The AirPods Max certainly bring a lot to the table. While their cost is steep, those seeking Apple’s over-ear headphones will find plenty to appreciate. Nevertheless, despite their notable qualities, AirPods Max occupy a somewhat problematic niche in Apple’s lineup.
AirPods Max aren’t Apple’s only niche product
Recently, Mark Gurman shared some less-than-encouraging news for fans of the AirPods Max:
Apple currently has no solid plans for a significant update to the AirPods Max. The headphones aren’t selling well enough to warrant substantial investment, but they aren’t failing enough to be canceled completely. If you’ve visited a high-end gym in Los Angeles or New York, you know these $550 headphones do have their audience — even with their hefty price tag and aging technology.
Gurman’s assessment makes sense: if a product is too niche for substantial investment, Apple should focus resources elsewhere.
Nonetheless, in the realm of Apple’s other niche products, AirPods Max stands out in a less favorable light.
- The Mac Pro is another highly specialized Apple device, yet it continues to receive regular updates featuring the latest Apple silicon.
- Apple TV 4K is also considered niche, but while hardware refreshes are infrequent, the tvOS platform sees consistent, valuable feature enhancements year after year.
- Currently, the Vision Pro is another niche product, but Apple’s significant investment in the emerging Vision platform underscores its importance.
When examining Apple’s entire product range, the device that most closely resembles AirPods Max is arguably the HomePod.
While both products are audio-focused, it seems Apple is more than willing to let both drift with minimal investment.
The HomePod made its debut in 2018, with a successor emerging five years later in 2023, alongside the HomePod mini released in between.
Initially, the HomePod line received a fair amount of attention from Apple with regular feature updates, but in recent years, such updates have slowed considerably.
Although Apple continues to release new HomePod software, significant improvements have been notably absent for some time.
The unique problem of AirPods Max
Although the HomePod may not receive much attention from Apple, it arguably fares better than the AirPods Max due to one significant factor: there are currently no other Apple products in the same category that overshadow the HomePod.
Conversely, the AirPods Max have been outperformed in various aspects by the broader AirPods line.
- AirPods Pro 2 include new Hearing Aid, Hearing Test, and Hearing Protection features, along with Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Voice Isolation, and Personalized Volume.
- AirPods 4 share many features with AirPods Pro 2 as well.
As pointed out on Apple’s AirPods comparison page, users can’t even activate Siri on the AirPods Max with just “Siri”; you must say the full “Hey Siri.”
Despite this, both of Apple’s in-ear options come at a significantly lower price point while offering superior features overall.
This stark price discrepancy, combined with noticeable feature gaps favoring the cheaper products, positions AirPods Max in a precarious situation.
Currently, no other Apple product is receiving such little investment while simultaneously lagging behind its more affordable counterparts.
As someone not involved in product design, I can’t comment on the feasibility of enhancing the AirPods Max.
However, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect that even small improvements could address this issue. I’m not advocating for a complete redesign, just an upgrade from the H1 chip to H2 to enable modern AirPods capabilities for the premium AirPods Max.
Will this lead to a significant increase in sales? It’s uncertain. Still, it might resolve the current shortcomings faced by the AirPods Max.
What are your thoughts? Should Apple invest further in enhancing the AirPods Max? Share your views in the comments.
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