Apple Launches ‘AirPods Max’ Over-Ear Noise-Canceling Headphones

Putting an end to leaks and rumors, Apple has launched its final hardware product of 2020 – AirPods Max. It is the company’s first-ever over-ear headphones with active noise cancelation (ANC) support, Adaptive EQ, Spatial Audio, and a lot more. AirPods Max has arrived with a steep asking price in comparison to popular noise-canceling headphones available in the market.

AirPods Max: Specifications

• Design

The design of the AirPods Max (previously known as AirPods Studio, as per leaks) is very similar to the leaked CAD renders. It features a stainless steel headband with a breathable knit mesh canopy. This mesh design, Apple says, will reduce on-head pressure and will be comfortable for a variety of head shapes and sizes.

The earcups look premium and have a shiny matte finish to them. The memory foam ear cushions look very comfortable as well. And now, be ready to be surprised as the company has brought a feature over from Apple Watch to the headphones. AirPods Max has a digital crown. It “offers precise volume control and the ability to play or pause audio, skip tracks, answer or end phone calls, and activate Siri,” says Apple.

• Sound Quality

As per Apple, the earcups feature a “custom acoustic design” with each earcup housing an Apple-designed 40mm driver. It will “provides rich, deep bass, accurate mid-range, and crisp, clean high-frequency extension,” as per the blog post. AirPods Max is equipped with the company’s H1 chip – one in each ear cup. This 10-core audio chip is capable of 9 billion operations per second and provides a computational audio breakthrough for AirPods.

As for the feature set, the H1 chip enables a lot of known features on this pair of ANC headphones. AirPods Max supports Adaptive EQ, Transparency mode, spatial audio, and even audio sharing. If you have ever used AirPods, you would already know what these features are. If not, you can read about the aforesaid features in detail right here.

“With AirPods Max, we are bringing that magical AirPods experience to a stunning over-ear design with high-fidelity audio. 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,” asserted Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing in an official blog post.

• Features

Talking about active noise cancelation, Apple says that each ear cup is equipped with three outward-facing microphones and one microphone on the inside. While the former are used to detect environmental noise, the latter monitors the sound reaching the listener’s ear. It combines all the data and adapts the ANC based on the user’s fit, movement, and noise.

• Battery Life

As for the battery life, Apple promises up to 20 hours of playback on the AirPods Max. You can extract more from the headphones if you disable ANC and spatial audio. They charge over the company’s proprietary Lightning port and not USB Type-C, like the iPad Pro.

AirPods Max: India Price and Availability

AirPods Max headphones are priced at Rs. 59,900 in India and $549 in the US. It is now up for pre-order and will go on sale starting from 15th December. These headphones will be available in five color variants, including space grey, silver, sky blue, green, and pink.

The AirPods Max will go up against other popular noise-canceling headphones, such as the Sony WH-1000XM4 and Bose 700. So, will you drop Rs. 60,000 on the AirPods Max or is it over-priced? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.