and traffic in or around my apartment. They've been a huge assistance for focusing on work, but male child, the AirPods Max volition make information technology difficult to go back to earbuds.

Although there's only i level of noise cancellation, information technology's excellent. If you prefer astute tuning for this feature, the Bose 700 is probably a more rational fit for you with its 11 levels of racket counterfoil. Conversely the AirPods Max offer just i level of transparency, while the Sony WH-1000XM4 accept several settings for ambience sound.

The common theme for AirPods Max is that more options isn't necessarily amend. In side-by-side testing Apple'southward headphones are cervix-and-neck with the two all-time noise-cancelling headphones in the game. I'd hesitate to phone call AirPods the new ANC king. I don't leave my flat much these days, so YouTube supplied me with New York City ambience sounds that recreate my rush-hour commuting soundscape. The AirPods Max did a meliorate job than the Bose 700 at eliminating the depression-frequencies of air current and the hum of decorated streets, only Bose's headphones excelled with mid- and high-frequency sounds like honking car horns and squeaking tires.

And again, if y'all're keen on customizing your audio (or lack thereof) then the AirPods Max might not exist your platonic headset. But if you're okay giving up command to Apple's computational performance powers, you won't be disappointed.

AirPods Max review: Setup, Siri and phone call quality

Information technology'due south no surprise that those who own other Apple devices volition be able to brand the most of their AirPods Max experience. When you pull these headphones out of the case, the H1 chip initiates instantaneous pairing with your iPhone, and soon you lot can control your AirPods Max from your Apple Spotter or handoff playback between your iPad or HomePod mini.

You'll as well get Siri, which isn't my preferred voice butler just nonetheless helpful for sending texts and answering calls. You can employ Apple's AI assistant to command the all-time HomeKit devices via the AirPods Max, besides.

I found the AirPods Max are better than other AirPods models when it comes to telephone telephone call quality, eliminating most background noise per those I chosen for testing. I noticed I could hear myself speaking, that way I wouldn't end up yelling by accident. In fact, in transparency mode the AirPods Max even boost the volume of my own voice in my ears.

AirPods Max review: Smart case

I usually wouldn't dedicate an entire department of a review to a device's holster, merely the AirPods Max Smart Case has been ridiculed and memed to no stop. I'll be honest, I don't hate it, even if it looks like an ostentatious leather purse. I'one thousand not opposed to using the headband as a conveying handle, plus the supple example takes up minimal infinite when it's non in use.

I practice have two concerns, though: First, an exposed headband seems similar a germ-magnet. I'm a hygienic human being, but should I pick up the AirPods Max with any kind of crud or crumb on my hand... just, ew. Second, the Smart Example doesn't provide any sense of protection. I wouldn't toss the AirPods Max in my haversack with the residual of my crap like I would other headphones, including my AirPods Pro.

AirPods Max review: Bombardment life

In my testing, I found the AirPods Max live up to Apple'south claimed xx hours of bombardment life, no matter how much time I spent listening, talking or quieting the world effectually me. Over the grade of 2 days — including 3 hours of phone calls, ten hours of music or TV and several hours of unproblematic silence in between — my AirPods Max still had nigh 10% of juice left. And overnight, stored in their case, the battery barely drained.

Apple planned out this no-ability-button movement pretty well. The low power modes are effective enough that nigh people should get several days of battery life out of AirPods Max with normal apply. But if a long lasting battery is important to y'all, know you'll get another 10 hours out of the Sony'south WH-1000XM4.

Another thing to note is if you lot do opt for the lightning to 3.5mm accessory, you still demand to charge the AirPods Max. The cablevision just adds a wired listening selection and eliminates the possibility of sound latency, but can't be used to charge the cans

AirPods Max review: Verdict

The AirPods Max are the best Apple headphones, so information technology's a shame they're non in a more than palatable cost range. Merely these headphones round out Apple'due south ecosystem in a style I didn't think I cared about, and now that they're here, I'g having a hard time desiring any other over-ear headphones correct at present. The combination of cushy comfort, pristine sound quality and killer features like spatial sound is hard to trounce.

Besides the fact that they're more compatible for Android users, the Bose 700 and Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones both cost hundreds of dollars less and offer comparable noise cancellation. Plus, both come with practical cases, a headphone jack and an off switch.

If you tin can look past these caveats and have the dough to spend, the AirPods Max are your ticket to listening luxury. You might feel pressured to hop on the train with Apple's legion of loyal customers, and I'm here to tell you that'southward okay. The AirPods Max aren't frivolous — they're exceptional.

More than: Not convinced? Check out the all-time AirPods Max alternatives

Kate Kozuch is a senior writer at Tom'due south Guide covering wearables, TVs and everything smart-home related. When she'southward non in cyborg mode, yous can notice her on an practise bike or channeling her inner celebrity chef. She and her robot ground forces volition dominion the globe one mean solar day, just until so, reach her at kate.kozuch@futurenet.com.