Apple's new AirPods Max have been revealed. You can preorder the $549 over-ear wireless headphone now, and they're expected to ship on December 15.
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Apple
Apple has finally announced the AirPods Max, its long-rumored pair of over-ear wireless headphones.
The headphones are Apple's first pair of wireless over-ear headphones, marking a notable expansion of the company's popular AirPods line.
Like AirPods and AirPods Pro, the AirPods Max come with many of Apple's standout features, like automatic pairing with devices tied to your Apple ID and the ability to detect when you're wearing them. They also feature Apple's H1 chip in each ear, which gives the headphones computational audio capabilities.
Here's a closer look at everything you need to know about the AirPods Max.
The AirPods Max are available to preorder starting December 8 and cost $549, putting them in the same price range as many professional wired headphones, like the $549 Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro. Color options include space gray, silver, sky blue, green, and pink. They begin shipping on December 15.
At that price, the AirPods Max are significantly more expensive than some of our other top picks for the best over-ear headphones and the best noise-cancelling headphones. The Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 3 headphones, for example, currently cost $315, and the new Sony WH-1000XM4 are on sale for $278.
On paper, the Sennheiser and Sony models both offer similar wireless and noise-cancelling features as the AirPods Max, so we're curious to see how Apple's new headphones compare to those less expensive options.
You can order the AirPods Max through the Apple Store app or Apple's website in the United States and 25 other countries and regions. They also require that your iPhone is running iOS 14.3 and later.
We'll update this article with additional retailer options once they're available.
In addition to the standard AirPods features like automatic pairing, the AirPods Max also inherit some of the AirPods Pro's characteristics, like spatial audio, active noise cancellation, and transparency mode.
But Apple is highlighting the headphones' audio quality as being a key differentiator. The AirPods Max are capable of keeping harmonic distortion at below 1% even at maximum volume, and the headphones also come with an Apple-designed driver that the company says should provide rich bass and crisp high frequencies.
The headband's design is made to distribute pressure so that they're comfortable to wear, Apple says, and each ear cushion is designed with memory foam to create a tight seal.
The AirPods Max have a Digital Crown just like the Apple Watch, which you can use to control volume, answer calls, and talk to Siri. Bluetooth 5.0 wireless is supported, and you can buy a separate Lightning to 3.5mm cable for wired playback. The headphones should offer 20 hours of battery life with active noise cancellation enabled.
The announcement comes after reports from Bloomberg and other outlets suggested that a pair of Apple over-ear headphones were in the works. Apple is tapping into a new audience with the AirPods Max, one that likely consists of audio enthusiasts and professionals that are willing to pay a premium price.
