Today, Apple announced an upcoming firmware update for the AirPods Max with USB-C, which will provide support for lossless audio. Along with this announcement, the company has begun selling a new cable designed for wired playback with the latest AirPods Max that features a standard headphone jack.
New firmware will allow wired playback, and Apple is now offering a USB-C to 3.5 mm cable
Last autumn, Apple introduced the new AirPods Max, but the changes were quite minimal.
- New color options were introduced.
- A USB-C port replaced the Lightning connector.
- It introduced support for Personalized Spatial Audio.
That was the extent of the updates.
For those of us hoping for a more significant upgrade akin to an AirPods Max 2, this was rather disappointing.
This disappointment was further exacerbated by a notable downgrade that the new USB-C model experienced.
The original AirPods Max supported wired playback through a specialized Lightning to 3.5 mm cable, but the new model lacked both a compatible cable and hardware support for wired playback via USB-C.
Fortunately, things are set to improve with the firmware update expected next month.
In anticipation of this update, Apple has also begun offering a new USB-C to 3.5 mm audio cable.
This new cable is priced at $39 and is available for purchase on the Apple Store now.
Apple states:
This cable can connect the AirPods Max to 3.5 mm audio sources, such as the audio-out port on airplanes. It also allows users to connect their iOS or iPadOS devices to 3.5 mm audio ports, like those on car stereos or other types of speakers.
If you want to connect your AirPods Max to a device using the included USB-C cable, that’s also an option. However, for connecting to a 3.5 mm headphone jack, this new cable will serve as an excellent solution.
We hope that third-party cables, which tend to be more affordable, will also be compatible once the new firmware is released, but we’ll have to wait for confirmation on that front.
Does the option for wired playback on AirPods Max matter significantly to you? Share your thoughts in the comments.
