The current AirPods Max headphones have not been revised since their introduction in December 2020, whereas AirPods Pro have seen multiple updates in hardware and software.
According to the latest update from Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, Apple’s plans for AirPods Max do not involve a significant update. In fact, the changes are expected to be so minor that the generation number won’t even be altered. However, Gurman mentions that Apple’s plans could potentially change in the future.
The primary motivation for this hardware refresh appears to be compliance with European Commission regulations that mandate the use of USB-C for charging accessories such as headphones. Currently, AirPods Max use Apple’s proprietary Lightning port for charging.
If these reports hold true, the forthcoming update for AirPods Max would resemble the USB-C revision introduced by Apple in September. This update included the same internal chipset as the 2nd-gen Lightning AirPods Pro. since their introduction
As a result, AirPods Max would continue to be powered by the H1 chip, rather than the newer H2 chip. This means they would not support advanced software features introduced for AirPods Pro in iOS 17, such as Adaptive Audio, Conversational Awareness, Personalized Volume, and support for the ‘Siri’ wake word.
Customers anticipating other improvements to Apple’s $550 headphones may be disappointed, as there are no expected changes to the design of the charging case, the addition of a U1 chip for Precision Finding, and more.