Apple AirPods Max review

Our Verdict

The AirPods Max are infrequent racket-cancelling headphones with a luxurious design, sophisticated soundstage and clever computational features. But the $549 cost and unconventional case are difficult to overlook.

For

Luxurious design and feel
Easy-to-use controls
Crisp and balanced sound
Spatial audio is a game-changer
Fantastic noise cancellation

Against

Expensive
No on/off switch
Smart case provides no protection

Tom'south Guide Verdict

The AirPods Max are exceptional dissonance-cancelling headphones with a luxurious design, sophisticated soundstage and clever computational features. But the $549 price and unconventional case are difficult to overlook.

Pros

+
Luxurious blueprint and feel
+
Piece of cake-to-use controls
+
Crisp and balanced sound
+
Spatial audio is a game-changer
+
Fantastic noise cancellation

Cons

-
Expensive
-
No on/off switch
-
Smart example provides no protection

Are the Apple tree AirPods Max worth $549? It might seem unlikely given most of the best over-ear headphones are a lot cheaper. And, despite being both Apple'south most premium pair of headphones yet and capable of using a wired connectedness, the AirPods Max isn't even exist compatible with Apple tree Music lossless.

Apple AirPods Max specs:

Price: $549
Colors: Space gray, silverish, heaven blue, green, pink
Size: 7.4 ten 6.6 x iii.iii inches
Weight: 13.half-dozen ounces
Battery life: xx hours
Speakers: 40mm dynamic drivers
Features: ANC, spatial audio, audio sharing, Siri

And yet, our answer is yes: the AirPods Max are worth $549. In fact you could adequately count them among the all-time noise-cancelling headphones and even the best headphones overall. Yep, there are cheaper AirPods Max alternatives, but the blueprint, sound quality and features on offer make the existent thing very tempting indeed.

How to utilise AirPods and AirPods Max: Tips and guides
Our picks of the best AirPods Max alternatives that cost less
The best Apple AirPods alternatives: Money-saving earbuds

That said, information technology's certainly no impulse buy. So I'll summarize this Apple tree AirPods Max review specifically for those wondering whether they should splurge: They look great, they sound improve, and they take enough bonus features that even $549 can exist worth paying. With Apple tree'due south newest headphones you really practice get what you pay for.

One last note: the AirPods Max has won big in the Tom's Guide Awards 2021 Sound categories. In addition to winning our Best headphones design award overall, Apple's headphones also earned a Highly Recommended nod for the Most innovative headphones award. You can check out the main Tom'due south Guide Awards 2021 Awards hub for more awards and winners.

AirPods Max review: Cost and availability

The AirPods Max cost $549 and come up in five colors: Space gray, argent, sky blue, green and pinkish. The ear cushions are magnetic and swappable, with replacement pairs costing $69.

Along with the headphones, in the box you lot'll become a carrying Smart Case and Lightning-to-USB-C cablevision, merely no power adapter. The AirPods Max also skip on the Lightning-to-iii.5mm audio cable, which you lot'll need to pick upward for $35 if you want a non-Bluetooth listening choice.

In other words, the AirPods Max is cheaper than true audiophile headphones like the Focal Clear, but will still cost you a pretty penny.

AirPods Max review: Design

Unlike the Apple AirPods, which are sheathed in an iconic white plastic, the AirPods Max come in a fun colour range that lends itself well to a retro aesthetic. The pink ones I tested remind me of candy, but not in a childish style. The headband and case embody Pantone's infamous Living Coral hue, while the cans drip rose gilded.

Apple AirPods Max review — (Image credit: Future)

Those pivoting ear cups are covered past oval pillows of memory cream that aren't every bit pulpy as those of the Sony WH-1000XM4, but all the same create a spongy, secure seal effectually my ears.

They're continued by a 7.4 ten 6.half-dozen x three.3 inch, stainless steel frame with slim, telescoping arms that aggrandize at the top for a mesh headband. I sense the force per unit area relieved past the breathable canopy is what makes the xiii.6 ounces feel lighter than they are. That said, the AirPods Max are noticeably heftier than the Sony WH-1000XM4 and Bose 700 headphones, which both weigh just viii.96 ounces.

Apple made a clever move to borrow and enlarge the Apple Watch'south Digital Crown for the AirPods Max. Like to how the crown provides navigation for Apple's smartwatch, on the AirPods Max the crown is used for volume command, skipping tracks and playing or pausing audio. Information technology's besides a means of summoning Siri and answering or ending telephone calls. I'll admit at that place's something satisfying about swivelling the dial, although I did swipe the volume while fussing with my hair more once.

The other push on the right earcup is a switch for dissonance cancellation and transparency style. And then where is the AirPods Max ability button, you might ask? There isn't 1, which is odd no matter how you frame it. Although they kick into depression-power way when they're stationary for several minutes or in the magnetic smart example, I still recollect Apple should've included a way to completely power down the AirPods Max.

AirPods Max review: Audio functioning

The AirPods Max'south sound starts with a custom-built, 40mm dynamic driver in each loving cup, which are designed to deliver deep bass, accurate mid-range sounds and clean high-frequencies. There's also a dual neodymium ring magnet motor that limits harmonic baloney to less than 1%, even at max volume. When I turned the AirPods Max all the fashion up, music sounded balanced as always, although my Apple tree Health noise notifications increased.

Apple leverages an H1 chip in each ear, a custom acoustic pattern, and advanced software to achieve computational audio performance that'due south akin to the computational photography prowess of the iPhone 12. Each of the fries accept x sound cores that tin can perform 9 billion operations per 2nd, supporting Adaptive EQ for tailored listening and adjusting sound accordingly on the wing.

Now, enough with the technical specs. As wireless headphones, the AirPods Max likely aren't the choice for true audiophiles or audio professionals who crave lossless playback. Apple tree's headphones still sound loftier-end, perchance non as high-end as wired recording equipment, but offer more complexities than virtually popular headphones models.

The steady bassline in Kendrick'southward Lamar'south "Humble" rang deep, and I could hear the rapper enunciating his words with a crispness I never noticed in the song before. While the WH-1000XM4 are similarly clear, they don't provide the aforementioned degree of definition. Likewise, Alicia Keys sounded more smooth, even so precise in the opening run of "Yous Don't Know My Proper noun," through the AirPods Max. With both these songs, it felt like I listened from a studio.

For more of a concert experience, I turned to Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion." Tom Hamilton's bass guitar vibrated through my ears, while Joe Perry's acoustics were intentional and Steven Tyler'due south sharp vocals transported me back to my first alive Aerosmith testify at an outdoor Long Isle amphitheater. Metallica'south "Enter Sandman" supplied a similar effect; the bass drum boomed through the song'southward signature rumble.

I constitute something to appreciate most the AirPods Max'due south soundstage across all my favorite musical genres, merely my favorite attribute of testing didn't come from music. Spatial audio, which Apple introduced with the AirPods Pro and helped put them amid the best wireless earbuds, is a game-changing listening feature.

Spatial audio is basically surround sound but for a headset. It supports 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos video content, and uses built-in head tracking means to make sound relative to what you're seeing on screen while watching video on your iPhone or iPad. For example, every bit ships zoomed from the left side of the screen towards the right and downwardly towards a planet in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, their buzzes and hums followed with precision from my left ear to my ear i. Spatial audio besides recalibrated when I moved my caput, which never failed to impress me.

AirPods Max review: Noise cancellation and transparency mode

Just a few months ago, I picked up the AirPods Pro to drown out the sounds of screaming babies, noisy appliances and traffic in or around my flat. They've been a huge aid for focusing on work, but boy, the AirPods Max volition make information technology hard to go back to earbuds.

Although there's just i level of dissonance cancellation, it's excellent. If y'all prefer acute tuning for this feature, the Bose 700 is probably a more than rational fit for you with its 11 levels of dissonance cancellation. Conversely the AirPods Max offering only one level of transparency, while the Sony WH-1000XM4 have several settings for ambient sound.

The common theme for AirPods Max is that more options isn't necessarily better. In side-by-side testing Apple's headphones are cervix-and-neck with the two all-time dissonance-cancelling headphones in the game. I'd hesitate to phone call AirPods the new ANC king. I don't exit my apartment much these days, so YouTube supplied me with New York Urban center ambience sounds that recreate my blitz-hour commuting soundscape. The AirPods Max did a better job than the Bose 700 at eliminating the low-frequencies of wind and the hum of busy streets, but Bose's headphones excelled with mid- and high-frequency sounds similar honking car horns and squeaking tires.

And again, if yous're keen on customizing your sound (or lack thereof) so the AirPods Max might not be your ideal headset. Only if you lot're okay giving up control to Apple tree'due south computational performance powers, you lot won't be disappointed.

AirPods Max review: Setup, Siri and telephone call quality

It'southward no surprise that those who own other Apple devices volition be able to make the most of their AirPods Max feel. When yous pull these headphones out of the case, the H1 bit initiates instantaneous pairing with your iPhone, and shortly y'all can command your AirPods Max from your Apple Watch or handoff playback between your iPad or HomePod mini.

Yous'll as well get Siri, which isn't my preferred voice butler but nonetheless helpful for sending texts and answering calls. You can employ Apple's AI assistant to command the best HomeKit devices via the AirPods Max, too.

I found the AirPods Max are better than other AirPods models when it comes to telephone phone call quality, eliminating nearly background racket per those I chosen for testing. I noticed I could hear myself speaking, that style I wouldn't end up yelling past accident. In fact, in transparency mode the AirPods Max even boost the volume of my own voice in my ears.

AirPods Max review: Smart case

I normally wouldn't dedicate an entire department of a review to a device's holster, just the AirPods Max Smart Instance has been ridiculed and memed to no end. I'll be honest, I don't hate it, even if it looks like an ostentatious leather purse. I'm not opposed to using the headband every bit a carrying handle, plus the supple example takes upwardly minimal space when it'due south non in use.

I do have ii concerns, though: Kickoff, an exposed headband seems like a germ-magnet. I'm a hygienic homo beingness, merely should I pick upward the AirPods Max with whatever kind of grime or crumb on my paw... just, ew. Second, the Smart Case doesn't provide any sense of protection. I wouldn't toss the AirPods Max in my backpack with the residual of my crap like I would other headphones, including my AirPods Pro.

AirPods Max review: Battery life

In my testing, I institute the AirPods Max alive up to Apple's claimed 20 hours of battery life, no thing how much time I spent listening, talking or quieting the world around me. Over the course of two days — including 3 hours of phone calls, ten hours of music or TV and several hours of simple silence in between — my AirPods Max nonetheless had about 10% of juice left. And overnight, stored in their instance, the bombardment barely tuckered.

Apple planned out this no-power-push movement pretty well. The depression power modes are effective plenty that virtually people should go several days of battery life out of AirPods Max with normal utilise. But if a long lasting bombardment is important to you, know yous'll get another ten hours out of the Sony's WH-1000XM4.

Some other matter to annotation is if you do opt for the lightning to three.5mm accessory, yous still demand to charge the AirPods Max. The cablevision simply adds a wired listening option and eliminates the possibility of audio latency, but tin can't be used to charge the cans

AirPods Max review: Verdict

The AirPods Max are the best Apple headphones, and then it's a shame they're non in a more palatable price range. Only these headphones circular out Apple's ecosystem in a fashion I didn't recall I cared about, and now that they're hither, I'm having a hard time desiring any other over-ear headphones right now. The combination of cushy comfort, pristine audio quality and killer features like spatial audio is hard to beat out.

Besides the fact that they're more compatible for Android users, the Bose 700 and Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones both cost hundreds of dollars less and offer comparable racket counterfoil. Plus, both come with practical cases, a headphone jack and an off switch.

If you can wait past these caveats and have the dough to spend, the AirPods Max are your ticket to listening luxury. You might experience pressured to hop on the railroad train with Apple'due south legion of loyal customers, and I'm here to tell you lot that's okay. The AirPods Max aren't frivolous — they're exceptional.

More than: Non convinced? Check out the best AirPods Max alternatives

Kate Kozuch is a senior writer at Tom's Guide roofing wearables, TVs and everything smart-home related. When she's not in cyborg mode, you can notice her on an practise cycle or channeling her inner celebrity chef. She and her robot army will rule the world i 24-hour interval, but until then, achieve her at kate.kozuch@futurenet.com.