Apple AirPods Max 2: what we know, what we want, and how much it will cost - Digital Trends

1 year ago 44

Apple’s archetypal acceptable of wireless headphones — the AirPods Max — launched to large fanfare successful 2020. At $549, the aluminum-clad cans raised eyebrows for their terms and design. But contempt their outgo and immoderate unusual plan decisions (like the deficiency of an disconnected switch), reviewers were astir unanimous with their praise, particularly for the Max’s standout features, progressive sound cancellation (ANC), and transparency mode. Is determination country for improvement? Absolutely.

Do we really know thing astir the AirPods Max 2? No, we bash not. Given that the archetypal AirPods Max are much than 2 years old, we’d person expected astatine slightest immoderate hints astatine this point, if not full-on leaks. But truthful acold each we’ve got are crickets.

That could mean a fewer things. It could beryllium that there’s thing to know. Perhaps the OG AirPods Max are each that determination volition be, similar however the archetypal HomePod turned retired to beryllium a one-off. Or it could mean that Apple has upped its secrecy and information game, and it’s conscionable that thing is leaking.

Or possibly it means that the AirPods Max are connected a longer refresh rhythm than the different AirPods. Or that we’re conscionable successful between, and truthful there’s thing yet to know.

Regardless, that doesn’t mean there’s thing to speech about. Here’s what we deliberation could beryllium connected the skyline if and erstwhile things are updated.

A peculiar case

Apple AirPods Max successful their protective case.

There’s a batch to similar erstwhile it comes to the AirPods Max, but astir folks look to agree: the included question lawsuit is terrible. Maybe it’s that it hardly protects the earcups and offers zero sum for that fancy (and comfy) headband. Or possibly it’s that you can’t powerfulness down the headphones unless you enactment them successful the case. The bottommost enactment is that Apple’s lawsuit — which has earned itself the alternatively unflattering nickname “the bra” owed to its double-cup signifier — needs a superior rethink.

Every high-end acceptable of wireless cans we tin deliberation of, from the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 to the Sony WH-1000XM5, travel with a afloat protective, contoured and zippered question case. And we don’t spot wherefore the AirPods Max should beryllium the exception. This worst-case script should beryllium an casual triumph for Apple connected the AirPods Max 2.

Not to enactment excessively blunt a constituent connected it, but Apple needs to hole that case. Full stop.

Lose a small weight

Is it imaginable for a acceptable of headphones to beryllium some incredibly dense and amazingly comfortable? Until the AirPods Max, we’d person said no. Still, there’s nary denying that contempt weighing successful astatine 13.6 ounces (far much monolithic than the WH-1000XM5’s 8.8 ounces), Apple’s cans are truly comfy. Not truthful comfy, however, that you tin deterioration them for hours without fatigue. After a while, that value — again, they’re astir a afloat lb — does commencement to resistance you down.

It volition beryllium a situation to shave ounces if Apple sticks with its aluminum and alloy materials, but it needs to try. What’s the constituent of having class-leading progressive sound cancellation if you conscionable privation to rip the headphones disconnected your caput 2 hours into your flight? Apple is simply a maestro of materials and design, truthful we person religion that the AirPods Max 2 tin tilt the scales astatine 10 ounces oregon little without sacrificing an ounce of luxe.

Fix that sound

Here’s the happening astir the AirPods Max. They dependable great. But they’re being held backmost by a baffling determination connected Apple’s part.

If you’re a instrumentality of hi-res audio — the benignant of dependable prime that we deliberation of arsenic better-than-CD-quality — Apple has plentifulness of lossless, hi-res tracks connected Apple Music successful up to 24-bit/192kHz. There’s nary mode to transmit this full, lossless prime to a acceptable of wireless headphones utilizing existing Bluetooth codecs, truthful wireless headphones typically travel with an analog cablegram that lets you tube that ultra-high-quality dependable from a compatible telephone oregon a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) straight into your cans.

The AirPods Max person an analog cablegram enactment (which for a whopping $35), but it doesn’t nonstop an analog awesome straight to the drivers. Instead, Apple’s cablegram takes the analog awesome and converts it to digital, but astatine a little prime level than existent hi-res lossless. There’s presently nary mode astir this limitation.

So we’re hoping that astatine the precise slightest Apple provides a cablegram transportation that tin transmit unprocessed integer audio from a telephone oregon machine to the AirPods Max 2. In an perfect world, a likewise high-quality way would beryllium for analog signals, too.

Set a caller wireless audio standard

A amended cablegram solution would spell a agelong mode to giving the AirPods Max 2 the benignant of dependable prime its predecessor lacked — but wherefore halt there? As a acceptable of wireless headphones, the AirPods Max 2 shouldn’t beryllium tethered if it tin beryllium avoided, and Apple is perfectly positioned to revolutionize however wireless audio works.

Bluetooth is constricted arsenic acold arsenic audio prime goes. Even the latest advances from Qualcomm, which supply lossless CD prime via Snapdragon Sound, can’t emergence to the level of lossless hi-res audio. It simply doesn’t person capable bandwidth.

However, ultra-wideband (UWB) does person capable bandwidth — tons of it, successful information — and it’s designed to present that bandwidth implicit precise abbreviated distances, with precise debased latency, and precise debased powerfulness consumption. Best of all: Apple already has plentifulness of acquisition with UWB — each iPhone since the iPhone 11 has possessed a UWB radio, and Apple’s UWB-based U1 chips present reside successful products similar the AirTag and the charging lawsuit for the second-gen AirPods Pro.

Granted, frankincense acold Apple has lone been utilizing UWB for its spatially-sensitive locating capabilities, but we cognize that the exertion tin bash acold more. Let’s anticipation that Apple makes the AirPods Max 2 the archetypal wireless headphones that destruct the compromises successful dependable prime inherent successful Bluetooth devices.

Ditch the Lightning port

The Superone Headphone Stand for AirPods Max.

This one’s a no-brainer. Apple already has started utilizing UBS-C connected the iPad, and the European Union has issued caller rules that volition unit Apple to person the iPhone to USB-C successful the adjacent future.

The penning is connected the wall: Lightning has to go, and we deliberation it’s each but guaranteed that the AirPods Max 2 volition travel with USB-C, not Lightning, for each of your charging and wired audio needs.

MagSafe to the max?

Apple MagSafe Duo wireless charger with iPhone and Apple Watch.

Speaking of charging, it’s imaginable that Apple mightiness find a mode to adhd its MagSafe wireless charging tech to the AirPods Max 2. Apple was capable to bash truthful connected the iPhone arsenic good arsenic the charging cases for the third-gen AirPods and second-gen AirPods Pro, but the AirPods Max 2 could airs a much hard challenge. MagSafe needs a metallic ringing to execute the “mag” portion of its duties, but the existent wireless charging doesn’t enactment good done metals similar aluminum. And since the existent AirPods Max are astir wholly aluminum connected immoderate aboveground that would beryllium large capable for a MagSafe connection, it’s hard to spot however that would work.

Still, Apple has been known to spot integrative inserts wrong its aluminum cases erstwhile it needs to. We could spot Apple integrating a discreet, circular integrative insert connected 1 of the earcups of the AirPods Max 2 — perchance with an Apple logo — to alteration this feature.

More colors, longer artillery life

five pairs of pome aerial pods max implicit the receptor headphones successful each colour achromatic bluish grey pinkish greenish connected a achromatic background

Finally, nary Apple merchandise update would beryllium implicit without immoderate improvements to the basics. The AirPods Max presently travel successful 5 colors: abstraction gray, pink, green, silver, and entity blue. But Apple has a agelong past of adding further colors to its products implicit time, and it wouldn’t astonishment america to spot the AirPods Max 2 travel successful immoderate caller covering options, possibly syncing up with the Apple Watch 8’s schemes: starlight, black, and product(Red).

When it comes to artillery beingness and wireless products, much is ever better. That’s a truism that Apple has had a wont of ignoring implicit the years, and it’s just to accidental that adjacent though the AirPods Max’s 20-hour artillery beingness isn’t the worst successful the wireless headphone world, it’s precise adjacent the bottom.

Do you perfectly request much than 20 hours? Maybe not connected a day-to-day basis, but if you’re a predominant traveler you whitethorn not find yourself adjacent a powerfulness outlet erstwhile you request one. Having a small other wiggle country would beryllium truly helpful, truthful here’s hoping the AirPods Max 2 get a boost successful the powerfulness department. Though much artillery capableness usually means accrued weight, which is thing we decidedly don’t privation to spot much of connected the AirPods Max.

AirPods Max 2 pricing, availability

As we said astatine the outset, there’s been astir nary buzz astir the adjacent procreation of the AirPods Max. Some observers adjacent question whether Apple volition proceed to marque their astir costly headphones. Apple doesn’t people income numbers for the AirPods family, truthful it’s hard to accidental if the Max person been doing well.

But if Apple does so make a sequel to the AirPods Max, and if past is immoderate guide, it’s apt that Apple volition denote it astir the clip of the product’s 3rd day — December 2023 — oregon perchance successful the autumn of 2023 to coincide with the adjacent iPhone.

Apple tends to support pricing static connected its generational improvements arsenic agelong arsenic it isn’t introducing a large change, truthful we expect that it volition support the AirPods Max 2 astatine the existent terms of $549. When the AirPods Max initially debuted, that fig was shockingly expensive. But since then, we’ve seen respective caller wireless headphones eclipse that price, including the $699 Bowers & Wilkins Px8, $599 Master & Dynamic MW75, $999 Mark Levinson No. 5909, and $800 Focal Bathys, which not lone marque the AirPods Max look similar little of an outlier, it besides reduced the unit connected Apple to merchantability the AirPods Max 2 for immoderate less.

So determination you person it: our crystal shot acceptable of hopes and dreams for the AirPods Max 2, a acceptable of headphones that Apple is apt going to announce, adjacent if we can’t accidental precisely when. As soon arsenic we get thing much factual to spell on, we’ll beryllium backmost with an update.