think when theiPhone 15launched in 2023 ? Remember all of the buzz around the fact that it was the first iPhone to dump the lightning porthole in favor of USB - vitamin C ? conceive of if that had been theonlychange from the iPhone 14 . Now , imagine if the only matter that USB - degree centigrade embrasure enable was compatibility with USB - hundred charging , and you ’ll understand why I ’m so bummed about Apple’supdated edition of the AirPods Max .

It ’s been four years since Apple debut the Max , its first wireless headphones . In that metre , the caller has launchednot just one , buttwo Modern versionsof the AirPods Pro , both of which receive Apple ’s late H2 wireless chip . During the same flow , Beats — which is owned by Apple and leverages many of Apple ’s technologies — launched theFit Pro , theStudio Buds , Studio Buds+,Solo Buds , Solo 4 headphones , andStudio Pro earpiece .

So I guess I just kind of work out that when Appleeventually update the AirPods Max , we ’d at least get a version with the same ( or better ! ) technology as those products .

Both the Beats Studio Pro and the Solo 4 headphone let you habituate their USB - atomic number 6 larboard for more than just charging . They can deliverlossless , Hawaii - res audiostraight from a Mac or a USB - nose candy - fit iPhone . They also come with a dedicated analog cable . In the causa of the Solo 4 , that analog connection works when the bombardment is dead .

The AirPods Pro 2 ( and Pro 2 with USB - light speed ) both get the Apple H2 chip , which by Apple ’s own description is equal to of some impressive exploit of computational audio recording .

The updated AirPods Max got none of these features and betterment . And not only does it not embark with a 3.5 millimetre to USB - C cable , Apple has yet to offer this cable as an optional accessory . But that ’s not all .

Even if Apple could n’t see out a fashion to give the AirPods Max better audio timbre , why not gear up some of the AirPods Max ’s other areas of weakness ? Battery sprightliness continue just 20 hours . Perhaps that ’s enough for most United States , but it keeps the AirPods Max at the very lowest end of the barrage life spectrum for wireless headphones — an inauspicious world given that at $ 549 , these rump are among the most expensive .

Then there ’s the case . I use that term broadly speaking . Apple ’s flaky , magnetically latch screening offer some trade protection for the AirPods Max ’s earcups and earcushions , but the two physical controls remain entirely exposed , as does the headband . Again , these are n’t cheap earphone . They merit good protection .

The AirPods Max are very popular . On a recent slip to Scandinavia , I was stunned by how many people were outwear them . Maybe Apple figures there ’s no pauperism to upgrade them beyond swapping out the charging port . But I find that to be a misanthropical response to a market where competitors like Bose , Sennheiser , and Sony keep adding meaningful melioration to their products with every new generation .

I can only hope that Apple sees the updated AirPods Max as a temporary stopgap . A short - terminus way to keep its sale numbers up for a few more month until it can release a true second - gen product .