It’s been nearly four years since Apple released the AirPods Max, so an update to the over-ear headphones is highly anticipated.
Below, we round up the latest AirPods Max rumors.
As a reminder, Apple released the AirPods Max in December 2020, after announcing them in a press release shared on the Apple Newsroom website. The earbuds haven’t received any hardware upgrades since, leading some customers to delay their purchase and hope that Apple will eventually release the AirPods Max 2.
Unfortunately, rumors suggest that the AirPods Max 2 won’t be arriving anytime soon, with only minor revisions expected for the earbuds later this year.
BloombergMark Gurman previously reported that Apple plans to update the AirPods Max in late 2024 with a USB-C charging port, instead of the current Lightning port, and he said new color options are also possible for the earbuds. Beyond that, Gurman said Apple doesn’t plan any other changes for the revised AirPods Max, to the point that he expects the updated earbuds to still be considered the first-generation AirPods Max.
If the information shared by Gurman is accurate, it means that the AirPods Max would not be updated with the H2 chip that debuted in the second-generation AirPods Pro a few years ago. As a result, the AirPods Max would not benefit from Adaptive Audio features, nor the longer battery life offered by the H2 chip’s increased power efficiency.
If Apple ever does release the AirPods Max 2, plausible improvements include the H2 chip, longer battery life, improved active noise cancellation, a U2 chip with support for Precision Finding in the Find My app, Bluetooth 5.3, and a redesigned carrying case.
Gurman said the AirPods Max will be updated in late 2024, but it’s unclear when exactly. Apple recently announced that it will hold a media event on September 9, where it is expected to unveil the fourth-generation AirPods alongside new iPhones and Apple Watches, but it’s unclear whether the revised AirPods Max will also be unveiled at that time.
The AirPods Max usually cost $549 in the US, but Amazon has the earbuds on sale for $399 in all color options, including green, pink, silver, sky blue, and space gray.
