If You Want Lossless Audio on AirPods Max, You’ll Probably Need Another Dongle
Apple is finally loving the oft-ignored AirPods Max. Well, $549 AirPods Max with USB-C anyway—sorry if you have an older model with a Lightning connector. With the iOS 18.4 update coming in April , Apple is bringing lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio to AirPods Max. According to Lifehacker senior tech editor Jake Peterson, this update finally makes the new AirPods Max worth buying .
Oh, but you’ll probably need a new key too.
Why another key in 2025?
Lossless audio only works when connected to an Apple device using a USB-C cable. With the update, AirPods Max users will be able to enjoy more than 100 million songs on Apple Music, rendered in 24-bit lossless audio at 48 kHz—as long as the device they’re listening to has a USB-C port.
That’s where this dongle comes in: Apple now sells a USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable for $39.99 that goes both ways (bidirectional). This in itself is not new; Apple also sold an equally expensive Lighting to 3.5mm audio cable, which is no longer available. But this cable did not support lossless or low latency mode in the old AirPods Max, but the new one does.
The new dongle is also designed to work with Beats Studio Pro and delivers ultra-low latency audio to any connected device. This means that AirPods Max can finally work with any media player that has a traditional audio output, such as a fancy cassette player, a turntable, or even in-flight entertainment systems.
Other uses of the key
The bi-directional part is also interesting: with this cable, you can also use any old speaker as a speaker for your iPhone or iPad. Let’s say you wanted to use your home theater system as an output for your iPhone, just like in the good old days, well, now it’s possible. If you’ve never been a fan of Bluetooth or just don’t like the latency of wireless audio, Apple has just given you an official way to turn back the clock, for just $40.
Speaking of latency, AirPods Max with a USB-C cable or 3.5mm dongle enable ultra-low latency audio by default. Apple is positioning this as a win for creators, streamers and gamers, as low-latency audio can help professionals working in Logic Pro and other professional applications. And AirPods Max can also be useful for creating and mixing audio in Personalized Spacial Audio with head tracking.