The tech giant aligns itself with the offerings of other luxury brands, such as Bang & Olufsen, but exceeds what the vast majority of consumers tend to invest in headphones
The new Apple AirPods Max has adaptive equalization software, active noise cancellation, ambient sound mode and spatial audio, ear pads that magnetically adhere to the headband, and easy pairing with the iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
But what most will talk about in the coming weeks (they go on sale next December 15) are not so much its characteristics as its price. They stand out, above all, for being clearly oriented to the high end, higher even than other products of the company.
They cost 629 euros, in line with the offers of other luxury brands, such as Bang & Olufsen, but well above what the vast majority of consumers usually invest in headphones, even ones with ambient noise cancellation.
CUSTOM AUDIO
Apple says, however, that the design of the Max is unrivaled. Its mesh headband, for example, is breathable and distributes the weight of the headphones evenly across the head. Each helmet is attached to the headband using a mechanism that balances and distributes the pressure of the headset, as well as allowing it to rotate and pivot independently to adapt to the particular contour of the wearer’s head.
Atop one of the helmets, a crown similar to that of the Apple Watch offers precise volume control and the ability to play or pause audio, skip tracks, answer and hang up calls, or activate Siri.
Inside, the attention to detail has not been less. Relying on a 40mm dynamic transducer. and two H1 chips (one for each cup), these headphones offer an adaptive sound that changes according to the listening conditions and the type of music or voice that is being reproduced. It is a technique that Apple already used in the AirPods Pro, but that it has enhanced in this model.
From the AirPods Pro, it also copies the ambient noise cancellation system, the transparency mode (which lets you hear conversations or the traffic on the street), or the spatial audio, which allows you to place sounds virtually anywhere in space taking into account count the position and movements of the head. They also have optical and position sensors to automatically detect if the user is wearing them and pause playback if they are removed.
And although they are completely wireless and are designed to connect with devices via Bluetooth, Apple offers a Lightning cable to a 3.5mm connector. as an accessory (it costs 39 euros) that will allow the headphones to be connected to stereos or inflight entertainment systems on airplanes.
Its autonomy is about 20 hours of playback and are charged through the same Lightning port used by other AirPods models or the iPhone themselves. The AirPods Max can be reserved from this Tuesday and are available in five colors: silver, space gray, blue, green and pink. They will begin to be delivered from December 15.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
