AirPods Max are still expensive after 5 years of sale, are they still worth buying?

- Advantage:

+ Compact, elegant design.

+ Good active noise cancellation.

- Limit:

+ Heavy design, not versatile.

+ Expensive price.

+ Limited connectivity.

AirPods Max are still expensive after 5 years of sale, are they still worth buying? ( Video : Khanh Vi - Hai Yen).

Design

At first glance, AirPods Max easily creates sympathy with a minimalist, comfortable, recognizable design. Even though this is a product without an Apple logo, we can still recognize it immediately.

The ear cups are made of anodized aluminum, with a variety of color options for a premium look. Aluminum is a rare material for headphones. Most other headphones use plastic to reduce weight.

It seems that for Apple, this was a deliberate choice to create a different look. The result is a sturdy, neat-looking product but not light: 385g.

The mesh frame on top of the head also helps reduce pressure somewhat, but the AirPods Max are still not ideal for long-term wear.

The pressure on both sides of the ears is quite strong, easily causing fatigue if worn continuously for many hours, especially for people wearing glasses. Users only feel comfortable wearing it for about 3-4 hours, and this time is reduced to only 2-3 hours if wearing glasses.

Despite the pressure, the weight of the headset still makes it easy to slip when the user tilts their head back. This makes the product not a good choice for sports enthusiasts, active people.

In return, the headset has a good fit. The ear cups are wide (62 x 41mm), suitable for most ear shapes, and can be removed for easy cleaning or replacement.

The stainless steel handle allows flexible rotation to adjust the earcups, while the soft mesh padding in the same color as the body creates a relatively stable seal.

The controls are located on the right earcup, with the Digital Crown providing good feedback, used to adjust the volume, play/pause music, and activate Siri. Next to that is a secondary button to turn on the power and switch between noise-cancelling modes.

One drawback for many users is that the AirPods Max cannot be folded. And the Smart Case is almost more for decoration than protection because it leaves most of the headphones exposed.

Despite the disadvantages in use, for many people AirPods Max is not only a device for listening to music, but also becomes a fashion accessory. This headset is often the highlight in the outfit of many celebrities.

Sound quality

The sound of AirPods Max is thick, open and detailed, balancing three ranges: bass - mid - treble.

With a 40mm dynamic driver system and Adaptive EQ technology, AirPods Max automatically adjusts the sound to match the shape of the user's ear, helping each note to be reproduced more faithfully.

Thanks to that, the headphones are suitable for many genres such as indie, pop, soul, jazz or soft rock, while hip-hop and EDM sometimes do not reach the necessary "exposure" in the bass and treble ranges.

In terms of audio customization, AirPods Max doesn’t have a built-in EQ or a dedicated app. Apple only allows users to customize it in Accessibility > Sound/Visual, with a few options like voice boost or equalizer. There’s no ability to adjust EQ by frequency band or create your own presets.

The highlight is Personalized Spatial Audio, which helps recreate 3D sound according to each person's ear structure, creating a "mini theater" feeling when listening to music or watching movies that support Dolby Atmos technology on Apple Music, Apple TV+ or Disney+.

The AirPods Max offer pretty good call quality. The sound isn't crystal clear, but voices are still clearly heard and loud enough in most situations.

Noise cancellation capabilities

In terms of noise cancellation, the AirPods Max really do a great job. The headphones have two main modes: Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Transparency, or you can turn both off if you want.

With ANC off, the headphones still eliminate most of the fan and light motor noise. With it on, the noise from keyboard typing or office chatter almost disappears.

6 external microphones and 2 internal microphones, combined with sound processing algorithms, reduce noise by up to 33dB across the entire frequency range. Although not reaching the level of "absolute silence", the noise cancellation effect of AirPods Max is still good enough.

The transparency mode that allows you to hear environmental sounds is also well done by Apple. The sound is transmitted naturally, without distortion, making it easy for users to have a quick conversation without having to remove the headphones.

The downside is that AirPods Max still uses the H1 chip, instead of the H2 like AirPods Pro 2, so there is no conversation recognition feature (automatically reduces the volume when the user is chatting) or "Adaptive Sound" (a flexible combination mode between ANC and Transparency).

Battery life and charging

The battery life of AirPods Max is about 20 hours with ANC turned on, lower than many competitors such as Sony WH-1000XM5 (30 hours) or Sennheiser Momentum 4 (60 hours).

For the average user, this is still enough for about a week. 5 minutes of quick charging can give 1.5 hours of music listening.

AirPods Max don't have a power button, but they automatically go into battery-saving mode when not in use. The quickest way to switch modes is to put them in the Smart Case, which can last up to 2 weeks.

If not, users can activate this mode by leaving the headset alone for about 5 minutes.

When away from home, the device goes to sleep, but keeps the Bluetooth connection and searches for nearby Apple devices. This is battery-draining and inconvenient when using multiple nearby devices.

Connectivity

AirPods Max support Subband Codec (SBC) and Apple Advanced Audio Codec (AAC), not compatible with premium audio codecs like LDAC or aptX.

For users of many products in the Apple ecosystem, this does not significantly affect. But for Android and Windows users, the sound transmission quality will be limited to the basic level, making it inconvenient to connect.

Airpods Max connects to iPhone, iPad, iMac... easily, but the sensitive connection of this headset sometimes causes trouble.

In the reporter's actual experience, AirPods Max often automatically connects to other newer devices, sometimes... friends' phones, or automatically turns back on after disconnecting.

Should I buy AirPods Max?

Should buy if:

- You want good sound quality and noise cancellation.

- You are using Apple devices and want to take full advantage of the ecosystem features.

- You value premium design and experience.

Do not buy if:

- You are not using another Apple device.

- You need long battery life or the ability to fold flexibly when traveling.

- You want the best value for your money.

For users outside the Apple ecosystem, there are plenty of options with lower prices, longer battery life, and wide compatibility.

If you love minimalist, luxurious design, high-quality sound and good noise cancellation, AirPods Max is still a choice worth considering.

If you’re already attached to an iPhone, iPad, or iMac, AirPods Max are still one of the best wireless headphones you can own. Five years on, while not perfect, their performance, build quality, and sound quality are still top-notch.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/airpods-max-van-dat-sau-5-nam-mo-ban-lieu-con-dang-mua-20251014052656555.htm