Apple AirPods

While reviewers have generally been impressed by Apple’s AirPods Max over-ear headphones, there have been two consistent complaints: the terrible design of the ‘bra’ case, and the fact that there appears to be no way to switch off AirPods Max headphones unless you put them into the case that nobody wants to carry.

One YouTuber did some experimentation, to reveal good and bad news …

A new supply chain report this morning indicated that Apple is working on third-generation AirPods, referred to as “AirPods Pro Lite,” with a design that is either identical or very similar to the current AirPods Pro. This, however, is bound to be a controversial change for people who prefer the current design of AirPods.

An AirPods supplier has backed earlier reports that Apple is working on third-generation AirPods, dubbed ‘AirPods Pro Lite’ – with a design which is either identical to the current AirPods Pro, or very similar.

We first heard reports of Apple’s plans for the next-gen non-Pro AirPods back in October …

The first AirPods Max deliveries are reaching customers this morning, and a number of them have shared photos on Twitter.

They had to get in quickly to take delivery today, as shipping times very quickly slipped into March of next year – a fact scalpers were quick to exploit …

A supply-chain report claims that AirPods Max suppliers consider Apple’s premium over-ear headphones to be a niche product with strong competition from existing players.

Two suppliers of printed circuit boards (PCBs) are reportedly not expecting the new headphones to give much of a boost to their sales …

A typo on Apple’s UK website caused alarm when it appeared to show an AirPods Max battery replacement would cost £309 ($410) in the country, while it was $79 in the US.

Fortunately, this was soon revealed as a typo, and the actual UK price is £75 ($99). Allowing for the fact that UK prices include 20% sales tax while US ones are before tax, this makes the comparable UK cost £62.50 ($83), or marginally more than the US price …

AirPods Max development took at least four years, according to a designer who worked on the project. Apple’s new premium-priced over-ear headphones launched yesterday and begin shipping next week.

Amusingly, he thought the non-disclosure agreement he had signed no longer applied since the product had launched, but it appears that Apple quickly disabused him of this idea …

It’s been a long wait, but the latest Apple headphones were finally unveiled yesterday. Nobody expected them to be cheap, of course – this is Apple – but the $549 price of AirPods Max has raised quite a few eyebrows.

That is $150 more than the excellent Bowers & Wilkins PX7, which is arguably the product to beat in the wireless over-ear ANC headphone category. It’s $200 more than the Sony WH-1000XM4, which have also been given rave reviews. It’s $250 more than the Bose QC35 II, which completes the set of the most popular premium headphones in this category …

Now that Apple has officially launched its AirPods Max over-ear premium headphones we’ve got specifics on what exactly is and isn’t included and what accessories or add-ons you might need to pick up. Read on for all the AirPods Max details.

Apple’s long-rumored over-ear headphones are officially here. AirPods Max feature an over-ear design, deep integration with the rest of Apple’s ecosystem, the H1 chip, and more. They are available to order today for $549, with the first orders arriving next week.

AirPods Max feature Apple’s latest H1 chip with support for spatial audio, automatic device switching, and more. They are available in five colors and include a carrying case as well. Here are all of the details you need to know.

We’re all curious about a potential new hardware that Apple is expected to announce this week. While the reliable leaker @L0vetodream made it clear that he’s not expecting a new Apple TV this year, AppleTrack said today that Apple is planning an imminent launch of the AirPods Studio.

We always caution that you can never tell which Apple patents will actually make it into products, but a patent for an Apple headphone intercom feature has to be a good bet.

Apple first debuted an intercom feature — albeit branded as walkie-talkie — on the Apple Watch. A couple of years later, it brought a more advanced version of the same idea to HomePod. And now an Apple patent application describes how the company might bring another more advanced form of intercom functionality to headphones…

As rumors of third-generation AirPods have recently surfaced on the web, we now have more evidence that Apple is working on updated models for its popular wireless earphones. 52audio has now shared an image with what they claim to be parts of the new “AirPods 3,” which has an extremely similar design to AirPods Pro.

It would be no surprise to learn that Apple is planning on launching new AirPods next year, and a new report today has a few claimed details.

It suggests that new entry-level AirPods will look similar to the current AirPods Pro …

When a customer comes into an Apple Store to report faulty AirPods, one of the possibilities is a build-up of earwax in the AirPods. That’s not really something a store technician wants to have to check personally.

To make it less icky to do so, Apple is rolling out a new test tool to Apple Stores …

Apple has released new firmware for AirPods and AirPods Pro today, enabling new iOS 14 features including spatial audio and automatic device switching. Today’s firmware update brings AirPods and AirPods Pro to version 3A283 firmware.

It’s not uncommon for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to seize counterfeit AirPods and iPhones, but there was just one small problem with the seizure proudly announced on Friday: they weren’t fake AirPods at all.

CBP announced that it had earlier seized 2,000 ‘counterfeit Apple AirPods’ with a retail value of $398k …