#airpods-max

#airpods-max

Sure, the AirPods Max come in colors - but there's something so cold and un-emotional about anodized aluminum. It grabs your eye, but then immediately lets your eye wander once your fingers have run past its cool matte surface. Aluminum's only purpose was to help build devices that were sleek and thermally advantageous. The problem, however, is that the AirPods Max aren't 'sleeker' than your average headphone.

They do two things very well: they switch between my Apple devices smoothly and mostly automatically, and they block noise. My wife and I share a family room, where we spend most of our workday. When she's on a Zoom meeting, I can put on my AirPods Max and block out her conversation. She also has a pair, and they work for her in the same way.

At $549, Apple's over-the-ear are ridiculously expensive. Even so, and even though they're a little too small for my big head, I've found them to be worth the price. They do two things very well: they switch between my Apple devices smoothly and mostly automatically, and they block noise. My wife and I share a family room, where we spend most of our workday. When she's on a Zoom meeting, I can put on my AirPods Max and block out her conversation.

Some owners have found rather a novel -- albeit temporary -- fix. Freeze their headphones. This is what CNET's Jeff Carlson did. He took his AirPod Max headphones, which had been struck down by the dreaded "three amber lights of death," put them in their storage case, and placed them in the icebox. Carlson left them to chill for about an hour, retrieved them, popped them over his ears -- and they worked.

The AirPods Max dropped in 2020, that's 5 years ago, making it one of the oldest products to not see a single design iteration in a significant time. Yes, sure, Apple upgraded its Lightning-powered models to USB-C recently, and gave the AirPods Max some fresh new colors, but other than that, there's been absolutely no change to the product in half a decade.

The stand immediately communicates quality through its weighted anodized aluminum base and soft-touch silicone cradle. The materials feel substantial without being bulky, creating a stable platform that won't slide around your desk. The minimalist design language clearly draws inspiration from Apple's own aesthetic, with clean lines and a color palette that makes it feel like a natural extension of your AirPods Max rather than an afterthought accessory.