44 Macworld • March 2021AIRPODS MAX
Max are not quite as adroit
at eliminating highly regular
sounds like air conditioners
as the reigning-champ
Sony XM4s, but they’re
far better at clearing
away more irregular
sounds like traffic, general
office disturbances, or
background talking.
Most high-end noise
cancelling headphones
have some sort of
transparency mode that
leaves noise cancelling active but
uses the microphones to pipe in
a bit of outside sound, so you can
hold a quick conversation or hear
other important sounds around
you. Apple’s transparency mode
is light years ahead of everyone
else’s. It sounds more clear, natural,
and normal than any other noise-
cancelling headphones I have ever
used. It’s almost like not wearing
headphones at all, except you can
still hear your music.
The microphone works just fine for
phone calls or hands-free ‘Hey Siri’,”
but there’s nothing special about it
– the microphone audio is good, but
not ‘oh my god’ good.
Apple says you can expect the
battery to last for 20 hours of listeningtime with noise cancelling enabled,
which is good but not better than the
competition. I found the company’s
estimate to be pretty accurate.
Charging is fast, too: just 15 minutes
on a basic 5-watt power adapter took
me from 20- to 44 per cent. Overnight
battery drain, without the awful Smart
Case, was only about 3 per cent. You
can listen to the headphones while
charging without any buzzing, hiss,
or distortion, a feat not every pair of
wireless headphones can pull off.FOR APPLE USERS ONLY
While there’s a lot to like about the
AirPods Max, you probably shouldn’t
even consider them if you don’t do
nearly all your listening on an Apple
product of some sort. If you ever wantThe AirPods Max have nine microphones, behind
tiny slits all around the edges.44 Macworld • March 2021AIRPODS MAX
Max are not quite as adroit
at eliminating highly regular
sounds like air conditioners
as the reigning-champ
Sony XM4s, but they’re
far better at clearing
away more irregular
sounds like traffic, general
office disturbances, or
background talking.
Most high-end noise
cancelling headphones
have some sort of
transparency mode that
leaves noise cancelling active but
uses the microphones to pipe in
a bit of outside sound, so you can
hold a quick conversation or hear
other important sounds around
you. Apple’s transparency mode
is light years ahead of everyone
else’s. It sounds more clear, natural,
and normal than any other noise-
cancelling headphones I have ever
used. It’s almost like not wearing
headphones at all, except you can
still hear your music.
The microphone works just fine for
phone calls or hands-free ‘Hey Siri’,”
but there’s nothing special about it
– the microphone audio is good, but
not ‘oh my god’ good.
Apple says you can expect the
battery to last for 20 hours of listeningtime with noise cancelling enabled,
which is good but not better than the
competition. I found the company’s
estimate to be pretty accurate.
Charging is fast, too: just 15 minutes
on a basic 5-watt power adapter took
me from 20- to 44 per cent. Overnight
battery drain, without the awful Smart
Case, was only about 3 per cent. You
can listen to the headphones while
charging without any buzzing, hiss,
or distortion, a feat not every pair of
wireless headphones can pull off.FOR APPLE USERS ONLY
While there’s a lot to like about the
AirPods Max, you probably shouldn’t
even consider them if you don’t do
nearly all your listening on an Apple
product of some sort. If you ever wantThe AirPods Max have nine microphones, behind
tiny slits all around the edges.