48 Macworld • March 2021AIRPODS MAX
their closest
competitor and
are arriving pretty
late to the game
bringing features
we’ve seen and
heard before.
They feature the
same Adaptive
EQ, Active Noise
Cancellation,
Transparency
mode and spatial
audio that’s
available on
the AirPods
Pro, along with the H1 chip, the
Apple Watch’s Digital Crown and the
iPad Air’s colours.
Along with colours comes the
impeccable design, which Apple
says is “a breathable knit mesh
canopy”, stainless steel headband,
and “a revolutionary mechanism
that balances and distributes
ear cup pressure, and allows it to
independently pivot and rotate to
fit the unique contours of a user’s
head”. The cups themselves are
large but surprisingly don’t include
an embossed Apple logo so they’re
very clean.
They’re also heavy. While 270g
might not seem like much, it’s heavierthan the Bose Noise Cancelling
Headphones 700 (261.6g), Sony’s
WH-1000XM3 (254g) and the Beats
Studio 3 (260g). Apple says the
headband “is made to distribute
weight and reduce on-head pressure”,
but when you’re putting something on
your head every ounce matters.
The 20-hour listening time is also
good, but not as long as the 30 hours
offered by Sony’s WH-1000XM3 or
even the 22 hours you get with the
Beats Studio 3, both of which cost
significantly less.SOUNDING OFF
As far as the sound goes, according
to Apple, the AirPods Max featureThe AirPods Max come in five colours to match the iPad Air.48 Macworld • March 2021AIRPODS MAX
their closest
competitor and
are arriving pretty
late to the game
bringing features
we’ve seen and
heard before.
They feature the
same Adaptive
EQ, Active Noise
Cancellation,
Transparency
mode and spatial
audio that’s
available on
the AirPods
Pro, along with the H1 chip, the
Apple Watch’s Digital Crown and the
iPad Air’s colours.
Along with colours comes the
impeccable design, which Apple
says is “a breathable knit mesh
canopy”, stainless steel headband,
and “a revolutionary mechanism
that balances and distributes
ear cup pressure, and allows it to
independently pivot and rotate to
fit the unique contours of a user’s
head”. The cups themselves are
large but surprisingly don’t include
an embossed Apple logo so they’re
very clean.
They’re also heavy. While 270g
might not seem like much, it’s heavierthan the Bose Noise Cancelling
Headphones 700 (261.6g), Sony’s
WH-1000XM3 (254g) and the Beats
Studio 3 (260g). Apple says the
headband “is made to distribute
weight and reduce on-head pressure”,
but when you’re putting something on
your head every ounce matters.
The 20-hour listening time is also
good, but not as long as the 30 hours
offered by Sony’s WH-1000XM3 or
even the 22 hours you get with the
Beats Studio 3, both of which cost
significantly less.SOUNDING OFF
As far as the sound goes, according
to Apple, the AirPods Max featureThe AirPods Max come in five colours to match the iPad Air.