After a lot of leaks regarding AirPods branded headphones over the past few months, and a bunch of reports trying to leak what they will offer, Apple has finally launched the brand new AirPods Max via a press release. These are the first pair of wireless over the ear headphones in the AirPods line and offer some impressive features. However, they are also priced at a mind-numbing $549 (Rs.59,900 in India) which puts them well out of the typical AirPods territory. So, if you are in the market for new Apple earphones, and for some reason are confused between getting the AirPods Pro and the AirPods Max, here is a detailed, down to the nitty-gritty details, comparison of the AirPods Max vs AirPods Pro.
As annoying as it is that Apple decided to call its decidedly audiophile-territory headphones AirPods Max, the headphones themselves offer some impressive features, and some major upgrades over the AirPods Pro.
- Compatibility
- Design
- Functionality
- Playback Controls and Siri
- Active Noise Cancellation
- Sound Quality
- Water and Sweat Resistance
- Battery and Charging
- Service and Repairs
- Which One Should You Get?
Compatibility
To be honest, this isn’t really a difference. Both the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max support the same devices, with all the same caveats. However, those caveats are worth noticing. So that’s why I’m mentioning this thing right off the bat.
Both the AirPods Max and AirPods Pro support phones all the way down to the 1st generation iPhone SE, which is great. However, if you’re using the iPhone SE, iPhone 6s/6s Plus, or iPhone 7/7Plus, you should know that you won’t be able to use Audio Sharing with those phones.
Design
Obviously, the most apparent difference between these two devices is the design. The AirPods Pro are a pair of small, in-ear earphones with replaceable ear-tips for the perfect seal in your ear. The AirPods Max, on the other hand, are huge over the ear headphones with memory foam ear cups. These form a seal around your ears and deliver high quality sound.
The AirPods Max, being headphones, are obviously much heavier, coming in at 384.8 grams. In comparison, Sony’s WH-1000XM4 (currently $278) weigh 253 grams. However, those aren’t $500 headphones, and the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (currently $549), a pair of ~$550 headphones, also weigh 370 grams.
The AirPods Max were launched last night, but they still use the same H1 chip as the AirPods Pro launched in 2019. That means, feature wise, you get pretty much all the same features on either of these devices. That said, note that the AirPods Max have two H1 chips (one in each ear cup) which should improve the computational audio performance of these headphones.
Both of them support Apple’s really easy one-tap set up with your iPhone. You get hands-free Siri (which is more useful than you’d think) and automatic message readouts using Siri. Plus, features like Active Noise Cancellation and Adaptive EQ (more on both of these features later).
One of the things that have changed with the AirPods Max is how you control music playback, volume, and invoke Siri on your headphones. The AirPods Pro have pressure-sensitive stems that you can press to play/pause music, skip tracks, enable/disable active noise cancellation etc.
I feel fairly neutral about the Digital Crown on the AirPods Max, but it does offer a really useful feature — volume control. Believe it or not, the AirPods Pro don’t have built-in volume controls. You will either have to use your iPhone’s volume rocker, or ask Siri to change the volume. Both of those methods are less than intuitive. However, with the Digital Crown on the AirPods Max, you can simply rotate it to change the volume. That’s definitely going to prove useful.
On the AirPods Pro, you can switch between ANC and Transparency modes by long pressing the stem, while on the AirPods Max there is a dedicated button to switch between the two modes.
The AirPods Pro delivered slightly better sound quality than the AirPods, and it’s reasonable to expect the AirPods Max to sound much better than the AirPods Pro as well. After all, you get a huge 40mm driver within these ear cups as compared to the tiny driver inside the AirPods Pro. Plus, with the memory-foam ear cups you can be assured of an amazing sound seal around your ears which will also help with sound quality. At the end of the day, headphones usually sound better than earphones, and when the price difference is that stark — $250 vs $550 — they had better sound pretty damn amazing.
That said, where the AirPods Pro were competing with high-end in-ear headphones like the Sony WF-1000XM3 (currently $168), the price tag associated with the AirPods Max puts them in a remarkably more difficult position.
Unfortunately, for all their advanced features, the AirPods Max don’t offer any sort of water or sweat resistance. The AirPods Pro, on the other hand, offer IPX4 sweat and water resistance, which means you can use them even in light rain. I’m sure that the AirPods Max handle some level of sweat, but don’t go out wearing them if it’s raining. You don’t want to end up ruining your $550 pair of headphones after all, do you?
The AirPods Max, courtesy of their size, have a much better battery life than the AirPods Pro. While the latter last only about 4.5 hours on a charge, the AirPods Max are rated for 20 hours of battery life with active noise cancelation and spatial audio enabled. Needless to say, this should be even higher if you are not using ANC on your AirPods Max.
That said, the AirPods Pro do come with a charging case that can charge them multiple times for a total battery life of 24 hours. Now here’s the clincher. The AirPods Max do come with a Smart Case in the box. However, this case can’t store any charge and recharge your AirPods Max on the go.
Both the AirPods Pro and the AirPods Max charge via Lightning cables though, and Apple includes a USB Type-C to Lightning cable in the box with the AirPods Max. It’s a shame though, that a pair of high end headphones don’t support USB-C charging.
Apple hasn’t specified the out of warranty repair cost for the AirPods Max. But if the AirPods Pro cost $89 to fix as compared to $69 for the AirPods, I’m sure the AirPods Max are even more expensive.
Taking a leap from the AirPods Pro to the AirPods Max isn’t a tiny price jump. It’s a full $300 more. So you need to be very sure if you want to buy one. I think the AirPods Max is for people who want the magic of AirPods along with best audio experience and a long battery life. Yes, with the case, AirPods Pro offers a comparable battery life, but if you are on long flights, you don’t want to take your headphones to charge them every 4 hours or so.
AirPods Max vs AirPods Pro
It’s hard to look at the AirPods Max and not wonder whether they will do as well as the AirPods and the AirPods Pro. Those offerings from Apple have become ubiquitous in the consumer world. At $550, Apple seems to be targeting a luxury audience. One that’s likely to get the headphones as a status symbol more so than anything else.
