34 ms·

AirPods Max

• css 6y ago
  > AirPods Max are available to order starting today for $549 (US) from apple.com and in the Apple Store app in the US and more than 25 other countries and regions. AirPods Max will begin shipping on Tuesday, December 15. Edit: After AppleCare, optional 3.5mm cable, and tax, it comes out to just over $700 USD.
  • Jgrubb 6y ago
    That's funny, that was the bit of copy that jumped out the most to me as well :)
  • selykg 6y ago
    "Hey, cool, something not in-ear, this could be just what I was looking for." See's price: Nope... I'll stick with what I've got for now. Those are some of the most expensive headphones I've ever seen and I thought Bose's QC3's at $350 were overpriced. This kicks it up a notch further. I'll be curious what the reviews show for sure, but too rich for my blood.
    • deleted 6y ago
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    • pickle-wizard 6y ago
      No kidding. I've got a pair of really nice Klipsch bluetooth headphones that I only paid $249 for. I don't see how these can be $300 better.
      • deleted 6y ago
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    • caractacus 6y ago
      > Those are some of the most expensive headphones I've ever seen You should hang around head-fi sometime if you think these are expensive...
      • selykg 6y ago
        Oh, I know there's more expensive out there, I should've been more clear, when I said "Some of the most expensive" I actually meant outside of the crazy cans that people buy that call themselves audiophiles lol.
    • peteretep 6y ago
      Guess it’s going to at least somewhat depend on how important spatial audio turns out to be. My QC35s are on their last legs, and I’m certainly pretty curious about these having just ordered some AirPod Pros...
      • selykg 6y ago
        Just a heads up, Bose often give you a discount, or did when I last worked for them about a decade ago, if you trade in your old headphones for new ones. If it's just the ear pads, those can be replaced for like $20.
        • peteretep 6y ago
          Thanks for the heads up, that’s worth checking out. Think I’m on my fourth set of ear pads at this point!
    • xwdv 6y ago
      QC3 came out in 2006... That price today would be about the same as Air Pod Max in 2020 dollars.
    • fernandotakai 6y ago
      if you are looking for an over the ear, top notch, bluetooth headset, i would recommend the Sony's XM4. i have a pair, they are amazing -- the noise cancelling is so good, it kind of gives me a bit of vertigo.
• crispyporkbites 6y ago
  Yes these are expensive, but I understand that these will work seamlessly with your iphone, macbook etc. Compared to my bluetooth Sony headphones, where pairing is always hit and miss, I can see why someone wearing headphones all day and tranistioning between apple devices would see this as a reasonable purchase. Plus you get the virtue signalling of being "rich"
  • stetrain 6y ago
    I have the Sony XM4s which support multi device pairing. It works fairly well, but every time a new device connects the headphones say loudly into your ear "BLUETOOTH. DEVICE. TWO. CONNECTED." ... over whatever you were listening to. And you can't turn that feature off or replace it with a simple tone.
  • lethologica 6y ago
    This is the only reason I'm interested in buying these despite the price. Pairing my original Bose QC35's to my Apple devices is annoying and sometimes requires a seperate app all together just to get to work. Seamless pairing across all of my devices is a huge plus for me.
• mgkimsal 6y ago
  Let me connect multiple to a MacBook and that's our home theater system listening done...
• jarym 6y ago
  I'm sure they're great. But outta my budget. I'm very happy with my Sony WH-1000XM4 that are about $200 cheaper.
• Tomdarkness 6y ago
  At $549 they better be rather impressive. The same amount of money can buy you some fairly high end conventional headphones.
  • neom 6y ago
    How are these also not simply high end conventional headphones?
• deleted 6y ago
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• headmelted 6y ago
  $549 a pair. Yikes. I'm fairly confident I've reached my own personal peak for Apple pricing. As a spectator I've no doubt these will sell massive numbers but I'm curious to learn what the market will bear for Apple's products.
  • Slikey 6y ago
    Especially if you consider the inherent issues with Bluetooth call quality. No matter how good their microphones in them are, they will mangle the audio back to the 90s. $549 seems entirely detached and I am baffled, even as an ANC enthusiast.
    • Cthulhu_ 6y ago
      I did hear Rumours (I never looked into it) that there will be an upcoming feature in bluetooth that will allow for higher quality. I believe currently the tradeoff is audio quality vs latency. My bluetooth headphones (Sony) switch between high quality but ~500ms latency (guess), to low quality but no noticeable latency when doing calls.
      • slawwwc 6y ago
        True, Bluetooth 5.2 is introducing LE Audio that will use a new codec (LC3) and should enable higher audio quality also for calls when microphone from the headset is in use.
    • stetrain 6y ago
      Whatever protocol Apple uses for calling with Airpods + Apple devices isn't the same as the usual bluetooth call codec.
      • newhouseb 6y ago
        Yeah, they use their own proprietary protocol over Bluetooth Low Energy (which you can basically use as a raw packet transport). For some reason the Bluetooth consortium was years behind the ball in standardizing a high quality bidirectional audio transport, versus the phone-quality "Hands Free Profile" and "Headset" Profile using 90s era codecs (uni-directional is fine since it uses a higher quality "Advanced Audio Distribution" profile). The consortium launched Bluetooth Low Energy audio last year (or maybe this year?), but I'm not sure if it's actually shipping in anything yet.
• motoboi 6y ago
  OH, my… What are you doing Apple? Why so many products with so many versions? Will you do an Apple Printer again? Please don't.
  • eej71 6y ago
    I loved the Image Writer II. But maybe that's not the printer you were thinking of. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ImageWriter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ImageWriter
• shmoogy 6y ago
  When the mention of the magnets came up, I figured this was a bit more than I wanted to spend. What a bummer, but I hope it ends up being real audiophile grade hardware.
• reeestandard 6y ago
  Looks good but that price is $200 higher than the Sony WH1000 or Bose 700. Also that case is hilarious, I guess they don't fold at all
  • pgt 6y ago
    If you paid $549 for headphones, you want people to know. These are like the Gucci handbags of headphones.
    • bnj 6y ago
      I'd be the one who bought these and only ever used them at home out of fear of other people seeing that I'd bought them. Reflecting on your comment made me realize I'm never going to be driving a fancy car, I feel like I've lost something today.
      • andrewnc 6y ago
        This comment gave me a good chuckle. I appreciate the honesty and self reflection
  • deleted 6y ago
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  • ThePadawan 6y ago
    > Also that case is hilarious, I guess they don't fold at all Interestingly, it looks like the usual Bose folding method, just stopped halfway through.
• duncanawoods 6y ago
  That bikini carry case... https://www.apple.com/newsroom/images/product/airpods/standard/apple_airpods-max_smart-case-blue_12082020_big.jpg.large.jpg https://www.apple.com/newsroom/images/product/airpods/standa...
  • lethologica 6y ago
    That looks woefully inadequate to protect an expensive set of headphones.
    • leokennis 6y ago
      Yep, no way I am stowing away headphones into a suitcase or work bag using this piece of fabric as a "case".
  • saagarjha 6y ago
    Can’t unsee :(
  • elicash 6y ago
    I'm secure enough with my masculinity that I don't mind carrying something that looks like a purse if it were useful. But I'd never want to carry my headphones in my hand. When not in use, when I'm out (say I'm about to check-out at the grocery store and don't want to be rude), they hang on my neck. I'm not going to want to carry around an empty carrying case at the same time that I'm using my device so that I can neatly put it away when NOT in use. Maybe overnight, if there's some benefit? I suppose if they were in a suitcase, it could prevent damage? But airports are one of the main places I love over-the-ear headphones, so they wouldn't be in my bag. Also, if in a bag, you wouldn't want the carrying strap because it just adds bulk.
• _wldu 6y ago
  The price is ridiculous.
• clolege 6y ago
  These are quite appealing for their spatial audio support, without seeming quite as throwaway as the in-ear AirPods [0]. I wonder if they'll end up sounding like beats? [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23826070 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23826070
  • jankotek 6y ago
    $500 for headphones is fine, if they would last 20 years. AirPods look like flimsy plastic stuff. For portable heapdhones they are not water resistant, do not fold and not even come with hard case. And given apple, there will be no spare parts and manuals. Get Sony, much better value.
    • dsr_ 6y ago
      My Sony MDR7506 is... 22 years old. Cost about $100 back then. Looks like Amazon will sell you a new set for a little less than that. 11,500 reviews. I've replaced the pads twice, at a cost of about $10 each time.
      • clolege 6y ago
        Right - I gifted a pair of MDR7506s to my girlfriend the other day. I love that they include an insert telling you exactly how to take the entire headphone apart - I don't think I've owned a pair like that before. But, I broke out my B&O H6s to do an A/B test after giving them to her, and I think it was a mistake? The H6s are of course in the next higher price price bracket, but the 7506s did not compare musically to them at all. As much as I appreciate the repairability of the 7506s, I think would recommend something a bit more musical as a daily driver.
        • dsr_ 6y ago
          The Sony is basically flat (by mass-market standards), with a little emphasis in the "presence" area, 3-4.5KHz. The B&O adds a bass boost from 20-50Hz, and then an upward curve from 400Hz up to 3.5KHz, then a bigger bump from 6.5KHz and up. From that, I expect you found the B&O to bring a deeper thumping bass and a sparklier sound to cymbals. It's almost certainly more exciting than the Sony.
• dsalzman 6y ago
  Including the Digital Crown from the Apple Watch demonstrates the power of Apple designing their hardware in house and amortizing new components over many products.
  • ChrisRR 6y ago
    So... a volume knob?
    • dsalzman 6y ago
      It’s not that it’s innovative in its function. It’s innovative in the speed of design and ability to leverage parts in their supply chain they already have.
      • ChrisRR 6y ago
        I wouldn't say it's innovative to use a component you already have, just standard engineering practice. If I had a component in house that already fit the spec, then I 'd consider that before sourcing a new component or designing a new one.
  • manderley 6y ago
    No other product before has had a twistable button!
    • sixstringtheory 6y ago
      Many used to, but how many modern "smart" devices do? It's all touchscreen now. I'm glad they're keeping this tech around.
• panpanna 6y ago
  I thought these looked familiar, but it was just the metal frame reminding me of jabra elite/ evolve. Usually when apple creates a new product they are very careful to give it a distinct look that is immediately identifiable from competitor products. --- Entirely off-topic: Looking forward to seeing people who make 1/3 of what I make (and my salary is pretty average) telling me they are a winner because they snagged one of these babies on release day. We are so easily fooled...
  • koenvdb 6y ago
    Why does it matter to you that people "who make 1/3 of what you make" buy this device on release day? That's just pathetic.
    • deleted 6y ago
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  • klmadfejno 6y ago
    The implication there is that if someone made twice as much as you did and made a similar brag, that they wouldn't be foolish. You may not think these are a good value purchase. I don't either. But flaunting your income as a sign of being a winner is an ironically similar fallacy.
• vecr25 6y ago
  Thanks I’ll stick with my Sony WH 1000 XM 3s, but I’m curious to see how they hold up and how can they justify the almost 200$ difference between the current lineup from Sony and Bose
• flyinglizard 6y ago
  Will it rattle?
  • jacobush 6y ago
    or blend?
• mattgreenrocks 6y ago
  I worry this will drive up prices in the headphone market. Sennheiser and other players may see that there's way more money to be made by simply marking up what they have.
  • headmelted 6y ago
    I dunno. You and I know what Sennheiser headphones are, but does Joe? I expect Apple wants to market these to people looking for fancier Beats.
  • fastball 6y ago
    Couple problems with this line of thinking: 1. You are assuming these don't offer a better experience than Sennheisers et al. and that the only reason they are more expensive is "because Apple". Maybe true, but also hard to justify contextually given Apple just released the best bang-for-your-buck laptop on the market. 2. The audio market is pretty competitive. If Sennheisers up their prices without improving anything, someone else (with equivalent quality) will come along at Sennheiser's old price point. I know I just bought some $50 noice-cancelling headphones that work for my purposes (and have USB-C fast charging).
• jdxcode 6y ago
  Top selling point for me is that volume knob
• emsy 6y ago
  These look magnificent. I’m Looking forward to a couple of years when the battery is dead and you can’t change it without breaking the glued case. This is similar to the reaction I have to announcements of new Google services due to notorious discontinuation. Edit: judging from the explosion view, it does look to feature actual screws, so I'm cautiously optimistic they might last longer than 3 years, although you never know if they didn't add authentication to the battery to prevent it from being user-servicable.
  • mgraupner 6y ago
    One of the things I criticise the most of Apple, the whole AirPod line is a disposable product. If the battery dies you can throw it away. I like Apple products but I will never own any pair of AirPods or any other product where you can dispose of it when the battery is done. This is a shareholders dream, but an environmental nightmare.
    • fastball 6y ago
      I don't know of a single wireless earbud that has a replaceable battery.
      • SebastianKra 6y ago
        Many of Sony's In-ears including the WF-1000XM3 not only have replaceable, but also standardized batteries. https://www.firstxw.com/view/235586.html https://www.firstxw.com/view/235586.html And that with space left over. If Apple really wanted to make this product sustainable, they could.
  • schappim 6y ago
    Apple will service the battery out of warranty for $79USD.
    • mgraupner 6y ago
      That is not true, you will get a new AirPod, the battery will not be "serviced" and the old ones will be thrown away. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/10/08/everyones-airpods-will-die-weve-got-trick-replacing-them/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/10/08/everyon...
• klmadfejno 6y ago
  These look pretty ugly to me. I'm sure they work well but I don't see them one-upping airpods. Airpods have a key feature in that they can be put in one's pocket or purse.
  • stetrain 6y ago
    I'm guessing it's not meant to one-up airpods. It's a higher margin device for a smaller audience.
  • avlewis 6y ago
    That has been the sticking point with me. Having a case that attaches them to my keyring has proved to be a great convenience.
  • YetAnotherNick 6y ago
    If you are not from that time, airpod looking ugly and weird was the common theme among most the reviews. Then somehow they became status symbol. There was some video or some blog which argues that Apple making weird looking products intentionally, as they want to use that as symbol rather than some other competition like product.
    • klmadfejno 6y ago
      Eh... airpods look weird, but they're also fairly discrete. You notice the little stems, but they're easy to ignore. This is a pretty big honking device. I'm not sure I buy airpods are a status symbol either in most people's eyes either. I like airpods, but does anyone really make a judgement based on choice of earbud? I doubt it.
  • formerly_proven 6y ago
    Somehow Peltor ear-muffs manage to look nicer than this. I hope no one shows Rams one of these, he might just die of shock how tasteless they are.
  • peteretep 6y ago
    If I buy these, it’ll be in addition to my “stuff in pocket and go” headphones. I listen to music while working literally all day, and my needs for the item that provides that is pretty different from what I want at the gym or if I am meeting a friend and want something for the journey.
• deleted 6y ago
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• jacobush 6y ago
  There's something about the colors that made me fell ill to my stomach. The rose color, it's just too much Apple. And I like my rose colored iPhone. What next, Apple t-shirts? How much and how large Apple branding are we expected to flout? At least the iPods are rather small and the phone fits in the pocket.
  • Lio 6y ago
    I have a similar feeling about some of the other design features such as the carrying case and the watch style "winder". They seem overly fussy and lack cleanness IMHO. I simply conclude these are not designed for me. I think I prefer my current QC35s I do note though that they are not really branded as such. It's just that Apple's styling is very distinctive. My Bose headphones for instance feature an embossed Bose logo on each ear.
• thih9 6y ago
  I don't see a mention of any socket, mini jack or micro jack; this is predictable but still unfortunate. I wish it was possible to use these with non bluetooth gear. Update: I see a mention of the lightning connector (for charging) at https://www.apple.com/airpods-max/specs/ https://www.apple.com/airpods-max/specs/ . I wonder if lightning to mini jack adapter would work with this product.
  • egil 6y ago
    > AirPods Max require Apple devices running iOS 14.3 or later, iPadOS 14.3 or later, macOS Big Sur 11.1 or later, watchOS 7.2 or later, or tvOS 14.3 or later. Not even standard bluetooth.
    • CubsFan1060 6y ago
      I suspect that's referring to the "additional" features. If they are like the smaller airpods, they'll pair with any bluetooth device.
• lostgame 6y ago
  Is there still latency? E.G. when I open GarageBand, and hit a piano key - is there still a bloody whole second delay before I hear it in my ‘AirPods Pro’ with a ‘custom’ W1 chip on a device supposedly made for creatives? No, really. For creators, this might be the worst value proposition I’ve ever seen. $550 USD for headphones that can’t operate without latency. If it wasn’t for the wheels or the stand on the Mac Pro, I would say this is the worst value proposition I’ve seen, period. I’ve seen mock-ups of an iPhone 13 without a headphone jack. Will they just stop offering GarageBand, or any other music creation apps? Apple’s hit a new low. For real.
  • eXpl0it3r 6y ago
    All Bluetooth headphones have some delays. If you want no delay, then you should really be looking at other options. But maybe the Apple ones have a larger delay.
  • dbbk 6y ago
    I don't think you are ever going to have zero-latency Bluetooth, whatever brand you buy. Just use a cable.
    • lostgame 6y ago
      Sure. Oh, wait. I can't, not with these more than $500 headphones. It's honestly just embarrassing.
      • pram 6y ago
        3.5 mm stereo to lightning exists. you keep saying it can't have a physical connection, when it literally can
      • dbbk 6y ago
        You can... you can plug a cable in. Same with the other competitors from Sony, Bose, etc.
  • whywhywhywhy 6y ago
• SigmundA 6y ago
  Really love my AirPods pro but need more battery life, but not a big fan of over the ear and that price... However if they can really deliver on quality, battery life and comfort for me $549 is worth it now days with WFH and using my AirPods constantly.
• mabbo 6y ago
  Remember the days when Apple was breaking new ground, pushing the limits? The iPod was fundamentally a game changer in the music space. The iPhone caught Blackberry with their pants down and they never recovered. Macbooks were a level up in so many ways to their competitors. It was worth paying extra for the device Apple was selling because everyone else was years behind them. Now it's wireless headphones with technologies that have all been done before, for more than $500. Or the same iPhone as last year, with a slightly better processor. Why pay more for that? I mean, sure, they seem high quality enough- but $549 level high quality? Come on Apple, surprise me. Make me feel like the iPod announcement again.
  • Cthulhu_ 6y ago
    And (at least in my recollection), Apple's devices - like the ipod mini / nano - weren't THAT expensive, compared to the rest of the market and what they offered in terms of storage space and the like. The new generation of Macs are also err... reasonably priced for the performance? I think? I mean if they really do beat high end Macbook Pros on the same (real life) workload, they're offering a ton of value for money.
  • jaimex2 6y ago
    Why? They know people will buy whatever they make regardless.
  • stetrain 6y ago
    Man it's been a whole 3 weeks since the M1 Macs shipped and now we're back to "Remember when Apple did exciting things?"
    • meragrin_ 6y ago
      What's exciting about the M1 Macs? Personally, I've never been excited about anything from Apple. Everything always seems to be about locking you into their stuff. If it excites you, good for you. It is not for me and it is not for a lot of people.
      • 6y ago
• swiley 6y ago
  So the headphone jack in the pinephone is worth $550... that means the phone is worth -$350.
• weakwire 6y ago
  Any idea how they charge? Is it usb-c lighting or wireless?
  • timemct 6y ago
    It looks like they come with a USB-C to Lightning cable, so one can assume that the headphones have a Lightning port on 'em for charging.
    • clolege 6y ago
      Is it possible that they might actually be able to accept an audio signal over the cable as well? It would be nice for those that have lower-latency needs.
  • bouke 6y ago
    Somewhere down the product page: > Simply charge via Lightning connector.
• reedf1 6y ago
  > Using the gyroscope and accelerometer in AirPods Max and iPhone or iPad, spatial audio tracks the motion of a user’s head as well as the device, compares the motion data, then remaps the sound field so it stays anchored to the device, even as the user’s head moves. I'm not sure I want this? What does this actually mean?
  • decafninja 6y ago
    It sounds like an unnecessary overengineered feature to me. Could be something Apple is testing and "pre-staging" for the future though. VR/AR?
    • scoopertrooper 6y ago
      Could be fun playing a gyroscopically controlled video game on an iPad. You'd turn your body to the right, the in-game camera would pan to the right, and so would your ear's position within the sound scape. I'd imagine that could have quite an immersive effect.
    • whywhywhywhy 6y ago
      I just presumed it was existing work from the AR goggles that shipped early because the goggles are not ready yet. No idea why you'd create it otherwise.
  • akmarinov 6y ago
    They have it on the AirPods Pro as well, basically it makes it seem that the audio comes from your iPhone or audio source, even when you move. It’s cool but I’m not sure why it exists.
  • peteretep 6y ago
    It means surround sound in headphones
    • akmarinov 6y ago
      No, surround sound is a different thing. This actively makes it seem like the sound is coming from a certain place, even though you have headphones on.
• mcintyre1994 6y ago
  > AirPods Max come with a soft, slim Smart Case that puts AirPods Max in an ultralow power state that helps to preserve battery charge when not in use. This is a bit confusing, why would you need an ultralow power state for your headphones? Is this just so you don't have to turn them on and off? It seems less convenient to put them in and out of a bag than to just turn them off (and preferably fold them) when you're not using them if you need to stretch the battery life.
  • stetrain 6y ago
    I'm guessing the case has a magnet that tells the headphones to turn off completely, instead of being in standby looking for a sensor to indicate you have put them on. I agree though that the case doesn't seem like the best way to accomplish it. Put a switch on them, or allow them to fold in such a way that the folding/unfolding can power on the device.
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  • ziml77 6y ago
    It could just mean ultra low power in the same sense as any other modern device. Sitting in a state where it can react to a power button press.
  • diebeforei485 6y ago
    Maybe a Find My iPad style feature? Using their crowdsourced bluetooth-based system.
• lma21 6y ago
  A few months ago, I experienced sort of an inflection point regarding the love I had for Apple products when my iPhone broke for no reason whatsoever: it worked perfectly during the day, no physical scratch or anything, woke up and I noticed that the phone was hot, i opened it, tried to close some apps and I noticed that it's quite slow. I opened the settings and kept getting notification popups regarding storage and saying that the storage is full. I decided to reboot, and the iPhone did not start after that. No reboot, restore, no safe recovery, nothing worked. Took it to Apple Support, told me the same things I found online "hardware failure" and proposed to "fix" it by buying a new phone of the same (2.5 year old) model for $570. Nope. I'll never buy an 'un-repairable' headset for $549.
  • nojito 6y ago
    >I'll never buy an 'un-repairable' headset for $549. What other headphones are repairable at that price point?
    • diffeomorphism 6y ago
      Pretty much all of them?
    • emsy 6y ago
      A lot of high-end headphones have interchangeable earpads, cables and sometimes even headbands.
    • formerly_proven 6y ago
      Beyerdynamic cans for ~120 €: replaceable padding, replaceable headband, replaceable cord, replaceable transducers. Only the last two need tools.
      • colourgarden 6y ago
        Which model? I'm torn between getting the Sennheiser PXC 550-II or Beyerdynamic Lagoon ANC.
• llbowers 6y ago
  I wonder if this will eat into their Beats market. What is Apple’s long term play with Beats anyway? These are beautifully designed and no doubt they will pair seamlessly with other Apple devices, but that price tag seems...audacious to put it nicely.
  • maguay 6y ago
    They may be taking Beats low market, as this year’s Beats Flex have AirPod tech at $49, leaving Apple branded headphones with the premium market.
  • uptown 6y ago
    According to some reports, they plan to introduce a lower-end "Sport" version eventually: https://twitter.com/jon_prosser/status/1314485686809120769 https://twitter.com/jon_prosser/status/1314485686809120769 Not sure how that factors into their Beats strategy though, but prices would basically be converging at that point.
• ape4 6y ago
  We just invented headphones - its almost like an April Fool's joke. (After the 737 Max crashes I would have thought "Max" would be depreciated)
  • wincy 6y ago
    I mean they sell the iPhone 12 Pro Max, it’s consistent with the rest of Apple’s current branding.
  • engineer_22 6y ago
    Re: Max I thought the same thing - but I guess Apple is exceptional.
• ChrisRR 6y ago
  "Stunning"? God I hate apple's marketing BS Just like whenever they call any minor upgrade "revolutionary"
• clustrfunk 6y ago
  Not the biggest fan of the design nor the lack of options for colors. Also, no further technical specs makes absolutely hard to justify the hefty price point.
• jc__denton 6y ago
  That price is ... insane. I think the only saving grace will be spatial audio and if it's waterproof. They also seem a bit, well, ugly for an Apple product. I was patiently waiting for these. I bought (and loved) the original AirPods. I really wanted noise cancellation for flights, but the AirPods Pro hurt my ears no matter what I tried. I waited through each Apple "one more thing," hoping these would surface. I eventually went with Sony's WH-1000XM4s. The Bluetooth is a little slow, but they're pretty stellar otherwise.
  • bitcharmer 6y ago
    The price point is not insane as long as you find enough idiots to buy them at this price level.
• perardi 6y ago
  I am a total apologist for the price of the AirPods and AirPods Pro. I have tried a lot of wireless earbuds. Jabra, Samsung, Jaybirds, Anker…and none of them have the combination of bullet-proof pairing, keeping a connection, audio quality†, and sound cancelling†. †(AirPods Pro, for these.) But hoo boy, $550 is a lot for more traditional headphones. The price premium for earbuds feels right to me, as you have to do the engineering to jam as much battery, antenna, and circuitry into a teeny tiny space as possible. But big ol’ can headphones? C’mon, you have so much more volume to work with, it should make them easier to design and manufacture, not harder.
  • londons_explore 6y ago
    > bullet-proof pairing, keeping a connection, audio quality That'll be because Apple products use a custom protocol to iPhones, whereas all other brands have to use basic bluetooth, which has crappy sound quality, arbitrary restrictions, poor handling of weak signals, lots of delay, and is hard to pair. Apples walled garden doesn't allow third parties to design or use their own protocols, or use apples protocols, so it's far from a level playing field.
    • enw 6y ago
      Irregardless of the platform, is there any other brand with better Bluetooth UX than Apple?
      • londons_explore 6y ago
        The industrial wireless microphones and headsets used in TV production are exceptional for sound quality and delay. They require a special license to use, and require dedicated hardware (ie. they won't connect to a phone). Shows whats possible if walled garden and regulatory constraints are lifted though.
        • patrec 6y ago
          > They require a special license to use, What on earth? Because of the transmission spectrum they use?
• deleted 6y ago
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• wincy 6y ago
  > AirPods Max require Apple devices running iOS 14.3 or later, iPadOS 14.3 or later, macOS Big Sur 11.1 or later, watchOS 7.2 or later, or tvOS 14.3 or later. Wait, can these only be used on Apple devices? Or is there a Bluetooth fallback. I guess to spend so much you’d be a little crazy to just want a vanilla Bluetooth experience.
  • abrowne 6y ago
    https://www.apple.com/airpods-max/specs/#footnote-8 https://www.apple.com/airpods-max/specs/#footnote-8: > AirPods Max can be used as Bluetooth headphones with Apple devices using earlier software and with non-Apple devices, but functionality is limited. Which is the same thing Apple says for the "basic" AirPods FWIW: https://www.apple.com/airpods-2nd-generation/specs/#footnote-9 https://www.apple.com/airpods-2nd-generation/specs/#footnote...
  • wmeredith 6y ago
    It's not vanilla bluetooth, but you can just plugin into an audio jack with a lightning adapter: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMX62AM/A/lightning-to-35-mm-headphone-jack-adapter https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMX62AM/A/lightning-to-35...
• layoutIfNeeded 6y ago
  >incredible high-fidelity audio You mean a headphone that doesn't support lossless audio? Lol!
  • lethologica 6y ago
    Give your average person that will buy these the same song in .flac and .mp3 and they won't notice a difference anyway.
  • willbutler 6y ago
    This. There doesn't seem to be any mention of a lossless codec over Bluetooth 5.0. Why spend so much effort on sound quality on the device if the source is lossy?
• nbzso 6y ago
  Apple: Made in China - 549 USD, no thanks. If I need something that is "Max" I will buy this - made in Germany. https://www.amazon.de/beyerdynamic-Amiron-Over-Ear-Kopfh%C3%B6rer-Klang-Personalisierung-Akkulaufzeit-anthrazit/dp/B079P4348N/ref=pd_vtp_23_1/260-5043884-4896613?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B079P4348N&pd_rd_r=a787d80b-f29b-43c7-9c89-9da3c0871748&pd_rd_w=96G2M&pd_rd_wg=De6Pm&pf_rd_p=b82fdab5-714d-44f8-bd2d-596f98bc21e4&pf_rd_r=6ZFZR8QB38EHNK1PZEMC&psc=1&refRID=6ZFZR8QB38EHNK1PZEMC https://www.amazon.de/beyerdynamic-Amiron-Over-Ear-Kopfh%C3%... People still don't get this thing. Its simple : Big Corporations are taking big profit by using China as manufacturing, China is not a democracy, China is not free market economy, buying products completely made abroad is killing off a middle class and financing oppressive regime of CCP. Big companies have enough cash to relocate manufacturing in democratic countries. As a consumer, you can search for products that are made locally or with minimum Chinese parts.
  • m000 6y ago
    Practically, not choosing China at this moment is impractical, to say the least. But I would applaud sites doing teardowns if they started cataloging the provenance of the major components used in each product. This would be a first step to allow consumers make more informed purchases in the future.
  • bserge 6y ago
    Sadly, I think many people get it, they just don't care.
  • cactus2093 6y ago
    I guess it might surprise you to learn that China is a big place capable of manufacturing both high quality and cheaper, low quality products, There’s a really interesting Netflix documentary American Factory that depicts one particular example, and puts on display a lot of the complicated factors you’re talking about. But the interesting thing is after like 2 years of training and tweaking processes, the American location of this auto glass factory just can’t for the life of them produce a product as high quality as the Chinese factory. See also: most other Apple products, for more examples of high quality things manufactured in China. Also, call me crazy but why should I care about random Midwestern Americans any more than random Chinese people I’ve never met? Globalization has raised an astounding number of people in China out of poverty in the past 20 years which is an amazing feat. Not wanting to support the country because of the governments human rights abuses is totally fair, but you seem to be mixing that in as just one reason among all the other protectionist rhetoric. Lastly, to pretend that companies are giant infinite pools of money that are choosing to hold out on everyone is just silly. If they were to manufacture things in more expensive places, then you’d be looking at $700 headphones instead of $550. If you’d rather support other companies, then great, do that! That’s the beauty of having so many choices.
• Terretta 6y ago
  Interesting choice of 40mm driver instead of 50mm. That can make a mass-ive difference in sense of realism for lows. Perhaps they think the Adaptive EQ makes up for it. I’ve been disappointed in headphones that aren’t 50mm for electronica, jazz, pop, movies, and gaming, fine with 40mm for classical, choral, and television.
  • Forge36 6y ago
    I have a $10 pair of in-ear headphones, I also have Bose QC15, and a ~1000 put into a home theater system. I love music. The convince (and lack of guilt over breaking numerous $10 pairs) wins out, and I don't notice enough for it to matter.
• eertami 6y ago
  $549!? That puts it in the same price category as: Sennheiser HD660S, Audeze LCD-1, Beyerdynamic DT1770/1990, Grado RS2e, among many many others. Honestly, I don't understand why you would buy these when there are a lot of established professional audio companies offering better sound at a cheaper price. At least airpods have a unique selling point in their portability and ux but I don't see how this benefits over-ear cans.
  • clolege 6y ago
    Are there any other offerings for wireless spatial audio? That would be the main selling point for me.
    • butterisgood 6y ago
      Airpods Pro were upgraded for spatial audio (firmware I guess), but they're earbuds.
    • throwaway287391 6y ago
      I'm surprised spatial audio is a selling point for anyone on a product this expensive. Have you tried it? I have AirPods Pro and I spent £6 on a month of Disney+ just to try out the spatial audio feature when it came out (which already felt fairly ridiculous but what can I say, the HN comments were too enticing). I used it for 5 minutes, rotated my head around a bunch to maximize the effect, thought "hm, that's pretty neat" and then went on with my month never using it again. It really felt like a gimmick to me but I'm wondering if I'm missing something now...
      • clolege 6y ago
        Unfortunately, I haven't been able to try it out yet. I'm not particularly interested in the TV watching use case (I don't watch TV), but I think that there could be some cool AR use cases that I would love to play around with. Such as a Zombies Run sort of game where you could hear the zombies behind you, or approaching from other streets. Not sure if any such applications exist yet, though?
• arihant 6y ago
  This might be the first music product from Apple that I would be skipping. Spatial audio needs to come to Apple TV and the MacBooks before these become worthy of price. And major services need to implement it. Netflix on Mac with Spatial audio with nothing inside my ear would be worth $549 to me.
  • rmorey 6y ago
    I feel like they have to got to be releasing a new Apple TV with support for spatial audio soon, if not today. Airpods Max, Fitness+, like come on
    • ianai 6y ago
      Other comments are suggesting the tech in these may be for upcoming AR tech. I could see the price making more sense with a “killer app” for the added tech.
  • codq 6y ago
    This first Gen is for conspicuous consumers on Zoom calls. I’d wait for the second or third before I’d consider investing into this.
• deleted 6y ago
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• AlanYx 6y ago
  Has anyone seen which codecs this supports over Bluetooth? They're not listed on the tech specs page.
• ddmma 6y ago
  It’s a fashion icon brand with communication capabilities with high price positioning, like luxury merchandise.
• r0fl 6y ago
  I know nothing about headphones, nor do I want to invest any time learning about headphones. I’ve had a bunch of Apple products that have never disappointed me in the last 10+ years. I’ll buy these overpriced headphones because an extra $200 for a product I’ll probably use for 5 years will not break my bank account.
  • Benjamin_Dobell 6y ago
    I can certainly understand when going to make a purchase wanting to choose a reliable brand. However, if you know nothing about headphones, why do you suddenly need an expensive pair now that Apple are selling them?
    • baxtr 6y ago
      Why “suddenly”? As I read the comment, OP transfers his previous experience with the brand to the next product? That’s how I buy too.
      • eloisant 6y ago
        I guess most people already have a brand of expensive headphones they like, or don't use expensive headphones.
    • chrisseaton 6y ago
      You don't need to know anything about headphones to appreciate good sound quality, comfort, and connectivity.
      • drcoopster 6y ago
        And for most people, sound quality is largely subjective. What "sounds good" to person A might sound like garbage to person B.
    • shotta 6y ago
      You answered the question. It’s because Apple is selling them. Apple has a unique ability to tell me what I need. Reality Distortion.
• kumarvvr 6y ago
  549 USD. Wow. I don't judge Apple. They are free to price what they want and people can buy what they want, but the pricing for this product seems expensive. For 149 USD more, you can get the latest 256 GB, M1 based Mac Mini. For 50 USD More, you can get a new iPad Air. For 149 USD More, you can get an iPhone 12 These headphones are really expensive.
  • diffeomorphism 6y ago
    You can also get both the Sony 1000XM4, the current best noise-cancelling overear wireless headphones, and the Sennheiser HD560s and still have $60 left.
• kishinmanglani 6y ago
  I'm a sucker. I just bought them. I love being able to switch between my iPhone and my Mac on my AirPods. I have the Sony MX3's, and they are great. I don't like toggling between devices and having it automatically connect to my last used device, have to disconnect it from one, blah, blah. This is what Apple does. They raise prices. People are stunned initially. Others follow, then those prices are the norm. iPhone was considered overpriced when it was released. I think people have always thought the same about Macs, iPad, Apple Watch, etc.
  • saberdancer 6y ago
    Toggling between devices really needs to be implemented better. Wouldn't it be possible for headphones to have a button to switch "inputs" between devices they are paired to? I've come to use NFC to switch quickly to my phone, but I can't really NFC back to my PC as easily. Several awkward clicks and menus later I can start using them on my PC. Not a huge deal sure, but for a premium device I'd expect something more streamlined.
    • turshija 6y ago
      I own Bose QC35II, and they definitely have a button to switch between paired devices. They do the switch automatically based on whether the sound is playing on your devices, but if both devices are playing audio at the same time you need to switch them manually by pushing the switch to Bluetooth position once (if you push and hold it goes into pairing mode, but pushing and releasing it quickly does the toggle).
      • saberdancer 6y ago
        It's possible I just don't know how to use it, so I'm hoping someone can shed some light on it. I have XM4s.
        • jc__denton 6y ago
          You can turn on multipoint and switch sources in the app, but it's clumsy. AFAIK, there's no way to do it on the device itself (and that's disappointing). I loathe having to disconnect one source to connect another.
• sneak 6y ago
  Really quite curious to see how these stack up against the $263 Sennheiser HD1s, my current favorite over-ear noise cancelling bluetooth headphones, which sound lovely (my daily drivers are the HD820s, for reference). I can't really speak to the price (like others in the thread) until I hear them. It's possible they're $1000 headphones for <$600, much like how insanely high-quality the HomePod is for its price. It's also possible they're just some Beats in a metal case. Impossible to tell without actually using them. Looking forward to trying a pair.
• ghevshoo 6y ago
  And it’s still using lightning :(
• mosselman 6y ago
  I have no idea what they sound like, but they look incredible. I doubt I'll buy them at that price, but I am happy to see that people are designing these kinds of things.
• 0x445442 6y ago
  Headphones are the new sneakers.
• gwd 6y ago
  Actually I'm surprised nobody's asking about a wired headphone jack. Without one, you won't be able to watch movies on planes, which is a pretty significant use case for over-the-ear noise-cancelling headphones. Probably gaming as well -- I don't do a ton of gaming, but StarCraft basically doesn't work over Bluetooth (probably due to buffering requirements).
  • deleted 6y ago
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  • red2awn 6y ago
    Well if you are the type of guy to buy this headphone, you'd probably also own a macbook to watch movies on.
  • AlanYx 6y ago
    They quietly released a wired lightning to wired headphone jack cable today to go with these, for use on planes, etc.
  • cjbconnor 6y ago
    There's a $35 lightning to 3.5mm you can buy as an addon
  • kristofferR 6y ago
    Bluetooth is enabled while in Airplane mode, so I don't get your point frankly. Gaming latency is true though - when I use Bluetooth headphones on my TV, Game Mode gets automatically disabled.
    • gwd 6y ago
      I was talking about watching movies on the seat-back in-flight entertainment system. I don't those will connect to bluetooth headphones yet -- at least not on the class of seat that I buy. :-)
    • ascagnel_ 6y ago
      Apple rolled out a low-latency audio feature a few weeks ago -- if you have a HomePod/pair of HomePods set as your primary output on your ATV4K, they're able to stay in sync with the TV even when you're doing something where any audio latency would be noticeable. For example, if I'm streaming a game from my PC, video and audio are in lockstep (which you wouldn't expect to see normally, since the audio would get 1-2s of buffer from the video) and there's no noticeable input latency (which you'd see if the device was holding back the video to build an audio buffer).
• jjkaczor 6y ago
  Will stick with my Parrot Ziqs (gen1) for awhile longer at that price...
• ryeguy_24 6y ago
  For someone that already has some decent over ear headphones, I read the entire press release thinking that these would be great to get. I was pegging them at $249 to $399 max. $549 shocked the daylights out of me! This is beyond too expensive for me to consider. Maybe it will come down over the years but there must be a very slim market of people who can pay that. I’m not usually shocked by an Apple price but that’s nuts. Few hundred dollars more and you can get a state of the art M1 MacBook Air and some amazing non-Apple headphones to go with it.
  • ziml77 6y ago
    That's also the range I had the price at in my head. $550 is far too much for headphones. It's not quite as insane as the ridiculous monitor stand or Mac Pro wheel pricing, but it's not far off. I don't really get what their market is here.
    • asciimov 6y ago
      Apple is a lifestyle brand now. Lifestyle brands aren't cheap as you want everyone to know just how much someone spent for a pair of headphones.
    • mantap 6y ago
      It's more insane than the monitor stand. That monitor stand is for a monitor that is aimed at professionals working on HDR content. It's a very low volume, specialised part, $1k isn't entirely unreasonable. These headphones will be mass produced in huge volumes. It's a consumer product. Just a very expensive one.
      • guax 6y ago
        I disagree, the stand it is entirely unreasonable, it will sell, but not because of reason, its the only option for now, you're cornered having to add 1k to the 6k purchase because of it and production companies will sign off. This headphones will sell for the reason that people don't want to/have time to research headphones, they know this will integrate well with what they have and will justify it since is also a fashion/social class statement. They wont sell because they're headphones, they'll sell because they complete the apple wearable ecosystem.
• mrtksn 6y ago
  Oh, I find it fascinating how the audio gear industry has taught the consumers on how much money you are supposed to spend to have audio experience at certain level. Pay attention on audiophile arguments, they will talk in terms of money(i.e. 150$ headphones vs 500$ headphones) when talking about audio quality. I always find the audiophile market to be borderline fraud. They sell CD demagnetisers, ceramic cable lifters and all sorts of items that don't make any sense whatsoever. Apple is my hero in that regard, where you actually pay for the product experience instead for being part of some deeply troubling subculture where passionately debating about very expensive cables and gadgets without ever being able to pass a blind test on the claims is the norm, almost like cargo cult. The most eloquent writer wins the debate and thy have lengthy take down articles with graphs clearly showing that the mor you pay the smoother the curves become. I would't usually have problem with such things but they often slide into extremism and quickly pushing you on the money-spend-for-audio-performance scale where you are simply supposed to check you bank account to see what sound quality you are about to get. So god help you if you are buying an audio equipment and you decided to do some research.
  • LudwigNagasena 6y ago
    Why only borderline? It is a market that preys on delusion.
    • si1entstill 6y ago
      Do you think it preys on delusion more than the "high end" spaces of other niche markets? I think the same kind of upsells occur in spaces like sporting gear, bags and luggage, computer peripherals, etc. Hell, I think even fine food and wine are similar in how they project an artificially high "taste ceiling," if you will.
      • bun_at_work 6y ago
        This is a strange comment. It starts like you're trying to argue something, but the argument isn't really present. You're saying "You think the audiophile market is bad? Why complain about that market when there are these other markets that do the same bad stuff?" What's the point? Does one bad industry ruin them all? Should we not have any?
• m000 6y ago
  Do AirPods Max support NFC for turning on and pairing? Sony supports it already since MDR-1000X (first-gen 1000-series), and it's the best thing since sliced bread.
• ashneo76 6y ago
  You know how I easily switch my audio across devices? I unplug and plug in. That simple. I am still using my panasonic headphones from 12 years ago. I got them for $120.
  • pram 6y ago
    wow! 12 years... and only $120?? you should be very proud! what a remarkable achievement, thanks for sharing
• pcdoodle 6y ago
  After my experience with the gen 1 pods that I bought for exclusively for SITTING ON HOLD that never worked right (crackly, pairing sucks, won't wake up, etc.), no way in hell will I give apple any of my money.
• salimmadjd 6y ago
  For those of you who follow the industry closely. Is this a prelude to Apple’s VR glasses? > Using the gyroscope and accelerometer in AirPods Max and iPhone or iPad, spatial audio tracks the motion of a user’s head as well as the device, compares the motion data, then remaps the sound field so it stays anchored to the device, even as the user’s head moves.
  • Pulcinella 6y ago
    It seems like it, at least as a trial run if the audio features. You don’t need the gyroscope and accelerometer to do HRTF (e.g. like the PS5 does, for example). Indeed it actually doesn’t make much sense to me for a static screen like watching a movie on an iPad or TV. I don’t want the audio to shift every time I slightly move my head or body into a more comfortable position. Those features do make sense for hypothetical AR glasses where you move around a space with objects emitting sounds. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-related_transfer_function https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-related_transfer_functi...
  • AndrewStephens 6y ago
    Ding Ding Ding, we have the correct answer. These headphones are way over-engineered even by Apple standards. There is no reason for headphones to have a gyroscope/accelerator combination except to enable VR or AR audio in conjunction with their existing ARKit. From my reading of the quoted paragraph, it appears these headphones will play system sounds (alerts, siri, etc) in such a way that they appear to emanate from the paired device - a very neat trick. If the headphones can do that then it is a short jump to making sounds appear to come from ARKit objects moving in real space.
    • ericpauley 6y ago
      Keep in mind the Airpods Pro also have a gyroscope and accelerometer.
  • metafunctor 6y ago
    Nah. At least on the AirPods Pro, there appears to be no real positional tracking. Try this. Watch something on, say, an iPad with spatial audio enabled. Turning your head left and right moves the audio so it appears to be coming from the iPad. Works great. Then turn your head, and keep it turned for a few seconds. The audio will gradually slide to where your nose is pointing, and will not stay anchored to the device for long. It seems to me it's assuming that if your head is still, you must be looking directly at the screen, and recalibrates. The position estimates seem to be computed using accelerometers and not absolute positional tracking. Alternatively, it is actually tracking absolute positions but assumes that you want a "centered" audio experience even though the iPad is to your side. I think the former explanation is more plausible. Also, try moving laterally to the iPad, so that you are no longer looking directly at the iPad. It will still keep your audio entered.
• userbinator 6y ago
  The name sounds like a shoe.
• bonaldi 6y ago
  No wireless charging, less space than a Nomad. And even more expensive than an iPod.
• lal00 6y ago
  Would they work with a PS4 or Xbox? That would make them more attractive to me.
  • coolandsmartrr 6y ago
    It should be compatible with standard Bluetooth 5.0. It would be attractive to use with PS5 that has a SPU specifically for spacial audio.
• qz2 6y ago
  My 20 year old Sennheiser HD25’s are tutting at this release. I will keep them for the desk and my existing standard AirPods for outside.
• partyboat1586 6y ago
  On first take I thought this was satire. Looks like one of those fake mockups of new Apple products.
• patagonia 6y ago
  “AirPods Max require Apple devices...” Whelp that was the push I needed to move to a different phone manufacturer.
• helen___keller 6y ago
  I can respect apple's strategy. For someone like me, who likes convenience but isn't particularly obsessed with sound or sound quality, this release exists to frame Airpods and Airpods Pro as "value" options. Personally, however, I'm actively working on moving away from this ecosystem. I've felt like every purchase is a lose/lose for a while now. I can't deny that Apple products offer a superior experience in almost every category, but feeling like I'm getting ripped off every time I buy is miserable, that's just not how I want to live life. I used to love apple stores, now they just remind me of nearly-mandatory $200 storage upsells.
  • ziml77 6y ago
    This was my thought as well on one possible strategy they were trying here. Make the in-ear AirPods and their Beats line look like a good deal. Apple continues to be highly successful, so chances are they do know what they're doing with the pricing here.
  • csomar 6y ago
    Linux and custom-built hardware are a class of their own if you are looking to move. You can have the full experience by developing on Linux with cheap and powerful custom boxes and have a MacBook Air/iPad and an iPhone for the rest of your everyday stuff. At least that's my plan and the path Apple seems to be taking.
  • rusticpenn 6y ago
    I am moving from Android to Apple ecosystem. I got an IPAD air 2 in 2015-16 and it still works without any hiccups, I had changed 3 Android phones in this time. Happy with my iPhone SE2 now.
• zcw100 6y ago
  I think this is actually a fantastic place for Apple. I'm happy to trash Apple where appropriate and I've got plenty of complaints. I think Apple does it's best when the integration of hardware and software is really important and there is a very low tolerance for, I won't say bugs, but issues. They're headphones. I want to put them on and they need to make noise. I'm not dealing with connectivity issues, battery issues, etc. Sure they're $500 but when Apple gets it right I'm happy to pay $500 for something that works than $300 for the first try that I eventually stop using because of some issue or another then another try at $350 for something a little better only to finally throw in the towel an pay the $500 to Apple that might not be perfect but hits it on enough points that I want to use them. Battery, I need to be able to easily and quickly know what the status is and I need to know that if I plugged them in before I go to bed I'll be good to go all day, the next day and I don't have to think about charging. Connectivity. When I go to use them I need them to connect and work. No fiddling around with loss of connection or not connecting in the first place. With the spatial audio they're actually cheap if you figure I'm done with any Dolby Atmos, 9.1, 7.1, 5.1 etc stand alone setup. I'm watching movies with this. I'm tired of all the speakers, decoder, amp, wires, sub, constant upgrades. Compare this to even the least expensive stand alone 5.1 system and it's a very inexpensive alternative.
  • cactus2093 6y ago
    Having paid $350 for Bose QC3 headphones 4 years ago, that I use every day but sometimes have to fight with when e.g. my MacBook Pro keeps trying to steal focus even though i shut it and am trying to use the headphones with my phone now, etc. I completely agree. Paying a bit more for something that just works as well as my airpods do, assuming that this delivers, is totally worth it. On top of that, I expect the sound quality will be a big step up, and the spatial audio might be really cool.
    • theNJR 6y ago
      I see you’ve never used AirPods between multiple devises. It’s become a lot better in the last year, but that’s only because it started out infuriating. QC3s were much better than AirPods at multi device up until a recent update.
• gcatalfamo 6y ago
  The level of rage and indignation in this thread is a good reminder for when you are making your next product: people are bad at understanding when a product wasn’t made for them.
  • neom 6y ago
    Indeed. Every time Teenage Engineer comes out with something that isn't a synth, the comments section on IG is always "No one will buy this over prices junk" - go to the website: Sold Out.
• css 6y ago
  Looks like they do support wired playback. If you add them to your cart, Apple's website suggests this[0] add-on: > Lightning to 3.5 mm Audio Cable (1.2m) > Connect AirPods Max to your iOS or iPadOS device. Or connect to 3.5mm audio ports in your car, on an airplane, and more. After AppleCare, this optional 3.5mm cable, and tax, it comes out to just over $700 USD. [0]: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MR2C2AM/A/lightning-to-35mm-audio-cable-12m https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MR2C2AM/A/lightning-to-35...
  • Zenbit_UX 6y ago
    Does anyone else think it's hilarious they release a pair of headphones with a 3.5mm jack after courageously dropping it from all their phones a few years ago? Is the brave move in a world without headphone jacks.. to bring them back?
    • danappelxx 6y ago
      The headphones have a lightning port (just like iPhones). This cable is to connect the headphones to a 3.5mm port (ie MacBook).
      • Zenbit_UX 6y ago
        The image clearly shows a 3.5mm jack so not sure what you're adding here: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/images/product/airpods/standard/apple_airpods-max_top-red_12082020_carousel.jpg.small_2x.jpg https://www.apple.com/newsroom/images/product/airpods/standa...
        • danappelxx 6y ago
          You almost had me fooled :) That's not a 3.5mm jack, that's the top of the headphones. See[1] where the crown is on the top. [1]: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/images/product/airpods/standard/apple_airpods-max_hero_12082020_big.jpg.large.jpg https://www.apple.com/newsroom/images/product/airpods/standa...
  • johnwalkr 6y ago
• huntermeyer 6y ago
  First Apple product I've seen that doesn't have a giant Apple logo on it.
  • omni 6y ago
    I don't see a logo on the original AirPods or Pros either
• tyingq 6y ago
  I would really love to see the results of a blind comparison to a range of sub $100 products. $549 for headphones is just wow.
• olufnaese 6y ago
  At least they don't have a big glowing apple on each side.
• Paianni 6y ago
  This product will do about as well as the iPod Hi-Fi I reckon.
• sorenjan 6y ago
  This uses Lightning, so I guess that confirms that iPhone wont switch to USB-C for at least a few more years.
• etempleton 6y ago
  I think these look beautiful and are likely well constructed. The lack of a standard 3.5 mm audio jack is disappointing for a product in this class, but to be expected from Apple. The questions will be sound quality. A lot of people on here are already stating that they don't know why anyone would buy this product when they can get better sounding products for a similar price. I don't know how anyone can know how good these sound yet. I personally assume these will sound quite good as Apple has made a number of nice sounding products over the years. With that being said, at $550 it is competing with audiophile grade headphones so it needs to at least be roughly in that class. If it is even roughly in the ballpark of other $500 headphones it is going to be a no-brainer for a lot of people due to the integration with the Apple ecosystem and the stylishness of the build.
  • AlanYx 6y ago
    >The lack of a standard 3.5 mm audio jack is disappointing for a product in this class, but to be expected from Apple. They quietly released a lightning to 3.5mm audio jack cable today to go with these, for use with legacy gear. It's $35 and is somewhat over-engineered (allows bi-directional usage, containing both an ADC and a DAC).
    • etempleton 6y ago
      Thank you. I missed this part of the news. It is a nice addition for those that need it.
    • ilikepi 6y ago
      Interestingly, that cable seems to use a 3-conductor (TRS) 3.5mm connector as opposed the usual 4-conductor one found on EarBuds. So I guess that implies it doesn't carry mic input?
      • AlanYx 6y ago
        It's an unusual cable in that it's bidirectional, but it's not full duplex. So there's no mic input, but you can use it for both audio input and output (e.g., plane audio jack to headphones OR iPhone to vintage car head unit). I strongly suspect a lightning-to-lightning connection (e.g., headphones to iPhone) would be full duplex though.
• traceroute66 6y ago
  The hilarious thing about this thread is that all the so-called audiophiles on here sneering at Apple's attempts at audio are the same people who will go out an happily waste their money on all the lovely snake-oil that is prevalent in the audio industry. Oxygen free gold-plated cables, special power cables etc. etc. ...
  • bitcharmer 6y ago
    Or there are commenters like you that would happily throw ANY ammount of money just to get their hands on a new piece of gear with apple logo no matter how shitty it is...
  • codq 6y ago
    Audiophiles sneer at that stuff too. This isn’t marketed at audiophiles though. This is marketed at middle management and execs who have been saving their restaurant money throughout COVID and want to conspicuously flout their success on Zoom calls. These are not designed for music. They’re designed for Zoom.
    • traceddd 6y ago
      Is a $500 anything really a flex for execs? They could be wearing an Audemars Piguet and I wouldn’t think anything of it.
  • atwebb 6y ago
    That's not what I'm seeing, are we in the same thread? It is putting these in that same sphere. Most point out that there are very, very competent competitors around half the price and are looking for what makes these different (the snake oil as you say).
    • rusticpenn 6y ago
      I guess most of the difference comes from UX
  • Toutouxc 6y ago
• bitcharmer 6y ago
  You can downvote me into oblivion but I don't think apple gear (especially headphones) deserves HN's main page. What happened to HN???
  • codq 6y ago
    Apple releases often signal industry shifts. For better or worse, they’re influential in one way or another, and worth the discussion. Mass adoption of Spatial Audio may spark new startup ideas, for example.
• wilsonfiifi 6y ago
  I guess Apple is officially the new Bang and Olufsen when it comes to pricing! My goodness...
• deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
• egypturnash 6y ago
  “AirPods Max come with a soft, slim Smart Case that puts AirPods Max in an ultralow power state that helps to preserve battery charge when not in use.” Because apparently just “turning them off” is too normal I guess?
• blantonl 6y ago
  For all the complaining about the pricing here, just set a reminder to yourself for 1 year later, when the pandemic has waned and some workplaces begin to return to normal. Then take a visual survey of how many people are wearing these in those hip open office development workspaces. You'll see the pricing didn't matter at all. You'll probably be wearing a pair yourself when you do that visual survey.
  • hajile 6y ago
    But my Shure IEMs offer better sound isolation and better sound quality and cost less money.
    • myspy 6y ago
      I love me some Shure, but it's to early to trash these new headphones before having listened to them.
      • jojobas 6y ago
        It's also early to hype them like there's no tomorrow, or preorder stuff that nobody you should trust has seen, but there we are.
        • buzzerbetrayed 6y ago
          > It's also early to hype them like there's no tomorrow Who is doing this? I basically haven't seen anyone overhyping them. In fact I would say that 95% of what I've read has been very skeptical so far.
          • jojobas 6y ago
            This HN post about a headphones announcement has more than 1200 comments. Have you seen that before for any other headphones? How is this not hype?
        • jmull 6y ago
• darkbatman 6y ago
  It's crazy how in India its approximately $850 which is huge.
• cactus2093 6y ago
  It uses a lightning cable??! You’ve gotta be kidding me. So if you buy these and then buy the new iPhone rumored for next September your $550, less than a year old high-tech headphones will need to charge with a deprecated, proprietary cable that you’ll have to keep around just for them.
  • cruano 6y ago
    >then buy the new iPhone rumored for next September Those rumors have been there for the past 5 years
• gigatexal 6y ago
  Cool headphones but it’s clear Apple can’t name things in original ways anymore.
• manicstoic 6y ago
  If any Apple engineers are reading this, for the love of god please make the low battery notification volume adjustable. Thank you.
  • bydo 6y ago
    This, please. Every time they run down to ten percent it's like being stabbed in the eardrum. I bought a pair of Sony WH-1000XM4s on sale a month or two ago in large part for the 30-hour battery life (yes I could use wired headphones and have an infinite-hour runtime; I have a very nice pair of Sennheisers for that. I don't always want to).
  • ninkendo 6y ago
    Or just make it like a quarter of its current volume. I don’t think there’s been a single time that fucking notification went off where it didn’t make me physically jolt in my chair.
• willis936 6y ago
  What a step back. There are no technical benefits to over-ear compared to in-ear and yet they charge more. This makes me lose hope that the Airpods line would improve over time. The Airpods Pro (I still cringe at the stupidity built into the name) at least had strong technical merits. The only step they missed on was keeping them open back. You lose the ability to have cavity resonance for low frequency frequency response. The phase issues associated with this are imperceptible at low frequencies. If they coupled that with tuning filters with microphones (flatten response and linearize phase up to an acceptable amount of delay: ~10 ms) then they would have a great product on their hands. Instead they made a piece of jewelry.
• xbar 6y ago
  Pass. I do not need bigger, heavier Airpods nor a subpar audiophile-on-the-go experience. I live in a home in the suburbs. I do not wear audiophile headphones in public. I bought a Schitt Bifrost/Valhalla and Grado PS1000e combo 8 years ago. I use them every day with my Macbook Pro. Except for that year that High Sierra broke all USB audio stuff, it has been great with my Mac. I use Airpods and Airpods Pro for Apple bluetooth benefits. They are great.
• ksec 6y ago
  Edit: Looks like Availability differs greatly across the world. Also wish HN had strikethrough markdown. Keeping the comment below intact. And while 460 Comments are shitting on its Pricing. Shipping time is 12 Weeks for Green, 10 Weeks for Blue, and 8 Weeks for other colours. This is looking like the original AirPod launch where supply wont catch up to demand for quite some time. They are selling like hotcakes. Yes, it is expensive, but it also has 9 Microphones, 9 Sensors and two H1 Chip. So it is more expensive than a B&W PX7, it certainly does offer a lot more functions. Cant wait to see the reviews.
  • MisterPea 6y ago
    I'm in the west coast and I see 1 week delivery time?
• yza 6y ago
  Am I the only one who is not a fan of their design? I get that there might be a slight reference to the legendary Koss SP-3 from 1958, but come on - they don't have to look THAT antique. https://coolmaterial.com/roundup/history-of-headphones/ https://coolmaterial.com/roundup/history-of-headphones/
  • MrBuddyCasino 6y ago
    I think they look a bit too sterile for something that people "wear". Very corporate, not very soulful. Especially the big blank aluminum surface. The head band also looks rather plasticky. The british stuff, eg from B&W, has more elegance. Combine with nordic minimalism and maybe some natural materials like leather and it would be more appealing. But I'm sure they are technically superior.
• Thlom 6y ago
  A bit on the expensive side for me, but still might consider it. Only thing I'm concerned about is the battery. My airpods are more or less dead now after 2 years and 8 months. They were not crazy expensive, but they worked fine up until the last few months. The Max is almost three times as expensive. If the battery stops working after 3 years I don't think it will be worth it for me.
• ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago
  > AirPods Max are available to order starting today for $549 Ow. It is Apple, after all...
• csomar 6y ago
  My AirPods died recently. At $159 and 2 years of aggressive usage (probably 3-4 hours every average day), I think they paid nicely for their price. That should average for around $0.06/hour. If these have the same lifespan, they should average to $0.2/hour. A bit steep for me to "just buy it" or not consider other brands. But I'll wait for the reviews, it might be a good deal. Interestingly, I can't find any information on how much the batteries could last. This is basically the lifetime of your AirPods Max since (I guess) you won't be able to change the batteries. +: also, these doesn't replace the AirPods but complement them. So it's more like $250+550 now.
  • edhelas 6y ago
    Bought some Shure SE215 for 100€ 7 (!) years ago, still working like the same day, perfect audio. But it's not the "Apple© Experience"
    • csomar 6y ago
      These should compare to the AirPods and also they are not wireless. In that regard, if I compare them to the AirPods, then Apple pricing is competitive.
  • lm28469 6y ago
    > My AirPods died recently. At $159 and 2 years of aggressive usage (probably 3-4 hours every average day), I think they paid nicely for their price. That should average for around $0.06/hour. They'll still end up in a landfill somewhere. The batteries aren't replaceable, which makes them purely consumable with a 2-3 years lifespan at best (tiny ass batteries + heavy usage = multiple cycle a day). Spending $549 on a battery powered gadget which will cycle several times a week and for which you can't get a battery replacement is such a weird move to me. This is peak planned obsolescence, battery powered + non serviceable should be an instant red flag to anyone. For comparison, my dt770 and shure se215 are going on their 6th years with no sign of ageing whatsoever.
• somehnguy 6y ago
  I was very interested in upgrading my Sony WH-1000XM3s for a moment until I saw the price. I love my both my AirPods and XM3, they're completely different headphones with completely different uses cases. They're both fantastic at what they do. There is no way these are $300 better than my XM3s however.
• bondarchuk 6y ago
  Nice use of knitting, I wonder what the machine for that looks like.
• tartrate 6y ago
  What are the best sounding wireless ANC headphones today? I do not care about price.
  • plyptepe 6y ago
    Sony WH-1000XM4 or Bose 700
• bdcravens 6y ago
  Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in tech who doesn't like over the ear headphones. I've always preferred earbuds, and fortunately, both iterations of Airpods fit my ears great. I also have never worked in an environment where I need to shut the world out just to get things done.
  • elicash 6y ago
    This isn't the main benefit, of course, but I do like that as a bonus my current over-the-ear headphones keep my ears warm during winter. There are cheaper ways of solving that problem, which is why I describe it as a bonus, but it's top of mind because it's cold today where I live. And while it's not a benefit this year for me, I also like them on flights.
• andor 6y ago
  No Bluetooth LE Audio. Less battery than a Sony. Lame ;-)
• buildbuildbuild 6y ago
  Calling an English expert. Is “AirPods Max” singular or plural? Help. The AirPods Max is a headphone. AirPods Max are headphones. I saw two AirPods Maxes.
  • elicash 6y ago
    Best question in this thread. With regular AirPods, they work individually. You don't have to use both. So it's helpful to think in terms of each one being its own thing, even though they're paired. Not the case here. I'd imagine Schiller would say that AirPods Max is both singular and plural, given this tweet on iPad Pro: https://twitter.com/pschiller/status/725791354769399808 https://twitter.com/pschiller/status/725791354769399808 I'd add that over-the-ear (so, one item) "headphones" have a similar issue as AirPods Max. I'd probably call two of these products "two pairs of AirPods Max." (Well, actually I'd probably just say 'two pairs of headphones' but that's a dodge.)
    • TimTheTinker 6y ago
      I think “two sets of AirPods Max” communicates clearly without tongue-twisting. I know naming things is hard, but I think they’ve really painted themselves into a corner here, so to speak.
  • wmeredith 6y ago
    I think “AirPods Max” would be singular. AirPods is the product line name. Max is the model. So you have AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max. If you needed to buy 10 of these you would say your were buying 10 pairs of AirPods, AirPods Pros, or AirPods Maxes. Honestly though, it's English we're dealing with, so there are more exceptions than rules, anyway. Muddy the waters further with proper nouns and branding considerations and basically the only people who can tell you what is "right" would be Apple's marketing dept.
  • deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  • twodave 6y ago
    I feel like it's easier if you add an apostrophe: Airpods' Max
• jordache 6y ago
  Do not buy their 1st gen product for at least 6 mos to 1 yr. Especially for these audio products which are not Apple's domain expertise All the airpod pros (ear buds) during the 1st year of manufacturing suffers from a rattle issue that develop over a short period of time. Many people have warrantied 3-4 pairs of these.
  • elicash 6y ago
    If you include Beats, then Apple has a ton of experience on staff shipping over the ear headphones.
• satysin 6y ago
  The price is high at $549 however given Apple's proven audio engineering I will give them the benefit of the doubt on sound quality on par with similarly priced headphones from Sennheiser, etc. I mean have you heard the speaker quality on the 16" MacBook Pro?! Literally no other laptop sounds as good. My biggest concern is if they are user serviceable. I have a pair of Sennheiser that cost around £700 when I bought them 16 years ago. Granted they are not wireless but I can and have repaired them with parts directly from Sennheiser. I doubt I will be able to do that with the AirPods Max which is a concern. At this price point I expect them to last at least ten years and there is no chance a battery will last that long so if it is not replaceable I can't see why I would buy these over an alternative in the same price range. Sure they have some "cool" features but that does not justify a product that will most likely have a battery in need of replacement in 3-4 years becoming worthless. Edit: OMFG They use Lightning for charging not USB-C?! WTF are Apple doing :(
  • nikisweeting 6y ago
    Six years in and my BackBeat Pros have over 1000+ cycles and still last 15+ hours out of their original 24hr. I don't notice a functional difference, I still recharge them about every 3 days. It's not 10 years but the experience of owning a lithium-battery powered pair of headphones has not degraded as much as I was expecting. Hopefully the Apple batteries are replaceable though, it would really suck to have a $550 pair of headphones that you have to keep tethered to a desk.
    • satysin 6y ago
      That is a good experience that unfortunately I didn't have with my daughters Beats that lasted ~3 years before the battery was down to around two hours. Granted this was before Apple purchased them so perhaps things have improved since then. My daughter now has a pair of Sony XM3 that she loves but she will no doubt want these. Lucky for me she is now 18 so can buy her own expensive headphones :D
    • stevehawk 6y ago
      Has Apple made a product in the last five years with a replaceable battery with minimal, or even moderate hassle?
• com2kid 6y ago
  > Spatial Audio This is something I want standardized across headsets so multiple vendors can add support. Imagine spatially aware zoom calls, being able to turn towards or lean it to someone's voice. I love high quality audio, but I'd pay $550 for a better video conferencing experience. As an aside, I wonder what the latency is on these? Many BT headsets can have a 200+ms latency, which contributes to how horrible video calls are.
• deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
• bborud 6y ago
  I've spent a lot of money on earphones over the last 10 years in order to try to find a pair that doesn't suck. Audio quality is perhaps fourth on the list of deciding factors. It doesn't matter how good headphones sound if they are painful to wear, have impractical misfeatures or are too expensive. If these fit my head and I can wear them for 12 hours straight, they may be worth the money. I'd pay $550 for that. However, this is Apple. Which means it is likely they will find some clever way of making these headphones obsolete. Or they will break in some unfixable, or expensive to repair, way. I think I'll pass.
  • ascagnel_ 6y ago
    > However, this is Apple. Which means it is likely they will find some clever way of making these headphones obsolete. Or they will break in some unfixable, or expensive to repair, way. It's Apple -- they'll keep iterating on it, come out with a better model at the same price at right around the same time the battery wear in your current model will make you choose between an expensive battery replacement or just getting the new version.
    • ascagnel_ 6y ago
      I can't edit the comment at this point, but out-of-warranty/AppleCare battery replacements are $80USD.
• arvinsim 6y ago
  If this sell out despite the price, then it just proves that people will buy anything as long as it has an Apple logo on it. Marketers and influencers out in full force.
  • neom 6y ago
    Sorry to be pedantic but there actually isn't an apple logo on these. :)
    • alphachloride 6y ago
      We both know you're not haha
  • tommit 6y ago
    They've already sold so much that you won't get them on the 15th any more, at least in Germany. They're much pricier than I have anticipated. It doesn't look like I'm going to buy one any time soon. However, this "proves" nothing more than what we already knew: Apple sells expensive products that one can expect to work (close to) flawlessly for a long period of time, and a lot of people like that.
• isuckatcoding 6y ago
  If this beats the MICROPHONE noise cancellation of the Bose QC3,then I’m in. My Bose are great at cancelling noise for my ears but super crappy for the other person when I’m on any kind of call (you can hear every little sounds from outside).
• jamil7 6y ago
  Audio quality aside does anyone else find these... Kinda ugly? Not the most important thing but I expected something different.
• newsbinator 6y ago
  My original airpods became impossible to use after about 18 ~ 24 months, since they don't hold a charge for more than 10 minutes of playback. What would be the usable lifetime on these? Can the batteries be replaced?
  • onedr0p 6y ago
    You don't have to even ask, it's Apple, they aren't going to let you replace jack shit in any of their devices easily.
• khanmaytok 6y ago
  XD
• kipchak 6y ago
  My understanding is current Airpods don't have the ability to do Activation Lock. Given The Max's pricing I wonder if it would be prudent to add some similar feature. Back when Beats were big they were allegedly a pretty common target of theft.
• frusciante19 6y ago
  man did I miss me some Apple bashing! this thread delivers!
• benbusby 6y ago
  > AirPods Max come with a soft, slim Smart Case that puts AirPods Max in an ultralow power state that helps to preserve battery charge when not in use. Instead of, you know, a power button.
• Hamuko 6y ago
  $549 is way too much to pay for a pair of AirPods Max when you can buy both Sony WH-1000XM4 ($278 on Amazon) and Apple AirPods Pro ($249) for less and still have money left over for a burger. I own a pair of WH-1000XM3s and have thought about the AirPods, since the Sonys are not that portable for all situations. Even if the AirPods Max are really good, I still don't see them being the Sony + AirPods Pro combination.
• totaldude87 6y ago
  Just saw the product video, jeez the placement of that digital crown, almost in a head scratching position Also this one falls under using lighting, flip of a coin
• FpUser 6y ago
  >"... stunning over-ear design ..." I guess I have different taste as I do not see anything stunning in this design.
• antonyh 6y ago
  Mac/iOS-only rules these out for me before I even get to the price. I still believe in an open ecosystem for audio, and have the desire and need to use headphones on ANY equipment I choose. I use cans for video calls primarily, with listening second. Personal favourite is the original Sony MDR-1000X - they just work, and work anywhere, and have a cable if the battery dies. ANC is good enough. Sound quality is good enough. I'll buy a newer model when they cease to function. I also have a pair of PowerBeats Pro, and they are mediocre. Left only changes half the time. Audio quality middling. Ignoring the lack of ANC, they weren't worth the expense and poor value. It's left me with the impression that Apple/Beats haven't got a clue about sound reproduction. I also use Audio-Technica ATH-50 headphones, but rarely because no mic. Clear but too sterile except as studio monitors. Also a set of Y50s that were inexpensive but served well for lightweight on the go sound/voice. Better than the Beats that came after them. Price is not a good indicator when so much is spent on marketing.
  • matthew-wegner 6y ago
    You can use them as Bluetooth headphones or via the Lightning-to-3.5mm cable. I doubt anyone will buy any of the Apple audio products specifically for non-ecosystem devices. My guess is more folks decide to leave the ecosystem and end up using them elsewhere down the road.
• totaldude87 6y ago
  In another news : Apple confirms AirPods Max ear cushions will be sold separately, $69 “each” https://appletrack.org/apple-confirms-airpods-max-ear-cushions-will-be-sold-separately-69-each https://appletrack.org/apple-confirms-airpods-max-ear-cushio...
• xixixao 6y ago
  Much more important than price for me is comfort. These are whopping 50% heavier than Sony MXs, which I already rarely use because of the weight on the top of my head. The mesh looks like a definite improvement (the Sony’s top cushion gets hot from the pressure on my hair), but I doubt that will make up the huge difference. So this is first gen and is likely going to see a ton of improvement. I would: 1) drop the crown, just like on the Watch it will likely lead to accidental changes of volume and is kinda gimicky 2) replace metal with light solid plastic Next gen should tought “Half of the weight of previous generated for unprecendeted comfort”
• chimen 6y ago
  > AirPods Max require Apple devices running iOS 14.3 or later, iPadOS 14.3 or later, macOS Big Sur 11.1 or later, watchOS 7.2 or later, or tvOS 14.3 or later. That's no bueno. Are we to assume this only works with apple devices?
• dagaci 6y ago
  Again another Apple post.
• lameiam 6y ago
  Having just bought a pair of DT 1770 pros, I will be really interested to see how these compare. Also, how they will interact with my DAC/HeadPhone amp.
• newbie578 6y ago
  This is simply astounding! At this point, Apple has to be the most successful company (i.e. brand) in the world (and history)? I am simply amazed. I cannot stand the company, their fans, or their products, but you got to give credit where credit is due. They have managed to turn a tech company in to a luxury fashion company. That is every entrepreneur's wet dream. You keep getting away with customers like a bandit and people will still happily buy it. Just look at the people commenting in this thread where people are honestly admitting to paying a $200 markup just because it is Apple and they "trust" them, for a product they don't even know if they need. Amazing, to be able to achieve something like this is really wow...
• wait_a_minute 6y ago
  I paid some $350 for the latest and great Sony wireless headphones earlier in the year, that I returned a week later. Why? Because they were not polished. For example, pairing to both my laptop and my phone at the same time was a nightmare. I could not listen to music on my laptop and instantly receive phone audio if someone called me. I also could not listen to music on my laptop, then close the laptop and resume music on my phone with instant playback. I also found the Sony privacy policy on the headphones to be lackluster. If the Apple headphones are more privacy conscious and also make this experience across devices as seamless as they're promising, I'll pay for them.
  • bitcharmer 6y ago
    With all due respect, why do I need to care? This post is about AirPods. I have Sennheisers. Should I write about their up- and down-sides too? What about Bowers and Wilkinsons owners? What about Bose owners? I think we all know that Apple comes nowhere new the quality of these brands. Could we please focus on the actual topic of the post here?
    • wait_a_minute 6y ago
      I'm summarizing my perspective on the AirPods Max and their price tag and on which conditions I'd be willing to purchase them, by comparing Apple's claims about them to specific problems I had elsewhere.
      • t_von_doom 6y ago
        Just to follow up - as I think the person above was a bit harsh: I am a Bowers and Wilkins user and have the same pain points as you, it's a recurring and daily issue that I'll listen to audio from a home based device (laptop, iPad) and then have to unpair/re-pair to my phone when I leave the house. As a seamless wireless experience it falls short as it would be faster to have a wired set and simply plug it in to the device. Same again when I come home and want to switch back. Apple cleanly solves this. Whether that is worth a £200 premium on top of what I paid for my current cans is debatable, however if they can match or outperform the current NC family (PX, Bose QC, Sony MX4) I will be seriously considering them as my next pair
• thefounder 6y ago
  The lack of USB-C proves just how greedy Apple has become and how much it cares about its users
• clamprecht 6y ago
  What is a "beam-forming" microphone??
  • fastball 6y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamforming https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamforming tl;dr – you have multiple mics which allow you to improve sound quality (via a stronger signal from where you want it) + filter out frequencies that you don't want (i.e. background noise), without needing to do audio processing at a software level (though I'm sure Apple does that too).
• ptasci67 6y ago
  Every comment I have seen is flabbergasted by the price but I think there is a lot more interesting about these headphones. For example, they're clearly being marketed as "premium" over-the-ear headphones but they get the Airpods branding and not Beats? What does that mean for Beats? A 20 hour battery life beats my Bose 700s so it will be interesting to see if that holds up. Perhaps more jarring is the high price tag for what amounts to a cloth cover for a case but I suppose they are making the claim that you don't need to power it off?
• ouid 6y ago
  >"When stored in the soft, slim Smart Case, AirPods Max enter an ultralow power state that preserves charge." Oh man, wait til they hear about "off", it's gonna revolutionize the industry
• chad_strategic 6y ago
  As a retired Punk Rocker/EMO/Heavy Metal etc... $500 is just silly... I just need noise, anger, maybe little a music. "Give me convenience or give me death" once said a wise man...
• iamkdev 6y ago
  I listened the video on my Sony WH-1000X3 and it was amazing audio .
• emcq 6y ago
  It feels like we are seeing the result of diminishing returns with technology advancement. To make a product that Apple believes is significantly better than the competition they had to design a very intricate solution that includes: * High end look and feel not similar to the bulk of their products with lots of textile webbing and memory foam ear cups. These get way more wear and tear than normal electronics being exposed to sweat, sunscreen, etc. On top of that these must be safe for long skin exposure and comfortable across many head shapes and sizes. * High quality magnets with custom speaker design for low THD and large frequency range. * 2 custom ASICs built for sound processing and low power bluetooth and 10 audio cores each. * 10 microphone array for ANC and wind noise cancelation. * Multiple accelerometers + gyros head tracking with spatial audio. It you remove one of those components, I'd be surprised if Apple still shipped this. At least 40 people worked on designing and engineering this new headphone. There are not many companies in the world with the right kind of talent for this and Apple happens to be one of them.
  • enos_feedler 6y ago
    I don't understand the point you are trying to make. You lead with a statement that sounds like disappointment, but then build up to the engineering complexity involved. What are you trying to say? That this doesn't add up to a great product? How long have you been using them for?
    • mcdevilkiller 6y ago
      I think GP means that in the near future, significant tech advancements will only be able to be done by the tech giants.
    • birdyrooster 6y ago
      I think the parent commenter is saying that in order to make a superior product these days, you need an extraordinary amount of investment for R&D which can only be made up by selling it at volumes that someone like Apple can achieve. I think their comment is about bang for your engineering buck.
• dirtyid 6y ago
  I cannot believe that's the travel case they settled on.
• julius_set 6y ago
  Lol this costs more than a Xbox Series X or PS5 for comparison and with Xbox Game Pass you’re at same value as AirPods Max but with hours and hours of entertainment. This isn’t worth $550 probably $200-$300 around AirPods Pro price.
• nacho2sweet 6y ago
  I mean I will have to wait to see them in person but tbh they look pretty ugly, like a no-name luxury headphone you would see at bestbuy for $70 marketed to a female market. The price point is ridiculous but the Bose go for like $350? so I can see it I guess. Will have to wait till reviews. For me on quality to buy they would have to compete the entry level prosumer stuff HD-650 etc. But they are closed back, active noise canceling so it is a completely other market that I don't even have headphones in. For walking on the street or in a plane I am into chi-fi IEMs that are like $35 and compete with $500 stuff and just block out the sound through isolation.
  • Kaytaro 6y ago
    These are almost so plain looking they stand out. I wonder if that's what they were going for, since they could've easily stuck an apple logo in all that empty space. I'm sure this will go like any other apple product release - the internet will make fun of it but in real life it successfully becomes a fashion statement.
    • nacho2sweet 6y ago
      I mean true. These will be the biggest selling $500 headphones just because they are from Apple and people who never thought of buying $500 headphones are the people who are going to buy these, not people who are high quality audio hobbyists. They will try and get them on the heads of athletes getting off the plane just like Beats etc...
  • tomerico 6y ago
    One thing to note is that Apple is using a different pricing strategy in headphones then with their traditional products. They are pricing them higher, but are offering very deep discounts on sale. For example, AirPods and AirPods Pro sold with 30% discount everywhere past Black Friday. This would translate to a sub $400 price point on sale for the max, which put them in line with the competition from Bose and Sony.
• doubleorseven 6y ago
  Everyone is commenting on the price but what about the buttons on top of the ear cap? Do you grab the entire cap and press? I don't get this design. Am I the only one here how feels this needs to be answered?
• unixhero 6y ago
  Now with audio cable known as Mini Jack
• dmitshur 6y ago
  It’s hard to judge the price accurately without also knowing how long these will last before they need to be disposed of due to the wear and tear caused by regular use. If they cost $550 and last 1-2 years, that’s quite different from them costing $550 and lasting 3-5+ years. Edit: Relevant, AirPods Max Ear Cushions are attached magnetically, and replacements will cost $70.
• baby 6y ago
  Curious to know how they compare to the bose qc 35
• minusSeven 6y ago
  549$ for a new pair of headphones, so in India its probably going to release at 750$. I am currently using wireless earphones worth 30$. I am coming to the realization that I will probably never be able to afford many Apple products considering the way they price them.
• matthewfcarlson 6y ago
  I'm surprised no one is pointing out similar these are to the surface headphones. Pairing to multiple devices, ambient mode with adjustable noise canceling, playing and pausing music when you take them off or on, etc. I like some of the design of Airpods Max (the crown seems strange) and the sound quality is probably better.
  • gardenrewind 6y ago
    Those are all the same traits that the current Airpods Pro have. The new parts are form factor / additional microphones / etc
• turtlebits 6y ago
  Will be looking forward to trying these out, when available and safe to do so. IMO, Apple hit it out of the park with HomePod sound quality (for the size and price) and have high hopes for these..
• jbirer 6y ago
  With 550$, I can do a 1 week trip in Berlin or any city in Europe from the city I live in. I will pass.
• circa 6y ago
  Its nice that Bluetooth 5.0 lets someone else besides Sony use their lossless technology.
• haunter 6y ago
  lmao it's $792 in Hungary, EU. Yes we have the highest VAT in Europe but still. Not that I have a comment on HN salary like most people here so yeah, that's fucking expensive.
• kerhackernews 6y ago
  Extremely expensive.
• dwighttk 6y ago
  This is what I want these to do: let me seamlessly switch from my phone to my computer(tablet/watch) and back, or heck connect to all of them at the same time but let me easily control it. Bluetooth has gotten pretty good recently but I still have to tap and click a lot to switch my Sony headphones from my phone to my computer and back.
  • pastrami_panda 6y ago
    The Bose 700 from more than a year ago is already steps ahead here. You simply pause the music on the computer, and play something on the phone and it just works. It's quite something.
  • cptskippy 6y ago
    I have an older pair of Sony MDr-100ABNs and they handle transitioning from music on my laptop to voice calls from my phone fairly seamlessly but only because I've disable the headset profile on my laptop AND I have to ensure I connect to my laptop first so my phone doesn't steal the media profile. My partner has new WH-XB900Ns and they do not seem to suffer this issue but will only play output from one device at a time. I would be willing to pay a premium for headphones that could maintain active connections between multiple devices simultaneously and mux the audio into a unified stream.
• theincredulousk 6y ago
  How many products does Apple have to release before people stop trying to say It WiLl FaIl YoU CaN GeT SoMeThInG ChEaPer ThAtS BeTtEr. It is exhausting. For this round in particular, Apple is not competing against the Grados and Beyerdynamics of the world, they are competing against the Bose QCs and Surface Headphones of the world, particularly those with integrated mics. The vast majority of people buying these ~$300 headphones for daily general use/work/travel can afford ~$500 headphones as well, if they want them. So true to Apple, they do not reduce their addressable market with increased cost, but rather turn themselves into a status symbol among the consumers in their targeted market, due to the increased cost, not in-spite of it. The headphones will sound at least as good as the direct competition because it's not that hard to do among this class of headphones. Give them some common-sense credit. The build quality is already better from pictures, compared to all-plastic which dominates the market. The user experience will be better with Apple products than pure Bluetooth, as everyone knows. I'm not even going to touch the audiophile discussion. I'm an "audio person" as well, but again, exhausting discussion. Nobody knowledgeable about audio would use anything with noise cancelling DSP to achieve peerless audio quality. Nobody would use a tiny integrated amplifier and expect it to perform like a full-size discrete amp and wired headphones. Just like I wouldn't expect my Bose QC headset to compete on sound quality with my Sennheiser IE8s, I do not expect my IE8s to work as a headset or reduce ambient noise while selectively allowing voices though. It is pointless to bring up these comparisons, especially in the context of "sound quality units per dollar".
  • guax 6y ago
    Im just sad that this will make a new normal price range for headphones at the 500 instead of the 300 I find too expensive even today.
• ng-user 6y ago
  Do they have a USB-C or lightning port?
• dang 6y ago
  All: there are multiple pages of comments; if you're curious to read them, click More at the bottom of the page, or like this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25344762&p=2 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25344762&p=2 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25344762&p=3 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25344762&p=3 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25344762&p=4 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25344762&p=4 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25344762&p=5 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25344762&p=5 (yes, these comments are a workaround which will eventually self-destruct)
• triangleman 6y ago
  Aaron Sorkin needs to make a sequel to Steve Jobs immediately, where Tim Cook leaves him in the dust and changes the world with truly groundbreaking innovation.
• elwell 6y ago
  Oh, so this is why they moved the MBP headphone jack to the right-side: to incentivize me to get wireless headphones, avoiding the transverse plane obstruction of so many right-handed mice.
• type0 6y ago
  Here's the complete list of alternatives to this device: https://eldeforma.com/2020/01/27/airpods-alternativos-mas-baratos-lista/ https://eldeforma.com/2020/01/27/airpods-alternativos-mas-ba...
• herdrick 6y ago
  Boy, those just don't look right.
• deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
• fallingmeat 6y ago
  Nope, that's not gonna fit. for sure.
• ck425 6y ago
  Am I the only one who still doesn't see what the issue with an old fashioned 3.5mm pair of cabled headphones? I have a quality pair of headphones that works great, that I can easily plug into anything, except nowadays many phones. I still don't get what issue wireless is solving? All this talk of battery life and easily connecting is ridiculous. What's so horrible about a cable?
  • TylerE 6y ago
    The issue is simple. Getting rid of the cable. Cable SUCKS when moving. It's almways getting tangled or trying to pull the phone out of your pocket.
    • ck425 6y ago
      I've never had any issues. I've ran with cabled headphones and it's fine.
      • TylerE 6y ago
        I used to THINK it was fine too. Until I got a set of wireless headphones on a whim. Spoiler alert: It was not fine. It's a bit like wheels on luggage... you don't think you need them until you have one, then you never want anything else. Just to be clear though, I actually use my wired headphones way more... but that's because they're very very good and driven by a good dedicated amp. Portable is a whole different ballgame.
      • com2kid 6y ago
        I like wired headphones, but I've broken 2 expensive pairs due to the wire. So, 6 of one, half a dozen of another. I haven't pulled out my wired headphones in a long time, wireless is just so nice. Just one example, wireless with noise cancelling means I can listen to a podcast while cooking with the exhaust fan on high, while fiddling with my phone to check up on the recipe, without worrying about the cord.
    • robbyking 6y ago
      Exactly. I wear a single AirPod when going on runs, walks, and on my cycling trainer, and the difference is night and day; I don't know why it's so frustrating to have an earbud ripped out of your ear, but it is. My AirPods are one of the few things that if I were to lose I'd buy again immediately.
• hilyen 6y ago
  Bluetooth still sounds horrible compared to 3.5mm.
• extempore 6y ago
  Is there still no visual indicator that the wearer is in transparency mode? I am frequently in situations where I'm out in public and something warrants saying, where one or both of us are wearing airpods. Transparency mode would be worth so much more if other people were able to see that I can hear them, and vice versa. There have been so many improvements to apple devices which are obvious to anyone with an eye for what's missing but for which we've had to wait 5-10 years before they materialize, if ever. I am resigned to this being something I can look forward to in 2030.
• timwaagh 6y ago
  I scrolled all the way to find out the one thing im interested in with apple. How much do they take you for this time around. 549 or about 100 times what the Action store charges for headphones (with good sound). Sound is produced using magnets and a coiled up wire. Its the simplest electronic product out there by a large margin. Yet people are jumping at the chance to give apple money. I can only complement Apples marketing. They have done a phenomenal job.
  • kmonsen 6y ago
    They seem to be sold out for the next 6 months, so I guess it is a product people want.
    • timwaagh 6y ago
      Yes, that's kinda the point. You see Apple, you buy.
  • nine_k 6y ago
    Coils, magnets, and membranes: $30. The over-the-head hardware, wire, etc: $40. Usability, care for minor conveniences, thorough support in the rest of Apple products: $529. Some other companies tried to emulate this, with limited success. It's not just a problem of designing and executing (which are real large problems), but also a problem of forming a large base of devoted fans, and a reality-distorting field™ to keep them devoted. The latter cannot be done with smoke and mirrors, only with solid design and engineering, plus the right elitist-but-accessible marketing. This is easier when you are Ferrari or Tissot, but Apple managed to be almost price-competitive, and sell massive amounts.
    • timwaagh 6y ago
      Very much true. You cant see these out of context of the whole ecosystem. Making the best (according to many) computers, operating systems and phones means being able to sell headphones at a high margin.
• deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
• bluescrn 6y ago
  A good pair of analog headphones will last a decade or more if looked after. In fact, I've got a 20yr-old pair of Sennheiser HD580s that still sound decent (thanks to the availability of replacement cables and earpads) Do people really want to spend this much on something with a non-user-replaceable battery and with no analog input, no way to avoid the limitations of Bluetooth? Yeah, I get it, it's a fashion accessory not an audio product.
• robertlagrant 6y ago
  I hope it's not just me that was displeased at the different email formats of the listed press contacts.
• bjustin 6y ago
  I think it's a shame these don't support the new MagSafe charger. Plugging a cable into headphones is more of a pain than it needs to be. Charging my AirPods Pro by putting it on the MagSafe puck is really convenient, and makes me more likely to charge them from time to time than to wait until they're dead to plug them in.
  • qaq 6y ago
    that feature will be reserved for AirPods Max Pro
    • willis936 6y ago
      Not to be confused with AirPods Pro Max.
• abalashov 6y ago
  The folks who have noted that high price is seldom an obstacle and if anything, a feature for Apple insofar as it accessorises some kind of social signalling, are right on point. As a road cyclist, there's a 100% parallel here to Specialized S-Works bike frames.
• nokya 6y ago
  I have an undisclosed short checklist of items I secretly check for when interviewing a candidate. I cannot use this list "officially" as most of the entries are either illegal or at least unethical. One of these items specifically involves finding out whether the candidate uses anything Apple/Beats for music listening. Don't ask me why, it's a telltale sign on who I am hiring. When Apple decides to make its "airpods" even bigger and more visible from further away, I can only feel happier. p.s. Because there is so much dissonance in this thread, I will intentionally not mention whether I actually keep these candidates or let them go ;)
  • Zenbit_UX 6y ago
    Interesting. As someone who compiles their own source code to apk to get airpod pros working on my note9 how would I fair in your pompous evaluation? A) You're an android fanboy who can't appreciate good tech from non android manufacturers. B) You're an apple fanboy who can't appreciate good tech from Android manufacturers. C) You're agnostic in the tech wars and evaluate the best value for your own needs. Please select an option from my secret undisclosed checklist for evaluating commenter IQ in Apple HN threads.
  • chadlavi 6y ago
    Sounds like you pass on them. And if you're serious, it sounds like you're a terrible and biased hiring manager either way. You should stop doing this. Especially since you acknowledge that it would be illegal or at least unethical if you acknowledged it. Knock it off.
• jacobwilliamroy 6y ago
  How good can bluetooth audio really be? Is it really possible for bluetooth to perform better than a wired pair of headphones?
• kwargs 6y ago
  only 40mm drivers? into the trash it goes
• fossuser 6y ago
  One pleasant side-effect of these is when we all start flying again it'll be even easier to find the SFO airport gate. Currently you can just look for the one with >50% Airpod use, but that's hard to see from a distance. These are much easier.
  • shash7 6y ago
    Lmao
  • the_arun 6y ago
    Headphones market is a crowded place. Apple with this expensive headset may be addressing very small segment of the users. I'll wait for SE model. $500 for headphones doesn't sound good to me :)
    • dzhiurgis 6y ago
      Lightning port is the biggest disappointment so far, but I’m sure there will be more. Does it work without Apple Music subscription?
    • jonplackett 6y ago
      And yet they’re already nearly sold out for pre-Xmas delivery...
      • DSingularity 6y ago
        How do you know that?
        • Austin_Conlon 6y ago
          Estimated delivery date from the online store.
          • kensai 6y ago
            Sure, but that might be because they produced very small numbers to portray an artificial scarcity and name it "demand". Not convinced.
• blairanderson 6y ago
  They will eventually show up on amazon for $50 less. filters: - Brand: Apple - Seller: Amazon.com - Availability: Include Out of Stock Amazon search with filters: https://amzn.to/3mTRvWu https://amzn.to/3mTRvWu OG google search: https://www.google.com/search?q=%22airpods+pro+max%22+site%3Aamazon.com https://www.google.com/search?q=%22airpods+pro+max%22+site%3...
• samirillian 6y ago
  You can't teach a sneetch!
• shoulderfake 6y ago
  for 549 lol..yea I'll stick to my sennheiser 550pxc
• deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
• _alex_ 6y ago
  Luckily by the time i leave my house again, version 2 will be out and will have fixed all the annoying version 1 features
• scoot 6y ago
  >spatial audio tracks the motion of a user’s head as well as the device, compares the motion data, then remaps the sound field so it stays anchored to the device, even as the user’s head moves. Emperors clothes. The audio is already anchored to the device, since the device emits the audio. And the device is (presumably) anchored to the wearers head by friction. so...
  • lttlrck 6y ago
    The device is eg an iPad or iPhone.
    • scoot 6y ago
      The listening device is headphones. (Perhaps whoever wrote the bunkum doesn't understand what they said, but the rest of us do.)
      • hug 6y ago
        It's not a mistake in their copy, which is unambiguous, it's just your incorrect reading of the antecedent. The headphones themselves are always referred to in the copy AirPods Max, never as "a device". The headphones are unusable without a source, referred to in every single place in as "a device". I get making the mistake, but there's no need to double down when someone points out you've misread.
  • rangibaby 6y ago
    In a real surround sound setup you can turn your head and look at the speakers when they make an unexpected noise. It would be cool if these headphones did that too
• hsuduebc 6y ago
  I cringed hard because of this.
• bdastous 6y ago
  AintPods
• smcleod 6y ago
  Nice industrial design and I'm sure the integration and spatial audio will be great (like the Airpods Pro) but $900AUD seems about twice the price point I'd expect them to be at.
• codecamper 6y ago
  Apple shut down the I AM RICH app and ever since has tried to emulate it.
• creativeCak3 6y ago
  I know the Cultists will downvote me for saying this: What. Is. Apple. Smoking? 550 dollars? You are out of your mind.
• RayVR 6y ago
  I haven't been able to read every comment here, but one thing I haven't seen discussed is the name choice. The AirPods Max are not the Pro Max. We have AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max. I expect to see AirPods Pro Max sometime next year and I wouldn't be surprised if they come in somewhere around $1000.
• franklampard 6y ago
  Too expensive bruh...
• exabrial 6y ago
  What's crazy is you can go get tampons jammed in your ears, have an audiologist fill them with silicon goop, send said silicon off to a high end company, and they'll mail you back the finest of IEMs your ears will ever hear for less than this. They're so comfortable and natural feeling you'll forget they're in... All for less than $400 all in. Pro tip, if you're a Costco member the impressions are already paid for in your membership. Or if you know somebody that'll let you in the store.... But there's a fatal flaw. These glorious masterpieces that fit your body perfectly come with a horrific subatomic nanotechnology called 1/8" jack. And while all phones are thicker than that, one cannot simply set that example for children. Please think of the children. Also Alclair audio makes some dank shit for half the price. They'd love your business.
  • syntaxing 6y ago
    Second to the request, do you have a link to that Costco deal?
    • exabrial 6y ago
      I just walked in the store with a friend's membership and told the nice lady what I wanted to do. She happily obliged.
  • rattray 6y ago
    What is an IEM? Can you share URLs to some recommended vendors of the products you're talking about?
    • lesdeuxmagots 6y ago
      In Ear Monitors
    • floatingatoll 6y ago
      Find your nearest “audiologist” or “audiology center” and ask them if they do “ear impressions for custom-fit in-ear monitors and earplugs”. Do not buy headphones until you’ve discussed your product choice with them. You may find that they can be fit correctly but will have a huge unsightly bulge outside the ear canal. They will usually have Opinions, as it’s their job. Know your price range. There’s no other way to do it but to go somewhere in person and have a cup of liquid goo poured into each of your ears by a trained professional. (Do not try this at home, etc.) They will send the molds off to be fit into your earphones, which either you’ll buy new from them or turn over to the audiologist at impressions time. You can also use the mold to produce musician’s earplugs that are transparent and have swappable filters that have different dB reductions. I use my -9dB pair for parties so I can hear better. I assume they keep the mold on file for a little while, in case of fit issues or whatever, but it’s been a decade since I last went so I don’t imagine they still have it. (Who knows, though!) When you have them in hand, turn your volume way down and be very, very careful with them. You are sticking these deeper into your ear than headphones have ever gone before. You can go deaf very rapidly. If your phone has a volume limit setting, enable it and turn it the lowest point (75dB on iPhone). If you’re constantly wishing it was louder after a day or two, raise it 5dB and wait a bit longer. The audiologist will make scary comments about risk of hearing damage, and give you a hearing test to see how you’re doing beforehand. Listen to them. It’s deadly serious stuff.
• bitcurious 6y ago
  About 12 hours and ~1000 dismissive comments later, all colors are back ordered for the next three months.
• ChuckMcM 6y ago
  These look pretty nice, pricey, but nice. Given that they can be 'tuned' to your hearing (unlike the Bose equivalents AFAICT) it could be a good deal for people like me with hearing loss in specific frequencies.
• simonebrunozzi 6y ago
  After less than 24 hours from launch, delivery time for any AirPods Max is currently 12-14 weeks. Say all you want, this has been a really successful product launch.
• Uptrenda 6y ago
  Honestly I was disappointed as hell with my airpods. I have to re-pair them every time I use them (often multiple times.) no matter if its with a mac, an android phone, a linux pc, or whatever. its pairing sucks. if anyone wants to buy this wait until you've verified from other people that it pairs well with your devices. a 500 USD headset SHOULD be able to connect well for that price and if it doesn't its most certainly flawed... note: that im using an earlier version of airpods so maybe this flaw is absent in later airpods? but i thought id share this negative experience
• victorantos 6y ago
  If this HN thread would not have been so popular I would have not bought this new Apple headphones. I already have got Airpods(in use), Airpods Pro(daily), Sennheiser M2(broken - not charging) and M3(daily in use). I am looking for comfort, good sound quality, nose canceling and easy to use. If I don't like them I'll just return it. The price is high but I am happy to pay for it - if I can make use of them 3+ hours per day while working on my computer - and Apple knows that!
• thefz 6y ago
  Yay, more batteries in landfills.
• XOXO1 6y ago
  Max = Maximus? When Optimus ordered Maximus to "Sacrifice to save your life; if not I shall make you die in torment," Maximus answered, "I have always wished it; it is in order to pass out of this short and miserable life to the life eternal that I have declared my faith." [wikipedia]
• dpumpshitlord 6y ago
  Not interested