So I decided that after seeing friends and other developers and engineers wearing AirPods Max, I figured I would give them a shot, purchasing them with the full intention of returning them before the 14 day return period ended. However, I decided to keep them, and here is why.
First and foremost. The cost is prohibitive. Is having AirPods Max a Statement piece? Absolutely! These headphones are almost so expensive that I couldn’t justify them, and on a bad day, I definitely can’t. My checking account hurts with a starting price of $549.
Build quality is unmatched with any other headphones I have owned. With an aluminum frame that the drivers sit in, and the headband is manufactured from steel. So you get the build quality you would expect from a set of headphones with this price point. The cushions are incredibly comfortable, and even with the weight of the headphones, I can happily wear them for hours and forget that they are there. AirPods Max comes in 5 colors, silver, space grey, pink, green, and blue. I decided on the space grey color as they best match my style and my black earrings.
First, let me say I am not an Audiophile. I enjoy the balance of highs and lows with a solid punchy bass; they are now my everyday wear. For a more detailed review of the audio quality check out this solid review from the SoundGuys. Of course, as an AirPods product, they also have some of the best noise cancelation I’ve used. Sometimes I put them on to block out the white noise of the world around me. Another feature that is all the rage is spatial audio, And I think it is one of my least favorite features of the headphones. Spatial audio uses changes in the AirPods gyroscopes and connection differences to the iPhone or iPad to simulate a stage effect around you as you turn your head, the sound “moves” with you. For me, this effect comes off as rather gimmicky, and I have yet to find a song on Apple Music that sells it for me. If you have any recommendations to change my mind, send me a tweet @64Bitjoe.
AirPods Max are advertised as having 20 hours of playback on one charge. It is still too soon to say how often they need to charge. But I find that I am plugging them in about every three days with 8-6 hours of use per day. Of course, some factors go into battery life, Like if Noise cancelation is on or spatial audio is on. But, so far, I haven’t been disappointed by the battery life of my headphones.
Apple does not offer a lot of accessories for the Headphones. As they are an accessory themselves, they don’t even come with an apple sticker. However, Apple does sell two items for AirPods Max, The Lightning to 3.5 mm cable for 35 dollars. Using the cable is currently the only way for lossless audio to work, as Bluetooth can’t carry that large amount of data. As soon As mine is delivered, I will give it a good listen. Apple also sells the five mentioned colors of ear cushions for 69 dollars each plus tax. I am most definitely thinking about buying the green ones to go with my green MagSafe wallet. But not for a while; as I said, my wallet hurts too much still. One of the two accessories that you get with the headphones is a case. Or, as one would say, a “Bra,” it is an incredibly frustrating case to try and sneak the AirPods in and out. But it is the only way that the AirPods actually will turn off. As leaving them out of the case causes them to run in “low power mode,” the instructions on this were so ambiguous around the Launch of Airpods Max that Apple had to release a support article on the behavior of the headphones. There are 3rd party solutions placing magnets in just the right spot to envoke the “Sleep” state. I also bought a headphone hook with magnets. I can’t wait to give that a try.
Another essential accessory that is important to think about is adding coverage. I chose to add AppleCare+ for two reasons: I have a wretched track record of having Apple products issues. One day I’ll share the story of the five replacement iPhone X I had (none for physical damage). And the second reason is I would hate for an accident to happen, and I have to pay the full out-of-warranty service fee (that is not listed anywhere I can find on Apple’s Support website) to get the headphones replaced.
I have been very critical of these Headphones, for the same reason why I love Apple. This company means a lot to me, and I have seen up close and personally, the great things it can create and the magic there is in each Store, Office, and a Product box. I will always love Apple for that reason. People make amazing things. I look forward to using these to help myself continue to level up my skills and be a better Software Engineer.