When Apple unveiled the Airpods Max, many people were confused about why the company released a $550 (£549) pair of wireless noise-cancelling headphones. At the time, it seemed like people had valid concerns about the Apple Airpods Max because they were very expensive, and it wasn’t clear why Apple was entering such a saturated market when they were already doing well with the Airpods and the Airpods Pro.

However, after I’ve had some time to sit with it and give it a chance, I’ve come to a simple conclusion. Even if it may not appear so at times, Apple always knows what they’re doing, and with the Airpods Max, Apple has something to say about the headphone business, and the Airpods Max is here to stay.

I get that there are so many headphone brands out there and a lot of complete control over the market, but just like how the first iPhones revolutionised the smartphone market, Apple thinks they can do the same thing with the Airpods Max. I know I sound like an Apple fanboy right now, but stick with me and let me explain the Airpods Max.

Unboxing and Accessories

So, just like unboxing an iPhone, there isn’t much going on with the box. All you have is the picture of the headphones on the box and some information about them at the back of the box, and that is it. There’s no fancy digital art or sick paint job on the box; it’s just a white box with a picture on it.

It is very simple and very minimalist, and I have to say, I like it. The simple design of a white box with nothing else going on inside is very classic, and as we all know, Apple loves to do things with simplicity in mind.

So, once you finally open the box, you will have your headphones inside of your smart case, some paperwork, no Apple sticker, and then your USB-C charging cable and nothing else after that. Simple, right? Well, we all know that Apple doesn’t put anything else apart from the essentials in their boxes anymore, so there wasn’t much to expect.

Design

From a design standpoint, the Airpods Max follows a lot of the conventional design choices that you will find on almost every headphone, but Apple has made a few slight changes that will make their headphones stand out. So, right off the bat, you can see that these headphones are made of metal.

It has aluminium earcups that get cold to the touch when you’re outside during the winter, and it has a stainless-steel headband. These may still look like conventional designs, but Apple has not used conventional materials to design their headphones, and it is clear to see that virtually almost every other pair of headphones are made entirely out of plastic.

This metal design choice that Apple has made is dope, and I have to applaud them for making such a bold and unconventional choice. It’s got super tight tolerances. The earcups have a very nice satin finish to them, but I would have preferred to see them in matte black. The telescoping headband doesn’t have notches, but it’s really smooth, and it’s got a bit of resistance to it when you try to adjust it to fit your head, which makes it feel like it is very high quality. 

So, if the metal design is so good, why is it that we don’t see this kind of design choice being replicated or done by more brands? Well, that’s an easy question to answer. The reason you don’t see a lot of metal headphones is that all the other brands have done the research and come to a simple conclusion.

One of the major factors to consider when designing headphones would be “comfort over long periods.” This is their weight, and as we all know, metal is heavier than plastic. So, most headphone companies have realised that and have always made their headphones out of plastic because they are much more comfortable to wear than metal.

So, this is something that Apple has to work around, and they did their best to combat the weight by creating this thin mesh in the top band that is supposed to evenly distribute some of the weight on top of your head, but it only has a minimal effect on the overall weight of the headphones. So, if you sit still with these headphones for a while, you won’t feel them or notice them, but the moment you turn your head or nod at someone, you will notice that they’ve got some weight to them.

Another thing to note about the headphones would be the earcups, which are very soft and comfortable and made of soft mesh and memory foam. When I used them for some long listening sessions, they felt more comfortable on my ears than leather earcups, and that was nice to feel. A final thing to know about the earcups on the Airpods Max is that they are easily removable and held together by magnets.

This is a nice feature to have because most headphones don’t actually have removable earcups, and most of the time, your earcups get worn out, and you have no way of changing them, so you’re usually left with no choice but to buy a new pair of headphones. So, Apple will sell you a pair of replacement earcups for $70, and this is where I think Apple has decided to stick you up on the price, but it is still a nice feature to have.

Controls

The lack of touch controls seemed like a good call to me because touch controls wouldn’t really fit with the ascetic of these headphones. So, instead, Apple decided to add a larger version of their digital crown for the Apple watch to the top of the headphones. It basically serves the same function as a nub, so if you rotate it, you can control the volume and press it for media controls, and it works perfectly, just as I had expected.

The headphones have some impressive features built into them. The sensors inside will know if they’re on your head or not and will auto-play/pause when you take them off and put them back on again. You can hold down the digital crown to talk to Siri, and she can even read out your text messages for you and talk to you. They will also pair instantly with any of your Apple devices that you have. This will allow you to quickly switch between your phone, your Mac, and even your iPad if you have one.

Sound Quality

The Airpods Max sound like luxury listening, which is to say, they sound really good. This is the one area I think Apple has paid attention to the most, and they have not disappointed me. The Airpods Max has these massive 40mm drivers, and they sound excellent and super clear at all volumes. I was very impressed with how they handled ultralow distortions at higher volumes, and they are so loud that I don’t actually need to have the volume at its max to enjoy the music.

So there are definitely some limitations that come with listening to music over wireless headphones, and they are still very apparent, even with high-quality Spotify streaming. I enjoy the solid, punchy bass that these headphones produce, as well as the occasional deep sub-bass. The instrument separation is flawless, and the clarity through the mids and highs in a variety of genres is excellent and not at all tiring to listen to.

Noise Cancellation

The noise cancellation on the Airpods Max is excellent. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started using the noise cancellation features on these headphones, but the nine microphones on these headphones do a fantastic job with white noise and have a surprisingly natural sound to them. Sometimes noise cancelling headphones can feel like there is a bit of pressure on them, and they sound slightly unnatural with the noise cancellation on. 

However, I didn’t think the AirPods Max did that much or at all, and I thought the mesh, pass-throughs, and mics were fantastic. They even managed to cancel out a vacuum cleaner that was three feet away from me. So, with that in mind, I can easily place them right next to the Sony XM4s as one of the best noise-cancelling headphones around.

Transparency Mode

The transparency mode on these headphones is quite impressive. Obviously, most noise-cancelling headphones will have solid transparency mod