In a collection of tweets, prolific analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has stated that, alongside a HomePod mini 2 and low-cost AirPods arriving in 2024, the sequel to the AirPods Max headphones might lastly be arriving as effectively, and I am excited.
I am an proprietor of each the AirPods Professional (first-generation) and Sony XM5 headphones for various conditions. The AirPods are used for walks to hearken to podcasts and music, particularly after I’ve received no selection however to stroll within the UK rain. I hoped for brand spanking new Max headphones to reach in October 2022, however as an alternative we received the second-gen fashions of AirPods Professional.
And but I take advantage of the XM5 headphones for after I’m doing a majority of labor, alongside utilizing its headphone jack to plug into my Steam Deck to play extra of GTA V and Bioshock 2.
But when these three needs of mine for AirPods Max 2 are granted, it might change each my AirPods Professional and XM5s in a single swoop.
USB-C
I’ve all the time been of the opinion to USB-C all of the issues. In the course of the second lockdown within the UK, I changed most of our plugs and hubs with USB-C ports whereas including good lights in our house, to the annoyance of my spouse for a number of days.
With new purchases since then such because the XM5s, extension leads, and my Steam Deck all with USB-C, the gamble has paid off. However even with the AirPods Professional 2, Apple is sticking with its ageing lightning port.
For the entire line in 2024, not simply the Max 2, let’s examine USB-C as an alternative, so I can carry one much less cable in my bag for when the headphones want charging. Let’s get fast charging in there too, in order that the battery can refill that little bit faster.
An precise case
Each time I am executed with my headphones, they go within the exhausting case they got here with and it is zipped up. For the present Max headphones, they’re merely wrapped right into a suede purse, giving no safety towards the weather or from being walked on by our canine, Jolly.
It is an odd determination by Apple, particularly once they’re priced at $579 / £549. You’d, fairly rightfully, anticipate some form of safety for them. So let’s examine a protecting, zipped-up, waterproof case for the Max 2 which might additionally work as a charging pad.
Water-resistance
We’re in a time when the iPhone 14 Professional might be by accident thrown right into a swimming pool, and its possibilities of working because it did earlier than are significantly better than doing the identical to an iPhone 4. The identical goes for the Apple Watch. Particularly the relatively-new Apple Watch Extremely mannequin, the place you’ll be able to go as deep as 40 meters and never fear about it turning into waterlogged with salt water and ending up with a paperweight.
Whereas the common AirPods and AirPods Professional are each water-proof (up to a degree), the Max is not, nor are my XM5 headphones. So each time I strive my luck at carrying them outdoors, a splash of rain falls on my head, inflicting me to hurriedly pack them into their case and into my bag.
So let’s examine some water resistance within the AirPods Max 2 – if there’s gentle rain about to return down on me, I do not need to have the nervousness of packing them in as quick as I can.
We have waited lengthy sufficient
AirPods Max is getting previous – launched in December 2020, we’re previous the two-year mark of its debut, and it is time for a refresh. With lots of its opponents upgraded their very own audio merchandise within the intervening years, reminiscent of Sony and Bose, AirPods Max has been sitting by the sidelines.
Apple can obtain some simple wins right here to make the Max 2 one thing irresistible to improve to reminiscent of an precise case, alongside some new colours. However with its latest audio efforts in bringing out a new HomePod, Apple might take its headphones to a different degree, and if it does, I will be there, prepared to select them up at an Apple Retailer when accessible.
