Don’t Expect Much from This Year’s AirPods Max

Most leakers and analysts agree that we’ll see an updated model of Apple’s premium AirPods Max over-ear headphones this year. However, the consensus has generally been that they’ll be a minor refresh at best, mainly intended to switch them over from Lightning to USB-C and catch the specs up for 2024.

However, a new rumor suggests that the 2024 model could be even more of a letdown than we’d feared. While nobody expects a major redesign — at least not beyond the possibility of some new colorways — the hope has been that Apple would bring them up to the standard of the second-generation AirPods Pro released in 2022.

Right now, the secret sauce in Apple’s flagship AirPods Pro is the company’s H2 chip, which delivers significantly better active noise cancellation (ANC) and powers new iOS 17 features like Adaptive Audio, which includes Adaptive Noise Control and Conversation Awareness.

It was disappointing when the AirPods Max were left out of the iOS 17 party, but it wasn’t entirely surprising. The over-ears may be Apple’s most expensive headphones, but they were over two years old and still used the H1 chip that debuted with the second-generation AirPods in early 2019.

It’s been eighteen months since Apple released any new AirPods models — last fall’s USB-C update to the 2022 AirPods Pro notwithstanding — so, understandably, everything else has fallen behind the H2 chip. However, by all reports, 2024 is expected to be chock-full of new AirPods, with possibly two new ‘AirPods 4’ models set to arrive alongside the refreshed AirPods Max.

Whether these new AirPods 4 will get the H2 chip is anybody’s guess right now, but if they do, they might leave the 2024 AirPods Max even further behind the curve. In a post on Weibo spotted by MacRumors, leaker “Setsuna Digital” (aka Instant Digital) claims that this year’s AirPods Max will still use Apple’s H1 chip.

While the leaker doesn’t have a long track record, their reports have been reasonably accurate. Last year, they accurately predicted the yellow iPhone 14 and that the Apple Watch Series 9 wouldn’t get any significant hardware changes besides the new S9 chip. They were also mostly right about Spatial Video recording coming to the iPhone 15 Pro, although they believed it would herald the arrival of the iPhone Ultra instead.

Nevertheless, this has a ring of truth to it. In December, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said they aren’t a big enough seller for Apple to sink significant money into a new model.

Apple also looks to breathe new life into the AirPods Max headphones. The cans don’t sell well enough for the company to invest in entirely new hardware or software features, but Apple is planning a model that trades in the Lightning charger for USB-C and potentially adds new colors.

Mark Gurman

However, it’s arguable whether simply installing a pair of H2 chips in the AirPods Max (the current model uses two H1 chips — one in each earcup) counts as an “entirely new hardware” feature. The real tell here will be what Apple decides to do with its “AirPods 4,” as it seems inconceivable that it would leave the $549 AirPods Max three years out of date; it might as well not bother releasing a new model at all, especially now that the Beats Studio Pro have taken up their mantle.

The bottom line is that we’ll have to wait and see, but like most rumors, this should all be taken with a healthy dose of salt. Apple could still surprise us, as unlikely as that sounds.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]