Apple’s New AirPods Max Are Worse Than the Old Model
If you walk into an Apple Store today, an employee will happily sell you a new pair of AirPods Max for $549. That’s a big ask for any consumer-grade wireless earbuds, even with the “Apple tax” that comes with the AirPods name. What’s most egregious to me, however, is that the money you spend today will, overall, give you an arguably worse experience than the previous generation of Apple’s AirPods Max.
New doesn’t mean better
There are actually two different AirPods Max models, although it can be difficult to tell them apart. The latest model, released by Apple in September , is almost identical to the originals released in late 2020. The only stated differences are a few new color options and, more importantly, the addition of USB-C, replacing the Lightning port on the original models. It’s a much-needed change that comes after Apple ditched its own Lightning port for USB-C from its suite of products.
Otherwise, however, these headphones are essentially the same: they connect identically, have the same (superior) sound quality, and are compatible with the same Spatial Audio features. If you prefer wireless connectivity, you won’t notice the difference unless you go to charge your headphones.
However, this changes if you like to use your AirPods Max on your devices via a wired connection. As 9to5Mac reports , you can’t connect AirPods Max USB-C to an iPhone, Mac, iPad, or any other device of your choice. It appears that for these headphones, when Apple says wireless, they mean wireless.
This isn’t all that shocking if you’re using a different pair of wireless headphones, but it’s annoying for those of us with first-gen AirPods Max. (I know this is for me.) These models support a wired connection if you use a Lighting to 3.5mm audio cable .
There is still room for a send-off in 2024
Again, you may not notice anything bad if you only use wireless. But to me, this is the principle: the “new” AirPods Max lose a feature – a useful feature – compared to the original AirPods Max, for seemingly no reason. A Lighting to 3.5mm audio cable means you can use AirPods Max with devices that require a wired connection, such as a record player or live audio interface. This is also necessary if you want to listen to lossless music on Apple Music, since Bluetooth has a limitation on transmission quality. (However,Apple claims that a Lightning to 3.5mm cable cannot be truly lossless, so you still need dedicated wired headphones for true lossless audio.)
Moreover, the original AirPods Max are usually much cheaper than the newest option. As of this writing, you can purchase Lightning AirPods Max in blue for $399 on Amazon . Blue AirPods Max with USB-C are $130 more . Look, I love the dream of USB-C, where you can charge all your devices with one cable. But is it worth $130 to leave the Lightning cable at home? I don’t think so.