key takeaways
- The ability to switch to an unlimited number of apple devices quickly and originally is still the best feature of AirPods Max.
- The low-lonely upgrade in iOS 18.4 makes the airpods maximum more viable for professional multimedia producers (and gamers) when using a wired connection.
- Relaxation, battery life, and audio quality corresponds to the contestants higher than Sony, Bose and others.
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Even with their flaws and high value tags ($ 549), I must accept that Airpods Max There is a product that I like to use every day. What they do-Pairing and working originally in my phone, laptop, desktop and tablet-that is the thing that I like Airpods Max for all other over-the-ears headphones.
But one of the things you could not traditionally not with airpods, Max was used to produce professional audio and video, because due to delays issues with Bluetooth and lack of an effective wired option. Apple stated that in the spring of 2025 with the release of iOS 18.4, which upgraded a major software to the 2024 USB-C model of AirPods Max.
Airpods Max get pro audio
While the 2024 relocation of AirPods Max was relatively disappointing as it brought only new USB-C connectivity and new color options, Spring 2025 software update for Apple’s over-the–year headphone brought a long-awaited professional upgrades, which brought ipados 18.4 and Macos in iOS 18.4, along with iPados 18.4 and Macos. Sequoia 15.4.
The new software drop gave AirPods Max 24-BIT, 48 KHz defective audio. The official line on this is that it preserves more details from the original studio recording, and Apple reports that Apple Music has more than 100 million songs in the defective audio. The reality is that most people are not able to explain the difference between Apple Music (or any other service) and a regular song on the defective version.
Too: How to find out whether you (or not) should buy USB-C airpods maximum
Where this upgrade actually created a difference, the ultra low-lonely audio was enabled when connected through a USB-C cable. This opened the door for professional workflows with music production and video production to have that kind of accuracy for the technicians for studio work. This allowed professionals to produce individual spatial audio in apps such as Apple’s Logic Pro and immediately previewed it with Airpods Max.
Gamers also benefited from Ultra Low-Elastic Audio in ARPods Max through USB-C cable, as it reduces to close to matching the same experience, which you will find on a Mac, iPad, or iPhone, when playing sound through the built-in speakers.
Why I still dig the airpods maximum
Prior to Airpods Max, I never found a pair of over-the-ear headphones, which I could wear for more than 45 minutes because they hurt my ears. I can wear airpods maximum for hours on long flights, which is one of my favorite uses. And their long battery is another key on life cross-country or international flights.
Now there are many other over-the-ears headphones that are super comfortable and great battery life, such as Sony xm6 Headphone and Bose Quitcomfort UltraWhich are on top of ZDNET’s pics for both best headphones. But the number of devices I use is to share and share on the headphones that are not airpods because it is usually limited to two devices.
Too: I wore the best headphones from Sony, Bose, Apple and Sonos: Here is how Airpods Max wins
At the end of the day, most of us move to over-the-e-ear headphones for two things: noise cancellation and audio quality. For these two, Airpods Max are in the same league as the best headphone in the market, including Sony, Bose, Senaizer and others. I can hear details in music and movies using AirPods Max that I can’t just hear with AirPods Pro or other earbuds. And when you pair the airpods max with the M4 iPad Pro, which has a pirate OLED screen, the quality of audio and video experience you feel that it can rival almost a high quality digital movie theater.
Where airpods require maximum improvement
There are still some things that I do not like about AirPods Max. The biggest price is. In $ 549, they are $ 100 more expensive than Sony XM6 headphones, which have equivalent with airpods max and premium Sony brand. Most other premium headphones in the market are around $ 350.
The second issue is that Apple has still not integrated its latest H2 chip in AirPods Pro 2 from AirPods Pro 2. The H2 chip, which has more advanced noise cancellation and voice isolation, was released in 2022, but the latest airpods released in 2024 were not integrated into Max. For Apple not put your best audio technique in your highest end headphone – especially at such a premium price – disappointing.
Purchase
Airpods Max Only those are worth the extra money for those who regularly use a lot of different apple devices. Otherwise, I would advise to go with it Sony XM 6 Headphone – or even Sony XM5 Version – to save money and get almost all the same features, including less delay than airpods max.
