APPLE has begun shipping a new pair of headphones called AirPods Max – with a revamped over-ear design.
The long-rumoured cans are totally wireless and sit as a step up from the regular AirPods and AirPods pro.
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Apple AirPods Max release date, price and what are they?
Unlike the old earbud design, AirPods Max sit over your ears like premium headphones.
And they’ve got premium features like hi-fi audio, adaptive equalising, active noise-cancellation, and “spatial” audio.
Like previous AirPods, they’ll likely be a hit with Apple fans – and will be high on Christmas lists.
But they don’t come cheap, starting at a lofty £549.
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That’s far higher than the regular AirPods (£159) and AirPods Pro (£249).
Of course, that’s no surprise given that these are over-ear headphones, which typically command far higher pricing.
The AirPods Max sold out within hours after Apple announced the headphones on December 8. The company began shipping the gadget on December 15.
“AirPods are the most popular headphones in the world, beloved for their effortless setup, incredible sound quality and iconic design,” said Apple’s Greg Joswiak.
“With AirPods Max, we are bringing that magical AirPods experience to a stunning over-ear design with high-fidelity audio.”
The AirPods Max are available to pre-order today from the Apple Store.
But they won’t start shipping until Tuesday, December 15.
Apple AirPods Max – supported devices
Here’s what you’ll need to use AirPods Max…
- iPhone running iOS 14.3 or later
- iPad running iPad OS 14.3 or later
- Mac running macOS Big Sur 11.1 or later
- Apple Watch running watchOS 7.2 or later
- Apple TV running tvOS 14.3 or later
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Apple AirPods Max design and comfort
The new AirPods have a slick design that tries to justify their high pricing.
You get cushioned ear cups that attach to the headband with a new system that lets them pivot to your head contours.
And they’re designed to create a seal with your ear for immersive sound.
There’s an Apple Watch-style Digital Crown on the side for volume control – as well as playing, pausing, skipping tracks, answering and ending phones calls, and for activating Siri.
The headband frame is built from stainless steel, and should fit most head shapes and sizes.
Its arms telescope too, so even the most big-headed audiophiles needn’t worry.
There are five colour options available: Silver, Space Grey, Sky Blue, Pink, and Green.
You can also store them in the bundled Smart Case that puts the headphones in an ultra-low power state to preserve battery life when not in use.
Following last week’s launch, Apple fans on social media joked that the case’s unusual design made it look like a bra.
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Apple AirPods Max audio and features
Apple has fitted the AirPods Max with a 40mm custom driver for “rich, deep bass, accurate mid-ranges, and crisp, clean high-frequency extension”.
Most headphone makers will offer up similar claims, so we’ll need to wait for a review model to see if the AirPods Max are up to snuff.
There’s a custom dual neodymium ring-magnet motor for minimising distortion.
And each cup has an Apple H1 chip built in for delivering the best-quality audio at any given time – using computational trickery.
Adaptive EQ adjusts the sound to fit the seal of your ear cushions in real-time.
Active Noise Cancellation detects environment noise using microphones, with internal microphones listening for sound making its way through the cups too.
And the headphones then account for that with “reverse” noise, to cancel the din out.
There’s a Transparency Mode (just like on AirPods Pro) that lets you listen to music, while letting in environmental sound. Great if you’re waiting for a train announcement, or the like.
And there’s also a feature called Spatial Audio that tracks your head to place sound virtually anywhere in a space.
It means you can get theatre-like audio for content recorded in 5.1, 7.1 or Dolby Atmos.
You also get all the usual AirPods Max features, like head detection to play or pause music when a cup is lifted – and Siri integration too.
There’s automatic pairing with Apple devices signed into your iCloud account, and setup is a single tap.
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Apple AirPods Max battery life – how long do they last?
Battery life is always unique to the user, so take Apple’s claims with a pinch of salt.
But Apple says you’ll get around 20 hours of hi-fi audio, talk time or movie playback listening per charge.
That’s with Active Noise Cancellation and Spatial Audio enabled.
It’s an impressive claim, and battery life will likely grow even longer without these turned on.
The AirPods Max are available to pre-order today, but won’t ship until Tuesday, December 15.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
