Apple AirPods Max is the unexpected name for the over-ear headphones which Apple has just revealed. On sale now, for an eye-watering $549 (£549 in the U.K.), Apple says AirPods Max sounds superb. At that price, it better had.
Here are things nobody has told you about the new over-ears.
‘Things Nobody Has Told You...' is my occasional column touching on tangential, but interesting, details that have been lost or under-reported in the news. Sometimes they are ground-breakers, sometimes pieces of trivia that will enliven a dull conversation…
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1. The ear cups are made of aluminum
As well as the stainless-steel headband with its shiny finish, the AirPods Max uses machine-textured anodized aluminum for the ear cups which are matte-finish. Aluminum is light, so longer wearing is possible (after all, the battery lasts 20 hours between charges).
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2. The Digital Crown is exactly like on the Apple Watch, but bigger
It rotates and presses in just as the one on the Watch, and is designed to be operated by one fingertip to whizz the volume up or down. You don’t need two fingers to control it. Compared to the one on the Apple Watch, I’d say this is twice the diameter.
3. There are eight microphones for noise-canceling
Yes, four on each side, with three facing outwards and one inwards. They work with the H1 chips to listen to environmental sound and additionally any audio that might have got past them is picked up by the inward-facing microphone. It’s done in real time, more than 200 times a second.
4. Actually, make that nine
There’s one more microphone and that’s designed for picking up your voice during calls. It works in conjunction with one of the noise-canceling microphones for beam-forming of your voice.
5. Two microphones are for Adaptive EQ
That’s down to how the headphones fit on your head. If you wear glasses or earrings, it’s possible that the fit changes slightly. It means some sound, especially lower frequencies, can leak out. A microphone inside the headphone aims right down your ear to hear what’s getting to your ear and if it can detect the fit isn’t quite right, it can adjust the frequencies so you get the full listening experience.
6. Four sensors know if they’re on your head
As you’ll know, when you take an AirPod or AirPod Pro out of your ear, the music pauses because of sensors that know whether the earbud is in your ear or not.
A similar system is in play here where four sensors track where the headphones are. Each cup contains an obstacle sensor, and there the headband and ear cup meet, there’s a positional sensor. Lift either earcup and the music stops until you put it back.
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7. There are two H1 chips, connected by wire
These are the same as in the AirPods Pro, for instance, though unlike Apple’s in-ears, here there’s a wired connection between the two. These each deliver 10 audio cores, which perform 9 billion operations per second, Apple says. These make computational audio features like Adaptive EQ and noise-canceling possible.
8. The earcups remove magnetically… for cleaning
How often do you clean the ear cups on your headphones? I’ll be honest, it’s not that regular for me, but still, it’s nice to have the option and these just pop out easily thanks to the magnetic connection.
9. The telescoping arms offer infinite variety
There’s no clicking as you ratchet the earcups from the headband to reach the next notch – you can adjust them infinitely for the perfect fit. Once you’ve found that, the headphones will stay exactly there.
10. The headband is spring-loaded for the perfect fit
As it opens up, the spring inside the headphones starts to release, so it’s designed for a smooth but reasonably tight fit on the head that’s comfortable even for long periods of wear.
11. The memory foam is there for a good audio seal
Press the earcups and the foam takes a moment to reshape itself to how it was. That’s because it’s acoustic memory foam and it is here so that when you put the headphones on, they will mold to your particular ear and head shape. That’s all designed to create a perfect seal, so there’s great noise-isolation.
12. Battery life is 20 hours but recharge is fast
You can get a full recharge in less than two hours but if you only have time for a five-minute charge that can give you up to 90 minutes of playback.
13. The headphones come with a smart carry case
This case is a smart case thanks to magnets inside and when you fold the headphones flat and slide them in, low-power mode is activated automatically. The case also offers access to the Lightning charging socket. Low-power mode lasts a very long time: leave them in the case and you’ll find there’s charge in the headphones literally months later, apparently.
14. There’s no charging plug in the box
That’s maybe not a surprise for two reasons: most Apple products don’t come with a charging plug and, secondly, AirPods have never come with a charging plug.
15. There’s no Apple branding on the AirPods Max
Think that’s weird? Check your AirPods, there’s no Apple logo or branding on those, either. This product is so quintessentially Apple, it’s unmistakable even without the branding, perhaps.
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