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Wild. I have been eagerly awaiting this refresh, but this doesn't address either of the main issues with the original AirPods Max: 1. Still just as heavy. The

Wild. I have been eagerly awaiting this refresh, but this doesn't address either of the main issues with the original AirPods Max: 1. Still just as heavy. The AirPods Max sound quite good, but they are very heavy, to the point of being fairly uncomfortable after listening for any longer amount of time. This release as the exact same weight as the originals (13.6 oz). 2. Still no off button/position. They stay partially on unless you put them in the awkward and useless "case", which means they're constantly out of power when you want to use them. There's even an obvious fix: the ear cups swivel flat, they could just make this the "power off" position. Solved. But they didn't, so presumably these still have the same problem. There's also no mention of magnetic charging via stand, which would be another way to help alleviate this problem. If these were even a few ounces lighter and powered off properly, I would buy them for sure. Given this announcement, I guess I will look for something else to replace the old AirPods Max.

infocollector 7mo ago
I’ve been using AirPods Max since they first launched, and over the years I’ve tried several times to switch to Bose. However, the Bose headphones just haven’t worked as smoothly for me from a software and integration standpoint. I tend to run into more glitches and small issues compared to the AirPods Max. I’m not sure whether that’s primarily a Bose issue or something related to Apple’s ecosystem, but my guess is that other high-end headphones probably face similar integration challenges when paired with an iPhone. On the bright side, Max is very reliable.
- microtonal 7mo ago
  I also have the AirPods Max and had the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, and it is hard to convey how effortless the Max are in comparison. The switching between devices is so seamless (if you are in the Apple ecosystem). The controls are also much easier to find and use. The weight hasn't been an issue for me.
46493168 7mo ago
Are you sure your AirPods Max have the latest firmware? This issue was addressed in an update right after the first version came out and people reported the issue you're describing: If you set your AirPods Max down and leave them stationary for 5 minutes, they go into a low power mode to preserve battery charge. After 72 stationary hours out of the Smart Case, your AirPods Max go into a lower power mode that turns off Bluetooth and Find My to preserve battery charge further [Archive link, as the latest Support doc doesn't have this wording any longer] [0]https://web.archive.org/web/20210315052229/https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211886 https://web.archive.org/web/20210315052229/https://support.a...
- femiagbabiaka 7mo ago
  It's still extremely odd that they don't just... turn off.. ever? Even the case marketing copy notes this: > When stored in the soft, slim Smart Case, AirPods Max enter an ultra‑low‑power state.
  - xxpor 7mo ago
    Perhaps for Find My/UWB support?
    - iAMkenough 7mo ago
      Funny enough, the original and the new AirPods Max don't have UWB. That won't help me find my headphones in my house. If for Find My, why stay in "low power" mode for days before moving to "ultralow power" mode? Is silly.
      - xxpor 7mo ago
        Wow, I had no idea they didn't have no UWB. Honestly that would remove half the value for me. That's crazy for Apple in 2026.
    - tombot 7mo ago
      Find my works fine on a coin cell battery on AirTag, hard to imagine they need to power up the headphones to do the same.
drcongo 7mo ago
I held off buying the first version for exactly these two reasons. Will also "hold off" on buying these.
santiagobasulto 7mo ago
I’ve been using my AirPod Max for hours for the past 2 years and never noticed they were “heavy”. I’m wondering now as I’ve never researched on headphones (I just buy simplicity from Apple, I’m not an audio sophisticated costumer) that was never brought out to me, so I haven’t even noticed.
- frizlab 7mo ago
  The AirPods Max are excessively comfortable, even though they are heavy. Some (most?) lighter headphones are actually less comfortable because they do not “fit the head” so well (at least for me). Caveat: after a while the mesh at the top starts to stretch, and then you get the two metal bands going straight into the head, and that hurts. And the worst part is: this mesh is not replaceable :( There are silicone band-aids that can be bought, but I would have very much preferred for a possibility of repair to exist…
  - Schiendelman 7mo ago
    Have you taken them to an Apple Store and said they hurt? They're likely to do something about it.
    - frizlab 7mo ago
      It’s out of warranty now. The only thing they can propose AFAIK is a replacement.
- 1123581321 7mo ago
  I tested Apple, Sony and Bose and found the AirPods Max to be the most comfortable for long periods of time, for me. It depends on how well you adjust them and what bothers you the most about headphones. It's kind of like standing desks; some people are able to go all day with it with the right setup and feel better than if they had sat. Others feel miserable after a few hours. Neither is wrong but they may not understand the other's experience, or what they might be doing differently that affects their results.
QuiEgo 7mo ago
I feel that fit and comfort is an incredibly personal thing, but the weight was always fine for me - their design spreads it out pretty well. The killer feature for me is the deep ear cups. All the Sony headphones touch my Dumbo-sized ears and get crazy warm, the APMs don’t.
- krferriter 7mo ago
  Yeah despite being heavier I find the Airpods Max more comfortable to wear than my Sonys. Sony has shockingly shallow ear cups and do get much warmer and the headband is very narrow and barely padded. The Airpods Max ear cups are better and the headband is wide and mesh so spreads out the weight and it breathes too. The one major downside to the Airpods Max is that they do not have an off button and the case is useless for throwing them in a duffel / backpack, as it doesn't protect the headband mesh at all. I have a 3rd party hardshell case for them but it is very unreliable in actually putting them in "ultralow power mode", so the battery drains.
  - neonscribe 7mo ago
    The AirPods Max are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. My head and my ears are both significantly larger than average and they are the only ones that don't squash my ears. I keep the Apple bra on it, inside a 3rd-party hard case, and it never runs down on its own. The battery is still healthy five years later. It's the last surviving Lightning connector in our household, and I might keep them for another five years.
larrik 7mo ago
As someone who has never seen these or paid attention to them I was thinking "how heavy could they possibly be?" Then I saw 13.6 oz and I was blown away. That's actually really heavy for headphones!
- jerlam 7mo ago
  Lots of people equate weight with quality. Good for selling them in store, bad for actual use.
  - killingtime74 7mo ago
    I remember a teardown where weights were taped inside. I think it was a beats headphone.
    - chihuahua 7mo ago
      It was Beats. At first it was found in counterfeit Beats, but later the same was found in genuine Beats. And then guess who bought Beats for their exquisite metal weight technology? That's right, it was Apple.
      - whynotminot 7mo ago
        They bought them for the streaming service that came with it. Not for fake weights in headphones.
        tech_hutch 7mo ago
        Streaming service?
        menno-sh 7mo ago
        https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/11/5298562/beats-music-arrives-january-21st-family-plan-exclusive-to-at-t https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/11/5298562/beats-music-arriv...
interludead 7mo ago
Apple clearly optimized for the "always ready" experience, but it does feel awkward that the intended workflow involves putting them in the case
- 0x457 7mo ago
  Putting it in or out of the case is not that big of deal (for me). However, once you take them out of the case you need to put that case somewhere, and you can't use headphone stand that was just holding them. So now I need a space for them when I don't use them and when I do use them, and it can't be the same space (in my scenario).
- crimsontech 7mo ago
  Does it? I haven't used the case since I bought them and don't feel like I'm missing anything.
doug_durham 7mo ago
I leave my AirPods Max sitting on my desk for weeks at a time outside of the case and the battery never drains. I just put mine on today after sitting on my desk for a week and they still had 99% charge.
- StefanKarpinski 7mo ago
  Strange. Are they first gen or later? I did get the absolute first gen of these, so maybe it's a problem they couldn't fix in firmware? Or I just have a defective pair?
  - Schiendelman 7mo ago
    As others have noted, you may simply need to reset them.
- lanza 7mo ago
  Same. I rarely use mine and find that they just about always still have battery. And even when they don't I'll just plug them in and go find something else to do for a few minutes and by the time I come back they are usable for hours. The talk about the power button is super strange to me.
foxwell_1959 7mo ago
Thats 386,2 gram for the rest of the world.
- s1mon 7mo ago
  Might as well be 3862 grams considering how much they hurt to wear for any length of time. I was also hoping this update would improve the ergonomics, but no. Still too heavy and no mention of any improvements to the headband.
  - vessenes 7mo ago
    I had the same reaction to the originals. They just hurt! One of my kids swiped them and I never used them again: I wanted to like them but they were almost as uncomfortable as my Vision Pro
  - joemi 7mo ago
    I think you'd find quite a difference between 386,2 g and 3862 g, especially when wearing it on your head.
    - s1mon 7mo ago
      Yes. Sarcasm. I have a pair of the first generation AirPods Max. They leave dents in my scalp if I wear them for any real amount of time. I've been an Apple person since the 1980s. This is one of the most disappointing Apple products for me ever, and I really don't want to know how much $$$$$ lifetime customer value I've contributed to Apple's bottom line.
- rpgbr 7mo ago
  [flagged]
  - joemi 7mo ago
    You're too high by a power of 10.
htk 7mo ago
Absolutely! I have both the AirPods Max and the Bose QC Ultra and even though my whole ecosystem is Apple, the QC Ultra is a lot more comfortable reliable on day to day usage. Comfort is due to weight, and reliability is the batter is predictably on the QC Ultra, but on the Max I never know if the battery went all down because I can't turn it off.
- htk 7mo ago
  Thanks to the kind soul who upvoted this horrendously typed reply. Unfortunately I can't edit it anymore.
pradn 7mo ago
They have direct feedback that many people return them bc they’re too heavy, and yet… It’s just Apple being stubborn. I guess it’s not a big enough problem for them, and they don’t care about losing the market. One must laugh.
pwatsonwailes 7mo ago
1. They have steel weights in them to make them that heavy so they feel more premium.
- mikestew 7mo ago
  You’re thinking of Beats. And you’re still wrong because the Beats were knock-offs. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47403183 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47403183
  - pwatsonwailes 7mo ago
    My mistake. Nice catch. That being said, AirPods use a steel frame construction to get the weight up for the same reason. There's a whole thing with weight in neuromarketing for luxury and luxury-adjacent products. There's fringe benefits acoustically to using it, around resonance mainly, but mostly it's to get weight and influence perception. Same reason as the knock-offs, different mechanism.
    - mikestew 7mo ago
      That being said, AirPods use a steel frame construction to get the weight up for the same reason. Noting that you have no way of knowing that. Not that you’re necessarily wrong. I just read some reviews on the Beats Studio Pros and…the reviewer noted the amount of plastic used in the construction, while complimenting the light weight. Pick a lane, folks.
reaperducer 7mo ago
They're not out of power. They're just in some weird deep hibernation mode. Mine do this, too. The work-around I use is to plug them in to the charging cable for a couple of seconds. They wake up, the green light comes on and everything is fine. It's a strange problem, but it's not the specific problem you think it is.
- StefanKarpinski 7mo ago
  Nope, they are dead. If I happen to catch them before they fully run out of power, they are at 1-2% charge as reported on whatever device they connect to. I can prevent this if I carefully disconnect them from each device they might be connected to. But that is a massive pain and fully defeats the purpose of being able to just put them down.
infecto 7mo ago
Reading #2 makes me sad. I had a pair of Bose for probably a decade and tried out Sony and the biggest complaint I have is the lack of a physical off button. The Sony have a known issue where it don’t detect that it’s off of your head and it’s not that obvious that the headphones are on or off. At least a few times a week I put them on in the morning and they have been on all night.
- krferriter 7mo ago
  Sony WH 1000 XM4 and WH 1000 XM6 both have physical off buttons and I've also never had a problem with them not turning off due to inactivity. If I take my XM6 off and put them on the desk, they pause music/podcasts and will fully turn off after some minutes (like 15 minutes? not sure, but it's short enough that if I go eat lunch and come back, they turned off automatically).
  - infecto 7mo ago
    XM5, it does not have a physical dedicated on/off button it has a multipurpose where function is determined by how long you hold down the button. It’s not optimal design for me. I am sure a number of brands have moved towards this. Second the sensor on the XM5 is known to be flaky. These are about a year old and already acting up. It’s just a poorly built and poorly designed headset for me. I cannot even count the number of times I don’t notice they are on until the next day and they are dead.
  - zimpenfish 7mo ago
    > Sony WH 1000 XM4 and WH 1000 XM6 both have physical off buttons Currently wearing my XM4s and was really confused by the "physical off button" because ... I'm looking at them and they just don't? Where is it? What? Then I realised that I'm old and, to me, "physical off button" means a sliding switch, a hardware disconnect, etc. (such as exists on my pair of Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2), not a pushbutton that triggers a software power-down (which the XM4s most certainly do have.)
    - infecto 7mo ago
butterlesstoast 7mo ago
You don’t like using the Apple Bra to put your headphones into a sleep mode?!
aram99 7mo ago
They are indeed heavy for me too.
beloch 7mo ago
Perception is at odds with quality sometimes. For headphones, lighter is better even though people often perceive denser objects as being of higher quality. This is why high-end headphones often contain a fair bit of plastic, but also make sparing use of light-weight metals such as magnesium in the places where strength is especially important. These Airpods appear to have ear-cups made entirely of aluminum, which is an odd choice. Plastic cups are typically more than strong enough and aluminum is actually a fair bit denser than magnesium. That's a lot of weight for no good reason. Aluminum is a great material for some things, but Apple seems to be using it for everything even when its not appropriate.
anthonySs 7mo ago
not to mention if some loud noise happens they blow your ear out with noise cancelling in an attempt to balance it... expected way more from a refresh tbh
baby 7mo ago
The 400g don’t bother me personally. I agree not being able to turn it off sucks, I switched to android for some time and it would just leave the pair on until the battery died. I think it’s basically a feature to force users to stay within the iOS ecosystem
- StefanKarpinski 7mo ago
  How does headphones not turning off force users to stay in the iOS ecosystem?
  - baby 7mo ago
    I moved back to iOS due to this (and more reasons, but it was one of the reason, my airpods which I love didn't work well with android)
  - Schiendelman 7mo ago
    SOME Android devices keep the headphones "on" even when they try to enter low power mode. Pixels don't do this.
    - baby 7mo ago
      I had a pixel fold
EagnaIonat 7mo ago
My two issues with the previous version (had two of them). The noise cancellation was intentionally downgraded at a certain point. Because one pair worked until it also got an update. Second issue is both stopped working. No idea why and both shortly after AppleCare ran out. They are very expensive and it’s just not worth the risk.
- ehutch79 7mo ago
  Noise cancellation was made worse due to patent troll lawsuits.
unselect5917 7mo ago
I have similar problems. Half the time after not being used for a while they're dead. Even if I left them in their bra, WITH A POWER CABLE PLUGGED IN. And then they just won't connect. Requiring searching how to reset them, then doing it, then they still might not connect. It sucks because they noise cancelling is amazing and they sound fantastic... when they work.
- Schiendelman 7mo ago
  Did you try resetting them? Or did you not figure out how to?
maest 7mo ago
13.6 oz is 382 grams
ffsm8 7mo ago
Personally the thing that really surprised me about mine was the amount of condense water builds up under the pads when I'm wearing it over a workday. My noise cancelling started to go flaky until I stumbled upon that - after I've dried it off after every use and stopped using the "case" /store pads separately from headphone things improved a lot again. It feels like a serious design issue, I'm really confused why so few people talk about it, but I guess it's because most are just casual users of the headphones with people only wearing it a few minutes a day... And the water only really build up when you're wearing it several hours without taking it off
- distartin 7mo ago
  Yeah, between the weight, no real power‑off, they feel like way too much hassle for something this expensive. Kinda wild that this "refresh" doesn’t really fix any of that
- mikehall314 7mo ago
  Yeah, the condensation issue was a problem for me too. I ended up having to take them in for repair to Apple several times. The noise cancellation went flakey, the auto-switching went flakey, they would crash [1] if lifted one cup from the side of my head. Apple ended up replacing them completely, but then the new pair eventually developed all the same faults. I hope some of these are addressed in the new models, because despite all this I really enjoy them as headphones.
  - mikehall314 7mo ago
    [1] Playing audio would stop, the noise cancellation would shut off, they would disconnect from my phone, seemingly reboot, then reconnect again.
    - dubbie99 7mo ago
      Ah mine do this. It’s suuuper annoying. I assumed it was because I use them connected to my work Linux workstation.
zer0zzz 7mo ago
> to the point of being fairly uncomfortable after listening for any longer amount of time. #1 reason I use the Sony XM4/XM6. Sometimes I wonder if they intentionally do this to appeal to a younger crowd cause as an older person with neck issues it’s just not a very good product. The audio quality of the Sonys is just as good but the comfort is a much better. I think I like the mic on the AirPods Max better but the mic on the MacBook I use in meetings works as well for meetings.
jaco6 7mo ago
[dead]
ubermonkey 7mo ago
Mileage varies, obviously. I've worn these for multiple cross-country and transatlantic flights, and have not noticed them being too heavy for comfort, but that's definitely gonna be a personal thing. >which means they're constantly out of power when you want to use them. I have not found this to be a serious problem, assuming you put them in the case. Even out of the case, though, they keep a charge a while -- which I unfortunately know b/c I lost my case on a plane a while back. I have the original model. I haven't seen a huge need to upgrade so far -- mine still work great, have excellent battery life, and so replacing them isn't on my radar. Honestly there's a real chance mine will hang on long enough be the last remaining Lightning-connector thing in our house.
jclardy 7mo ago
It's a really strange update. Necessary, as the cheaper & smaller AirPods Pro had all these features for a while now. But there aren't even new colors - the colors were released in a AirPods Max 1.1 release that changed to a USB-C port. Even still, they are calling these "2". Which means the next update could be a few years out given this update was basically 6 years after the initial launch.

infocollector 7mo ago

I’ve been using AirPods Max since they first launched, and over the years I’ve tried several times to switch to Bose. However, the Bose headphones just haven’t worked as smoothly for me from a software and integration standpoint. I tend to run into more glitches and small issues compared to the AirPods Max. I’m not sure whether that’s primarily a Bose issue or something related to Apple’s ecosystem, but my guess is that other high-end headphones probably face similar integration challenges when paired with an iPhone. On the bright side, Max is very reliable.

microtonal 7mo ago
I also have the AirPods Max and had the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, and it is hard to convey how effortless the Max are in comparison. The switching between devices is so seamless (if you are in the Apple ecosystem). The controls are also much easier to find and use. The weight hasn't been an issue for me.

46493168 7mo ago

Are you sure your AirPods Max have the latest firmware? This issue was addressed in an update right after the first version came out and people reported the issue you're describing: If you set your AirPods Max down and leave them stationary for 5 minutes, they go into a low power mode to preserve battery charge. After 72 stationary hours out of the Smart Case, your AirPods Max go into a lower power mode that turns off Bluetooth and Find My to preserve battery charge further [Archive link, as the latest Support doc doesn't have this wording any longer] [0]https://web.archive.org/web/20210315052229/https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211886 https://web.archive.org/web/20210315052229/https://support.a...

femiagbabiaka 7mo ago
It's still extremely odd that they don't just... turn off.. ever? Even the case marketing copy notes this: > When stored in the soft, slim Smart Case, AirPods Max enter an ultra‑low‑power state.
- xxpor 7mo ago
  Perhaps for Find My/UWB support?
  - iAMkenough 7mo ago
    Funny enough, the original and the new AirPods Max don't have UWB. That won't help me find my headphones in my house. If for Find My, why stay in "low power" mode for days before moving to "ultralow power" mode? Is silly.
    - xxpor 7mo ago
      Wow, I had no idea they didn't have no UWB. Honestly that would remove half the value for me. That's crazy for Apple in 2026.
  - tombot 7mo ago
    Find my works fine on a coin cell battery on AirTag, hard to imagine they need to power up the headphones to do the same.

drcongo 7mo ago

I held off buying the first version for exactly these two reasons. Will also "hold off" on buying these.

santiagobasulto 7mo ago

I’ve been using my AirPod Max for hours for the past 2 years and never noticed they were “heavy”. I’m wondering now as I’ve never researched on headphones (I just buy simplicity from Apple, I’m not an audio sophisticated costumer) that was never brought out to me, so I haven’t even noticed.

frizlab 7mo ago
The AirPods Max are excessively comfortable, even though they are heavy. Some (most?) lighter headphones are actually less comfortable because they do not “fit the head” so well (at least for me). Caveat: after a while the mesh at the top starts to stretch, and then you get the two metal bands going straight into the head, and that hurts. And the worst part is: this mesh is not replaceable :( There are silicone band-aids that can be bought, but I would have very much preferred for a possibility of repair to exist…
- Schiendelman 7mo ago
  Have you taken them to an Apple Store and said they hurt? They're likely to do something about it.
  - frizlab 7mo ago
    It’s out of warranty now. The only thing they can propose AFAIK is a replacement.
1123581321 7mo ago
I tested Apple, Sony and Bose and found the AirPods Max to be the most comfortable for long periods of time, for me. It depends on how well you adjust them and what bothers you the most about headphones. It's kind of like standing desks; some people are able to go all day with it with the right setup and feel better than if they had sat. Others feel miserable after a few hours. Neither is wrong but they may not understand the other's experience, or what they might be doing differently that affects their results.

QuiEgo 7mo ago

I feel that fit and comfort is an incredibly personal thing, but the weight was always fine for me - their design spreads it out pretty well. The killer feature for me is the deep ear cups. All the Sony headphones touch my Dumbo-sized ears and get crazy warm, the APMs don’t.

krferriter 7mo ago
Yeah despite being heavier I find the Airpods Max more comfortable to wear than my Sonys. Sony has shockingly shallow ear cups and do get much warmer and the headband is very narrow and barely padded. The Airpods Max ear cups are better and the headband is wide and mesh so spreads out the weight and it breathes too. The one major downside to the Airpods Max is that they do not have an off button and the case is useless for throwing them in a duffel / backpack, as it doesn't protect the headband mesh at all. I have a 3rd party hardshell case for them but it is very unreliable in actually putting them in "ultralow power mode", so the battery drains.
- neonscribe 7mo ago
  The AirPods Max are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. My head and my ears are both significantly larger than average and they are the only ones that don't squash my ears. I keep the Apple bra on it, inside a 3rd-party hard case, and it never runs down on its own. The battery is still healthy five years later. It's the last surviving Lightning connector in our household, and I might keep them for another five years.

larrik 7mo ago

As someone who has never seen these or paid attention to them I was thinking "how heavy could they possibly be?" Then I saw 13.6 oz and I was blown away. That's actually really heavy for headphones!

jerlam 7mo ago
Lots of people equate weight with quality. Good for selling them in store, bad for actual use.
- killingtime74 7mo ago
  I remember a teardown where weights were taped inside. I think it was a beats headphone.
  - chihuahua 7mo ago
    It was Beats. At first it was found in counterfeit Beats, but later the same was found in genuine Beats. And then guess who bought Beats for their exquisite metal weight technology? That's right, it was Apple.
    - whynotminot 7mo ago
      They bought them for the streaming service that came with it. Not for fake weights in headphones.
      - tech_hutch 7mo ago
        Streaming service?
        menno-sh 7mo ago
        https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/11/5298562/beats-music-arrives-january-21st-family-plan-exclusive-to-at-t https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/11/5298562/beats-music-arriv...

interludead 7mo ago

Apple clearly optimized for the "always ready" experience, but it does feel awkward that the intended workflow involves putting them in the case

0x457 7mo ago
Putting it in or out of the case is not that big of deal (for me). However, once you take them out of the case you need to put that case somewhere, and you can't use headphone stand that was just holding them. So now I need a space for them when I don't use them and when I do use them, and it can't be the same space (in my scenario).
crimsontech 7mo ago
Does it? I haven't used the case since I bought them and don't feel like I'm missing anything.

doug_durham 7mo ago

I leave my AirPods Max sitting on my desk for weeks at a time outside of the case and the battery never drains. I just put mine on today after sitting on my desk for a week and they still had 99% charge.

StefanKarpinski 7mo ago
Strange. Are they first gen or later? I did get the absolute first gen of these, so maybe it's a problem they couldn't fix in firmware? Or I just have a defective pair?
- Schiendelman 7mo ago
  As others have noted, you may simply need to reset them.
lanza 7mo ago
Same. I rarely use mine and find that they just about always still have battery. And even when they don't I'll just plug them in and go find something else to do for a few minutes and by the time I come back they are usable for hours. The talk about the power button is super strange to me.

foxwell_1959 7mo ago

Thats 386,2 gram for the rest of the world.

s1mon 7mo ago
Might as well be 3862 grams considering how much they hurt to wear for any length of time. I was also hoping this update would improve the ergonomics, but no. Still too heavy and no mention of any improvements to the headband.
- vessenes 7mo ago
  I had the same reaction to the originals. They just hurt! One of my kids swiped them and I never used them again: I wanted to like them but they were almost as uncomfortable as my Vision Pro
- joemi 7mo ago
  I think you'd find quite a difference between 386,2 g and 3862 g, especially when wearing it on your head.
  - s1mon 7mo ago
    Yes. Sarcasm. I have a pair of the first generation AirPods Max. They leave dents in my scalp if I wear them for any real amount of time. I've been an Apple person since the 1980s. This is one of the most disappointing Apple products for me ever, and I really don't want to know how much $$$$$ lifetime customer value I've contributed to Apple's bottom line.
rpgbr 7mo ago
[flagged]
- joemi 7mo ago
  You're too high by a power of 10.

htk 7mo ago

Absolutely! I have both the AirPods Max and the Bose QC Ultra and even though my whole ecosystem is Apple, the QC Ultra is a lot more comfortable reliable on day to day usage. Comfort is due to weight, and reliability is the batter is predictably on the QC Ultra, but on the Max I never know if the battery went all down because I can't turn it off.

htk 7mo ago
Thanks to the kind soul who upvoted this horrendously typed reply. Unfortunately I can't edit it anymore.

pradn 7mo ago

They have direct feedback that many people return them bc they’re too heavy, and yet… It’s just Apple being stubborn. I guess it’s not a big enough problem for them, and they don’t care about losing the market. One must laugh.

pwatsonwailes 7mo ago

1. They have steel weights in them to make them that heavy so they feel more premium.

mikestew 7mo ago
You’re thinking of Beats. And you’re still wrong because the Beats were knock-offs. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47403183 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47403183
- pwatsonwailes 7mo ago
  My mistake. Nice catch. That being said, AirPods use a steel frame construction to get the weight up for the same reason. There's a whole thing with weight in neuromarketing for luxury and luxury-adjacent products. There's fringe benefits acoustically to using it, around resonance mainly, but mostly it's to get weight and influence perception. Same reason as the knock-offs, different mechanism.
  - mikestew 7mo ago
    That being said, AirPods use a steel frame construction to get the weight up for the same reason. Noting that you have no way of knowing that. Not that you’re necessarily wrong. I just read some reviews on the Beats Studio Pros and…the reviewer noted the amount of plastic used in the construction, while complimenting the light weight. Pick a lane, folks.

reaperducer 7mo ago

They're not out of power. They're just in some weird deep hibernation mode. Mine do this, too. The work-around I use is to plug them in to the charging cable for a couple of seconds. They wake up, the green light comes on and everything is fine. It's a strange problem, but it's not the specific problem you think it is.

StefanKarpinski 7mo ago
Nope, they are dead. If I happen to catch them before they fully run out of power, they are at 1-2% charge as reported on whatever device they connect to. I can prevent this if I carefully disconnect them from each device they might be connected to. But that is a massive pain and fully defeats the purpose of being able to just put them down.

infecto 7mo ago

Reading #2 makes me sad. I had a pair of Bose for probably a decade and tried out Sony and the biggest complaint I have is the lack of a physical off button. The Sony have a known issue where it don’t detect that it’s off of your head and it’s not that obvious that the headphones are on or off. At least a few times a week I put them on in the morning and they have been on all night.

krferriter 7mo ago
Sony WH 1000 XM4 and WH 1000 XM6 both have physical off buttons and I've also never had a problem with them not turning off due to inactivity. If I take my XM6 off and put them on the desk, they pause music/podcasts and will fully turn off after some minutes (like 15 minutes? not sure, but it's short enough that if I go eat lunch and come back, they turned off automatically).
- infecto 7mo ago
  XM5, it does not have a physical dedicated on/off button it has a multipurpose where function is determined by how long you hold down the button. It’s not optimal design for me. I am sure a number of brands have moved towards this. Second the sensor on the XM5 is known to be flaky. These are about a year old and already acting up. It’s just a poorly built and poorly designed headset for me. I cannot even count the number of times I don’t notice they are on until the next day and they are dead.
- zimpenfish 7mo ago
  > Sony WH 1000 XM4 and WH 1000 XM6 both have physical off buttons Currently wearing my XM4s and was really confused by the "physical off button" because ... I'm looking at them and they just don't? Where is it? What? Then I realised that I'm old and, to me, "physical off button" means a sliding switch, a hardware disconnect, etc. (such as exists on my pair of Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2), not a pushbutton that triggers a software power-down (which the XM4s most certainly do have.)
  - infecto 7mo ago

butterlesstoast 7mo ago

You don’t like using the Apple Bra to put your headphones into a sleep mode?!

aram99 7mo ago

They are indeed heavy for me too.

beloch 7mo ago

Perception is at odds with quality sometimes. For headphones, lighter is better even though people often perceive denser objects as being of higher quality. This is why high-end headphones often contain a fair bit of plastic, but also make sparing use of light-weight metals such as magnesium in the places where strength is especially important. These Airpods appear to have ear-cups made entirely of aluminum, which is an odd choice. Plastic cups are typically more than strong enough and aluminum is actually a fair bit denser than magnesium. That's a lot of weight for no good reason. Aluminum is a great material for some things, but Apple seems to be using it for everything even when its not appropriate.

anthonySs 7mo ago

not to mention if some loud noise happens they blow your ear out with noise cancelling in an attempt to balance it... expected way more from a refresh tbh

baby 7mo ago

The 400g don’t bother me personally. I agree not being able to turn it off sucks, I switched to android for some time and it would just leave the pair on until the battery died. I think it’s basically a feature to force users to stay within the iOS ecosystem

StefanKarpinski 7mo ago
How does headphones not turning off force users to stay in the iOS ecosystem?
- baby 7mo ago
  I moved back to iOS due to this (and more reasons, but it was one of the reason, my airpods which I love didn't work well with android)
- Schiendelman 7mo ago
  SOME Android devices keep the headphones "on" even when they try to enter low power mode. Pixels don't do this.
  - baby 7mo ago
    I had a pixel fold

EagnaIonat 7mo ago

My two issues with the previous version (had two of them). The noise cancellation was intentionally downgraded at a certain point. Because one pair worked until it also got an update. Second issue is both stopped working. No idea why and both shortly after AppleCare ran out. They are very expensive and it’s just not worth the risk.

ehutch79 7mo ago
Noise cancellation was made worse due to patent troll lawsuits.

unselect5917 7mo ago

I have similar problems. Half the time after not being used for a while they're dead. Even if I left them in their bra, WITH A POWER CABLE PLUGGED IN. And then they just won't connect. Requiring searching how to reset them, then doing it, then they still might not connect. It sucks because they noise cancelling is amazing and they sound fantastic... when they work.

Schiendelman 7mo ago
Did you try resetting them? Or did you not figure out how to?

maest 7mo ago

13.6 oz is 382 grams

ffsm8 7mo ago

Personally the thing that really surprised me about mine was the amount of condense water builds up under the pads when I'm wearing it over a workday. My noise cancelling started to go flaky until I stumbled upon that - after I've dried it off after every use and stopped using the "case" /store pads separately from headphone things improved a lot again. It feels like a serious design issue, I'm really confused why so few people talk about it, but I guess it's because most are just casual users of the headphones with people only wearing it a few minutes a day... And the water only really build up when you're wearing it several hours without taking it off

distartin 7mo ago
Yeah, between the weight, no real power‑off, they feel like way too much hassle for something this expensive. Kinda wild that this "refresh" doesn’t really fix any of that
mikehall314 7mo ago
Yeah, the condensation issue was a problem for me too. I ended up having to take them in for repair to Apple several times. The noise cancellation went flakey, the auto-switching went flakey, they would crash [1] if lifted one cup from the side of my head. Apple ended up replacing them completely, but then the new pair eventually developed all the same faults. I hope some of these are addressed in the new models, because despite all this I really enjoy them as headphones.
- mikehall314 7mo ago
  [1] Playing audio would stop, the noise cancellation would shut off, they would disconnect from my phone, seemingly reboot, then reconnect again.
  - dubbie99 7mo ago
    Ah mine do this. It’s suuuper annoying. I assumed it was because I use them connected to my work Linux workstation.

zer0zzz 7mo ago

> to the point of being fairly uncomfortable after listening for any longer amount of time. #1 reason I use the Sony XM4/XM6. Sometimes I wonder if they intentionally do this to appeal to a younger crowd cause as an older person with neck issues it’s just not a very good product. The audio quality of the Sonys is just as good but the comfort is a much better. I think I like the mic on the AirPods Max better but the mic on the MacBook I use in meetings works as well for meetings.

jaco6 7mo ago

[dead]

ubermonkey 7mo ago

Mileage varies, obviously. I've worn these for multiple cross-country and transatlantic flights, and have not noticed them being too heavy for comfort, but that's definitely gonna be a personal thing. >which means they're constantly out of power when you want to use them. I have not found this to be a serious problem, assuming you put them in the case. Even out of the case, though, they keep a charge a while -- which I unfortunately know b/c I lost my case on a plane a while back. I have the original model. I haven't seen a huge need to upgrade so far -- mine still work great, have excellent battery life, and so replacing them isn't on my radar. Honestly there's a real chance mine will hang on long enough be the last remaining Lightning-connector thing in our house.

jclardy 7mo ago

It's a really strange update. Necessary, as the cheaper & smaller AirPods Pro had all these features for a while now. But there aren't even new colors - the colors were released in a AirPods Max 1.1 release that changed to a USB-C port. Even still, they are calling these "2". Which means the next update could be a few years out given this update was basically 6 years after the initial launch.