A No Bullshit 12 Month Review Of The AirPods Max
Entirely impartial, honest, straight-up reality after using the AirPods Max for a whole year…
I really took my sweet time to sit on these and wait with a review until I felt confident enough I’m not going to make an eejit of myself reviewing them only to take everything back a few months later. Wanted to avoid the situation where I had to publish a retraction, and that’s mostly because we’re talking about headphones and in some ways, headphones are consumables compared to pretty much everything else that Apple makes. So without further ado, here’s my straight-up, no bullshit review of the most expensive pair of cans Apple makes.
I briefly introduced them alongside my M1 Pro MacBook Pro 16 a while back, but a year is a long time, also just so happens to be more than enough time to fully assess their value.
If you just want the cost-benefit analysis results — no, they’re not worth their price.
If that’s all you wanted to know, you can stop reading here, thank you for your time, subscribe, become a member, follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn, anywhere you like as long as it’s not on the street like a creep.
However, if you’re still reading, you might end up thanking me because the picture I’ll paint for you about the Apple Max cans is interesting to say the least. I will also rely on two sets of second-hand information, both from very close friends, so you’re going to get more than just my opinion.
The objectively good 👍
I was genuinely worried like many, about the lack of the power button. I was wrong. Very wrong. However, not initially. During the numerous updates Apple made, they must have pushed at least one that dare I say transformed standby and ultra-low power mode to virtually become a self-triggering off mode. My usage patterns are weird because I use them in bursts. Sometimes I’d use them for hours on a daily basis, other times they’d just sit in their case for 2–3 weeks. What I found to be extremely surprising though, after a couple of months, was that three weeks of non-use barely affected the battery. It felt like no more than 5–7% was lost in the space of nearly a month! If you ask me, that’s perfectly fine.
The sound quality is objectively great. No, it’s not audiophile quality, and I feel that it’s not meant to be. I will call Apple’s sound-stage… inspirational and immersive. If that’s what you enjoy, I have yet to hear a pair of cans that comes close to it. Add to that high-quality sources like Apple Music and you will genuinely rediscover your playlist. Having also the Apple Studio Display, it actually feels like its speakers are now attached to your ears, and I found those to be very impressive too.
Build quality and design is exceptional, albeit the latter only from an aesthetic perspective. Handling these cans even after a year’s use, I still feel like they’re meant to last me ages. These are very solid headphones, and I virtually see no difference between the brand-new ones and my one-year-old ones.
Beyond all the above pros, however, noise-cancellation is probably the one I feel absolutely must be highlighted. It’s as good as it was on day one. In fact, I have a feeling it might even be better now, though I have no scientific way of proving that.
The AirPods Max allows me to virtually turn people off with a single push of a button.
It does a better job than any Bose I ever had, and most definitely performs miles better than the AirPods Pro, which I never found to be that jaw-dropping at active noise-cancellation.
The objectively bad 👎
Spacial audio I think is a gimmick. I had no genuine practical use out of that feature. I get that cans now have sensors and shit, but seriously, it is absolutely not a selling point, no matter how much Apple wants to market it.
Sweat buildup is another issue that is very real. My friend Matt has replaced his AirPods Max three times now in the space of a single year. While I didn’t see any moisture induced issues, any time I’d wear them for over two hours continuously, I’d find enough condensation in the ear-cups to promptly wipe it away with a tissue and worry about it. This is a big one because this problem alone makes the AirPods Max a risky purchase.
Not made to be portable. Technically, they are, but there are several reasons why I never left the house with these. I see hardly any people wanting to, and I’m certain that’s a fact because in a city like Dublin I don’t think I have seen more than three people rocking them on the street since they launched, and this is a city where AirPods Pros are everywhere! The reasons are obvious. The bra case does not help. You will not catch me carrying that abomination around with me. Maybe on a flight, but otherwise, oh hell no!
And then you have the issue of not know what to do with them when they’re not on your head. Let them hang on your neck? Becomes annoying very quickly, a bit of nagging cattle-bell. They don’t fold well enough to fit into a jacket pocket, and not even into some bags, especially when it comes to lady bags, so it becomes a frustrating experience of not wanting to wear them, but not really being able to do anything else with them.
The AirPods Max are in no way an on-the-go pair of headphones. They’re mostly limited to home, office, and studio use.
Finally, while not a major negative, it’s still something I do consider to be an important enough issue to mention is connectivity. For the most part, the AirPods Max hold their connection just fine once paired, except that pairing aspect when you move between devices or just reconnect to one previously connected to can be a hit-and-miss situation. I noticed this issue most with my 4K Apple TV. Around 30% of the time I had to go into the settings and hit connect and then wait a few seconds to do its thing. Other times it would seamlessly connect, as if it were in a good mood or something.
And since we’re on connectivity, I think it’s worth mentioning that while I myself am not bothered by the half-arsed wired connectivity on these, I do think that Apple could have done a better job at it. That lightning to 3.5 mm jack adapter they sell is a joke, and frankly it’s so flimsy, it should be illegal to sell.
I protect that cable more than the headphones themselves! — Andrew Gribben
Additionally, an improved version of it should always be bundled with the headphones on request for free. The logistics of how that would work is not something I need to figure out, but the wired connection is definitely a potentially major letdown.
Finally, while sound — as stated before — is remarkable, and integration within the Apple ecosystem is more or less as bang on as it can be, I do think the sound profiles currently under accessibility settings, should be moved to the AirPods Max settings, simply because, well, funnily enough… accessibility. Throwing all sorts of settings into the accessibility section works against the product actually being accessible. Accessibility is, after all, for everyone.
So, where to from here? 🤷♂️
I am not going to beat around the bush. I think you have to be a very specific type of customer to not only want them but genuinely make use of the AirPods Max, which means that probably half the people who already own these cans, don’t need them at all. In fact, let me put it this way…
Nobody needs the AirPods Max, but some customers will genuinely enjoy owning them.
In fact, I enjoy them so much that I am periodically tempted to get a second pair. If I happen to hear any rumours of Apple wanting to discontinue these, I’ll most definitely get a second pair, if not two. If an updated version hits the stores anytime this or next year, I’ll probably pick up a pair, hoping some of the negatives will have been addressed.
Let me remind you, the biggest risk with these headphones is the poor sweat-resistance. I would go as far as calling it #sweatGate. If #bendGate is anything to go by, Apple might revisit this issue in a future iteration. Until then, while I, personally, love these and enjoy these, I would rather not take on the responsibility of recommending them. The facts now have been shared with you. The decision is entirely in your hands. Thank you for reading and happy listening! 🎧
If you own the AirPods Max or think of getting them, let’s hang out in the comments! 💬
Attila Vago — Software Engineer improving the world one line of code at a time. Cool nerd since forever, writer of codes and blogs. Web accessibility advocate, Lego fan, vinyl record collector. Loves craft beer!
