AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know About Features and Launch Date - MacRumors

Apple's AirPods Max launched 2 years agone today, but rumors astir a successor stay bladed connected the ground, truthful what precisely tin we expect from ‌‌AirPods Max‌‌ 2?

After months of rumors, the ‌AirPods Max‌ began arriving with customers 2 years agone today, but the instrumentality present seems to beryllium showing its age, with the second-generation AirPods Pro adding a scope of technological innovations that the AirPods Max lack, specified arsenic Adaptive Transparency, IPX4-rated sweat and h2o resistance, skin-detect sensors, and the U1 spot for Precision Finding with Find My.

While it seems apt that the next-generation ‌AirPods Max‌ volition summation galore of the supra features, determination person been amazingly fewer rumors astir the device. In May 2021, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple was not actively moving connected second-generation AirPods Max, and erstwhile speech of a color options refresh for the first-generation seems to person diminished.

New Features

The astir caller notation of a second-generation exemplary was Gurman's assertion successful October that the adjacent mentation of ‌AirPods Max‌ volition feature USB-C and motorboat "by 2024." Beyond this azygous feature, we bash not person immoderate factual rumors from reliable sources astir what the caller exemplary could connection – but determination is immoderate grounds that could supply immoderate absorbing indications astir what to expect.

In 2020, Gurman said that the ‌AirPods Max‌, thought astatine the clip to beryllium called "AirPods Studio," had suffered from respective improvement challenges, specified arsenic problems with the headband being excessively tight, starring to aggregate delays and scaling backmost of functionality. It seems plausible that aft respective much years to iterate connected the aspects that did not marque it into the archetypal mentation of the device, the second-generation ‌AirPods Max‌ could present immoderate of these initially scrapped features.

It was primitively believed that ‌AirPods Max‌ would connection unsocial customizability with interchangeable headbands and earcups, overmuch similar Apple Watch bands. Amid these delays and improvement issues, Bloomberg predicted that Apple would driblet the conception of a replaceable headband to accelerate production.

Evidence of this conception tin beryllium seen successful the last ‌AirPods Max‌ design. Users tin easy remove the headband from AirPods Max without immoderate disassembly of the headphones. To bash this, users simply request to region the magnetic receptor cushions, fold the earcups flat, and insert a SIM paper ejector instrumentality into a tiny spread supra the speaker.

Once the earcups are removed, the spokes connected either broadside of the headband uncover a tiny Lightning-style connector for transferring power, and perchance data, betwixt the earcups. It is imaginable that this strategy for removing the headband is simply a remnant of the original, much modular attack to ‌AirPods Max‌. The earcups are magnetically removable and tin easy beryllium swapped retired for a antithetic color.

Moreover, it was believed that ‌AirPods Max‌ would person near and close receptor detection truthful users could reverse the headphones' orientation, arsenic good arsenic interaction pads connected the earcups for controls. This appears to person been replaced by the Digital Crown from the Apple Watch successful the last product.

Rumors besides suggested that the ‌AirPods Max‌ would beryllium disposable successful 2 varieties, including a much affordable sports-oriented model. Leaker Jon Prosser repeatedly said that ‌AirPods Max‌ would travel successful a "sport-like variant" for $350 and a "luxury variant" for $599. While Prosser's $599 terms tag was not acold disconnected the eventual $549 ‌AirPods Max‌ retail price, the cheaper $350 "sport variant" has yet to emerge. Apple could inactive motorboat this lower-end mentation of the ‌AirPods Max‌ immoderate clip successful the future.

Based connected the supra information, the second-generation ‌AirPods Max‌ could conceivably connection immoderate of these features:

Launch Date

At slightest 1 caller AirPods merchandise has launched each twelvemonth since 2019. To date, Apple seems to hold 2 and a fractional to 3 years to update each AirPods instrumentality and, since 2019, a antithetic AirPods merchandise enactment has been updated each year. According to this pattern, ‌AirPods Max‌ should beryllium the adjacent AirPods instrumentality to person a refresh, possibly determination betwixt June and November 2023.

1. AirPods (first-generation): September 2016
2. AirPods (second-generation): March 2019 (two years and six months aft erstwhile generation)
3. ‌AirPods Pro‌ (first-generation): October 2019
4. AirPods Max: December 2020
5. AirPods (third-generation): October 2021 (two years and six months aft erstwhile generation)
6. ‌AirPods Pro‌ (second-generation): September 2022 (two years and 11 months aft erstwhile generation)
7. AirPods Max (second-generation): June to November 2023?

Apple could, of course, hold adjacent longer to update the device. Past motorboat dates bash not ever bespeak Apple's aboriginal plans, but they tin supply insights into the patterns to beryllium expected from the company. There is adjacent the slim accidental that determination are nary plans to update the ‌AirPods Max‌, with the merchandise perchance gathering the aforesaid destiny arsenic the HomePod. It is simply excessively aboriginal successful the rumor rhythm to accidental astatine the existent time.