I’ve been a long-time user of AirPods Pros and never thought I’d look back, but an in-ear issue that prevents me from wearing them whilst flying led me to wanting to try the AirPods Max, and I absolutely haven’t looked back either whilst flying, or in my day to day life.
Speaking of comfort, the AirPods Max is without doubt the most comfortable over-ears pair of headphones that I’ve ever used. The open mesh material that is used in the headbands allows for maximum breathability but also a great amount of flex that moulds to your head type in a way that allows you to wear them for hours on end without any discomfort or feeling like you want to remove them.
Similarly the cups have a super comfortable memory foam cushion that provides comfort yet feels like it doesn’t get super hot at the same time, which is really import for over-ear headphones. Overall, the design of the headset is super high-end with it featuring stainless steel and other high-end materials.
The headset also comes with a case that was heavily mocked at launch. I don’t really mind it from a design point of view, and it was always comforting to know that I could toss them on my bag without having to worry about them, but considering this is the only way to get them into a low state mode, it didn’t feel as easy as popping the regular AirPods back in their case to achieve that same lower power state.
The battery life for the AirPods Max is fairly great though, with up to 20 hours of battery life with noise cancelling and Spatial Audio turned on and 1.5 hours of listening time with 5 minutes of charge. Obviously, this is an older Apple product so you’re still having to use lightning, but I don’t doubt we’ll see this updated soon.
One of the greatest features of any AirPods is the ability to quickly move between all of your Apple devices after pairing them with one, and this is true of the AirPods Max as well, which seamlessly went between my iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro as I moved between devices. Similarly, I was able to connect to other devices over Bluetooth as well. Just like other Apple headphones, the AirPods Max will instantly connect when you pop them on your head and pause audio if they’re taken off.
The audio quality with AirPods Max is second to none. Whilst they do come at a premium price-wise, it really elevates the entire listening experience with rich bass and sound that really envelops your entire sound space. This is improved with Spatial Audio as well which really provides an improved experience on what’s available with the regular in-ear AirPods.
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This goes a step further with head tracking, which basically tries to provide a realistic surround sound experience even when you’re moving ahead around, by taking notice of where the device is in front of you, and where your head is in relation as you move around the room or turn your head from side to side.
The volume can be controlled with a crown that’s pulled straight from an Apple Watch on top of one of the cups. It’s a really great way to control volume at large or smaller increments and provides a great tactile feel. This same crown can be pushed in to play and pause audio as well as skip through tracks.
It’s not surprising at all, but the active noise cancelling is really fantastic. Wearing them on several flights over the last few weeks, going between active noise cancelling and transparency mode with the touch of a button on top of the cup was seamless and really did a great job of getting rid of the low engine hum of the plane as well as voices.
All-in-all, both in comfort and sound quality, the AirPods Max is the best over-ear headset that I’ve ever used, and I can’t see myself moving away from these anytime soon. Hopefully we get a USB-C update in the near future, and maybe a more considered case and they’ll be pretty well perfect.
