AirPods Max unveiled-Apple’s first over-ear ANC headphones

Estimated read time: 6 minutes

Apple has officially announced its first ever over-ear headphones, the AirPods Max and a list of the AirPods max compactible devices. The AirPods Max packs an active noise cancellation system (ANC), it is easy to access Siri and other apple features. The Airpod Max Price starts at $549 and is currently available for purchase. Apple claims the AirPods Max offers “incredible high-fidelity audio,” Adaptive EQ and spatial audio on top of their noise-cancelling abilities. 

Apple senior vice president Greg Joswiak says, “With AirPods Max, we are bringing that magical AirPods experience to a stunning over-ear design with high-fidelity audio.” He further explained that “The custom acoustic design, combined with powerful H1 chips, and advanced software enable AirPods Max to use computational audio to wirelessly deliver the ultimate personal listening experience.” 

For the on-board controls, Apple opted for an Apple Watch-inspired Digital Crown for volume and audio controls, in addition to taking calls and activating Siri.

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Apple’s H1 Chip Power 

Apple’s H1 chip inside each ear cup powers the “computational audio” with the help of AirPods Max acoustic design and “advanced software.” The headphones employ 10 audio cores of each chip, which Apple claims offers “a breakthrough listening experience” for Adaptive EQ, ANC, transparency mode and spatial audio. Apple promises to deliver deep bass, mid-range accuracy and crisp highs with the 40-mm drivers packed in the AirPods Max. Apple says harmonic distortion is reduced to about 1 percent, even at max volume. This was achieved using a dual neodymium ring magnet motor. 

Low and mid-range frequencies are automatically adjusted in real time by the Adaptive EQ to account for the fit and seal of the ear cushions. A measurement of output signal is carried out by the AirPods Max to ensure you do not miss out any audio details. For the ANC, each ear cup has three external microphones that monitor the noise around you, and there is another mic inside to catch anything that might sneak in. Like the EQ, the noise cancellation “continuously” adapts to fit and movement. 

Another notable feature of the AirPods Max is its Transparency Mode. The Transparency Mode allows you to listen to your music or any audio, while hearing what is going on in your surroundings. A switch between the ANC and transparency Modes can be done with the press of a button. 

All these features simply adds up to ridiculously skyrocket the AirPods Max Price if you ask me. However, no one can doubt they are really great features to have on an headphone.

AirPods Max Head Tracking

The AirPods Max just like the AirPods Pro uses head tracking to place sounds virtually around you for the spatial audio. Apple says this “immersive, theater-like experience” is available for content recorded in 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos. Spatial audio can remap sounds by tracking movement from the gyroscope and accelerometer. The combination of the gyroscope and accelerometer are inside the AirPods Max and an iPhone or iPad to aid the remapping of sounds. With a single tap, Apple has made the sharing of audio streams possible with another pair of AirPods. By bring your AirPods Max close by, you can listen to the same thing from a connected iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple TV 4K. 

Thanks to the invention of optical and position sensors, Apple’s AirPods Max can automatically detect your head positions. Therefore, lifting an ear cup will automatically result in a pause. Apple promises a “crisp and clear” voice call experience alongside better Siri commands. This is possible with the use beam-forming microphones that focuses on your voice, leaving out other background sounds (noise). Spicing things up, the AirPods Max has an automatic device switching capability. This makes calling on an iPhone while listening to Music on an iPad or Mac possible. 

AirPods Max Battery Life 

The AirPods Max is estimated to have a battery life of 20 hours on a charge. That is with the ANC and spatial audio turned on. The headphones come with a smart case. This smart case activates “an ultralow power state” to “preserve battery” when not in use.

Airpod Max Price

AirPods Max are available for pre-order today. The AirPods Max price starts at $549 on Apple.com and the Apple Store app. The headphones will ship December 15th. Apple also offers a $35 Lightning to 3.5mm audio cable, if you need to use the AirPods Max as wired headphones.

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AirPod Max Compactible Devices

Here is a list of the AirPod max compactible devices released by Apple.