Apple AirPods Max headphones to cost $899
Apple has released its long-awaited AirPods Max over-the-ear headphones, with a hefty Australian price tag of $899.
Building on the success of its very popular AirPods earphones, Apple says its new noise-cancelling wireless headphones will deliver “exceptional acoustic performance”.
They have a breathable knit-mesh “canopy” on the top of the stainless-steel headband, to distribute weight and reduce on-head pressure. The mesh mirrors the weave on the ear cups, which use “acoustically engineered memory foam” to create a seal.
The cups themselves are designed to pivot and rotate to fit the contours of your head and balance the pressure on your ears.
Control comes via a Digital Crown – like the button on an Apple Watch. It can control the volume, play or pause the audio, skip tracks, answer or end phone calls and activate Siri.
The headphones automatically detect when they are on your head and pause when removed or when one cup is lifted from your ear.
The AirPods Max have active noise cancellation – they block out exterior noise by using three outward-facing microphones on each cup to detect environmental noise and one on the inside to monitor the sound reaching your ear. If you want to listen to your music and the environment around you, a press of a second button activates Transparency Mode.
An interesting technology is “Spatial Audio” which places sounds virtually in a space and keeps them there even if you move your head around. As Apple explains: “Using the gyroscope and accelerometer in AirPods Max and iPhone or iPad, spatial audio tracks the motion of a user’s head as well as the device, compares the motion data, then remaps the sound field so it stays anchored to the device, even as the user’s head moves.”
Apple says the headphones’ sound quality is “rich, deep bass, accurate mid-ranges, and crisp, clean high-frequency extension”.
For the audiophiles out there, this comes courtesy of 40mm Apple-designed dynamic drivers and dual neodymium ring magnet motors that keep total harmonic distortion to less than 1 per cent across the audible range, even at maximum volume.
Battery life is rated at up to 20 hours of audio or talk time with active noise cancellation and spatial audio enabled.
The AirPods Max come in five colours: Space Grey, Silver, Sky Blue, Green and Pink.
Apple AirPods Max price
RRP $899
Available to order now, with availability from Tuesday, December 15, 2020.
