Every surrender , like clockwork , Apple announce a new coevals of iPhones . But other products are refresh on a more relaxed basis : theAirPods Max , for good example , came out in December 2020 and did n’t get an update untilearlier this month . Still , at least Apple made up for lost time and give them a really thoroughgoing update , bringing them up to date with the latest audio developments , proper ?
Right ?
Well . Look at it this agency : a proficient hardware update reparation the problems with the previous model . ( Arevolutionaryhardware updaterethinks the entire productfrom the ground up , but we wo n’t set the bar that in high spirits for now . ) My good example of a adept computer hardware update is the mighty Apple Watch Series 2 , which address the speed , battery lifetime , and water resistance problems , as well as the lack of GPS , which reader had flagged with the original model . It did n’t reinvent the wheel , but it made the drive a whole lot smoother .
The AirPods Max look new, but they’re very much the same.
So do the 2024 AirPods Max , available today for $ 549 , touch the Apple Watch Series 2 ? Do they boast fixes for the issues we highlighted in our reexamination at the start of 2021 ? After all , Apple has had more than three and a half years to find a better way . allow ’s look at the evidence , commence with the problems that were apparent at launch .
military issue : The AirPods Max , while comfortable , are excessively heavy : 40 - 50 percent heavier than vie wireless disturbance - cancelling headphones . localization : None . It ’s the same design .
Issue : Lack of stew / sealing . Fix : Again , none .
The AirPods Max look new, but they’re very much the same.
Issue : There ’s no 3.5 mm earpiece diddlyshit . Fix : We still do n’t get 3.5 mm . The USB - C port is more various than Lightning but free-base on Apple ’s announcement it seems to be for charge only , not music input .
Issue : They still have a Lightning port . Fix : The AirPods Max now have USB - C.
Issue : The Smart Case is very poorly design and provide almost no protection . repair : None . It ’s the same !
The iPhone SE got a similar treatment, with a bare-minimum update that didn’t fix any of its predecessor’s problems.
Issue : The AirPods Max are overprice for what you get . pickle : The price remains the same in the U.S. There was a price free fall in the U.K. back in September 2023 , however : from £ 549 to £ 499 .
And what about the region where Apple has moved on since 2020 , leave the AirPods Max bequeath behind ? For example :
issuing : The AirPods Max , despite being Apple ’s flagship headphones , don’t supportits own lossless audio frequency data format , launched in 2021.Fix : If the new model abide lossless , Apple is hold open quiet about it .
Issue : The latest AirPods Pro ( and even the $ 129 AirPods 4 ) get a more ripe H2 chip , which meliorate barrage fire aliveness and ANC performance and is necessary for Apple ’s adaptive transparency manner . But the AirPods Max are stuck on the older H1 without any of the new features . mess : None . It still has the H1 , farcically .
Basically , nothing has been fixed . The AirPods Max are as outdated as ever , growing more so by the daytime .
The AirPods Max look new , but they ’re very much the same .
orchard apple tree
Minimum effort
Perhaps I ’m being unjust on the “ new ” AirPods Max . After all , Apple does n’t label them with a 2d - gen shred or split the 2024 version from the 2020 edition in the“Compare Models ” sectionon its website . As far as Apple ’s concerned , this is the same merchandise , only with USB - C and some new colors .
But that ’s the problem , justly there . Of all the products on Apple ’s books , this is the one that most urgently required a full refresh . It call for to do what it did with the Apple Watch Series 2 : acknowledge the mistake and problems , and find a manner to break up them , instead of fobbing us off with this disappointment . And the bad part is that , now Apple has done an “ update , ” there ’s little chance of an existent second - gen model in the near or intermediate term .
The matter is , this is n’t newfangled behavior for Apple . It ’s been phoning in “ will this do ? ” non - updates for days . The3rd - gen iPhone SE , for example , was a similar dashing hopes which , as our reviewer sharpen out , updated the one part that did n’t need it , disregard all the problems , and did n’t touch the physical design .
The iPhone SE got a similar handling , with a simple - lower limit update that did n’t fix any of its predecessor ’s problems .
IDG
The Mac Pro , meanwhile , is suppose to posture at the top of its pedigree , like the AirPods Max , but in reality has one of the Mac lineup ’s more out-of-date specs lists because Apple does n’t update ultra - premium products often enough . The Mac Pro had been languish on four - year - one-time hardware ( sound familiar ? ) , and when Apple finally gave it an update it did n’t exchange the design and installed chips that would speedily fall behind the company ’s other machine . As my workfellow points out , it feels symbolical that the science laboratory register in Apple ’s Scary Fast television last year wasrunning on Mac Studios , not Mac Pros .
at last this comes down to an old age - older problem when deal with Apple , which is that in many field the caller is so dominant that it is n’t really vie with other company , but with its own bequest intersection . When Apple launches a newfangled Mac , phone , or set of headphones , you just screw that someone from selling has been getting in the engineers ’ ear : verify you do n’t advance thing too much , because we ’ll have to top this next time . Sure , you could release an incredible production and everyone will be glad at first . But you ’re just salt away up problems for yourself in the future .
I mean , it ’s not like customers are proceed to disregard the new AirPods Max and purchase over - ear headphones from someone else , right ?
