NEW AIRPODS!
Apple unveils AirPods Max
And Apple Fitness+ also hits the big time
EDITED BY ROB MEAD-GREEN
A
fter many months of rumours, Apple has finally launched its own brand over-ear headphones, dubbed AirPods Max. The top-end cans are packed with premium features but come with a premium price tag of £549 to match.
The similarities to AirPods come not just in the name – AirPods Max have a raft of features that first made their debut in Apple’s trend-setting earbuds. AirPods Max boast Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Transparency mode, and Adaptive EQ, which are all present in AirPods Pro. The last of these features measures the sound signals delivered to you as you listen, then adjusts the low and mid-range frequencies in real time. This complements what Apple calls spatial audio, which tracks the position of your head and adjusts playback direction to give a surround sound-like feel.
Transparency mode, meanwhile, enables you to hear outside sounds, such as nearby voices and traffic, while simultaneously listening to your music. You can switch between Transparency mode and ANC – which almost completely blocks out surrounding noise – by touching a button on one of the earcups.
With ANC and spatial audio enabled, Apple says you get 20 hours of battery life; you might find you get more if you opt for Transparency mode instead of ANC. You can charge AirPods Max with a Lightning cable, and a five-minute charge gives you 1.5 hours of battery life.