Key takeaways
- The flexibility to modify shortly and seamlessly throughout a vast variety of Apple gadgets remains to be the perfect function of the AirPods Max.
- The low-latency improve in iOS 18.4 makes the AirPods Max much more viable for skilled multimedia producers (and avid gamers) when utilizing a wired connection.
- Consolation, battery life, and audio high quality match high-end opponents from Sony, Bose, and others.
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Even with their imperfections and elevated price ticket ($549), I’ve to confess that the AirPods Max are a product that I like to make use of each day. What they do finest — pairing shortly and dealing seamlessly throughout my telephone, laptop computer, desktop, and pill — is the factor that makes me want the AirPods Max to all different over-the-ear headphones.
However one of many belongings you could not historically do with the AirPods Max was use them for skilled audio and video manufacturing, due to the latency points with Bluetooth and the shortage of an efficient wired possibility. Apple mounted that within the spring of 2025 with the discharge of iOS 18.4, which introduced a key software program improve to the 2024 USB-C mannequin of AirPods Max.
AirPods Max get professional audio
Whereas the 2024 relaunch of AirPods Max was comparatively disappointing because it solely introduced new USB-C connectivity and new coloration choices, the spring 2025 software program replace for Apple’s over-the-ear headphones introduced long-awaited skilled upgrades that landed in iOS 18.4, in addition to iPadOS 18.4 and MacOS Sequoia 15.4.
The brand new software program drop gave AirPods Max 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio. The official line on that is that it preserves extra particulars from the unique studio recordings, and Apple experiences that Apple Music has over 100 million songs in lossless audio. The truth is that the overwhelming majority of individuals aren’t going to have the ability to inform the distinction between a daily music on Apple Music (or another service) and the lossless model.
The place this improve actually made a distinction was enabling extremely low-latency audio when linked through a USB-C cable. This opened the door to skilled workflows with music manufacturing and video manufacturing in order that technicians might have the form of precision they want for studio work. It additionally allowed the professionals to provide Customized Spatial Audio in apps like Apple’s Logic Professional and instantly preview it with AirPods Max.
Avid gamers additionally benefited from the extremely low-latency audio through USB-C cable to the AirPods Max as a result of it decreased lag to near-zero to match the identical expertise you’d get on a Mac, iPad, or iPhone when taking part in sound by way of the built-in audio system.
Why I nonetheless dig AirPods Max
Earlier than the AirPods Max, I by no means discovered a pair of over-the-ear headphones that I might put on for greater than about 45 minutes as a result of they might harm my ears. I can put on the AirPods Max for hours on lengthy flights, which is one among my favourite makes use of. And their lengthy battery life is one other key on cross-country or worldwide flights.
There are actually a number of different over-the-ear headphones which can be tremendous comfy and have nice battery life, such because the Sony XM6 headphones and Bose QuiteComfort Extremely, that are each on the prime of ZDNET’s picks for finest headphones. However pairing and sharing throughout as many gadgets as I exploit is not nice on headphones that are not AirPods as a result of it is often restricted to 2 gadgets.
On the finish of the day, most of us flip to over-the-ear headphones for 2 issues: noise cancellation and audio high quality. For each of those, the AirPods Max are in the identical league as the perfect headphones available on the market, together with those from Sony, Bose, Sennheiser, and others. I can hear particulars in music and films utilizing the AirPods Max that I merely cannot hear with AirPods Professional or different earbuds. And while you pair the AirPods Max with an M4 iPad Professional that has a Tandem OLED display screen, the standard of the audio and video expertise you get feels prefer it might nearly rival a high-quality digital movie show.
The place AirPods Max want enchancment
There are nonetheless a pair issues that I do not love about AirPods Max. The most important one is the worth. At $549, they’re $100 dearer than even the Sony XM6 headphones, which have function parity with AirPods Max and the premium Sony model. Many of the different premium headphones available on the market are round $350.
The opposite challenge is that Apple nonetheless hasn’t built-in its newest H2 chip from the AirPods Professional 2 into the AirPods Max. The H2 chip, which has extra superior noise cancellation and voice isolation, was launched in 2022 however was not built-in into the newest AirPods Max launched in 2024. For Apple to not put its finest audio know-how into its highest finish headphones — particularly at such a premium value — is disappointing.
Shopping for recommendation
The AirPods Max are solely price the additional cash for individuals who use a whole lot of totally different Apple gadgets regularly. In any other case, I might advocate going with the Sony XM6 headphones — and even the Sony XM5 model — to save cash and get just about all the identical options, together with even decrease latency than AirPods Max.
