AirPods Max, analysis: Strong in Every Way in $499
In 2021 we will reach the 20 years that separate us from the introduction of the original iPod, one of Apple’s greatest experiments and resounding success that made possible much of what came after. At that time in the company, presenting something other than a computer was so rare, that the invitation to the press for the keynote on October 23, 2001, had to be anticipated to manage expectations
Sound is such an important part of the company that the first Macintosh already spoke fresh out of that mythical bag in 1984. The iPod was the launching of several of the intentions that define Apple today, such as mobility and interest for something we all love at some point in our lives: music. This little device not only managed to iterate over several generations, but it also even eclipsed Macs themselves in an age where the innovation was devices that moved away from the desktop — with many more possibilities.
AirPods Max, a concept that comes from afar
The iPhone was the definitive step to pocket computing, we went from taking our music to the street to having our complete digital life on the device. This vision also indicated that the world was changing, and as a result, the company began to open different paths. Two of them were key to the history of the AirPods Max that we have today: the first, the miniaturization factor that was learned from generation to generation with the iPhone or iPad, and the second, the construction of its own specialized chips for taking the product further.
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Apple A1121. This was the name of a product that wanted to seek its own fame within the iPod range, as an additional accessory. Better known as iPod Hi-Fi, it was a 7.6 kg speaker in whose upper part it had a dock to anchor the iPod. The press release continues on the Apple website: “The first accessory for iPod that brings authentic sound with high fidelity quality to the iPod” Steve Jobs himself said of him. The sound quality was highly praised at the time. Like its design, it could perfectly pass for being a current product and followed Ive’s minimalist lines — even despite “mistakes” such as having traditional batteries to charge the iPod. Its price was € 359, very close to the € 329 that its clear natural successor, the HomePod, costs today. New Apple AirPods Max price on Amazon was $549 and now it's $50 off it became $499
Like almost everything else in this company, that approach to making a sound system taught them a lot, both in sound system manufacturing and in wireless possibilities — which in 2006 were not yet as widespread as they are today. The iPhones since 2007, the AX family chip manufacturing since 2010, and all the feedback from both worlds painted a stage for the company to build a new range of musical products. And they started with EarPods, iconic from iTunes ads to the first AirPods — curiously late 2016, just 10 years after the original iPod Hi-Fi appeared.
Apple in recent years has been improving portability, in chips that offer computational improvements over traditional solutions, iterating in each of the generations and offering possibilities that allowed the arrival of the AirPods Pro later — where we stopped thinking that wearing a wireless headset the ear was something of science fiction, as we saw in the wonderful Her (2013), by Spike Jonze. In 2014, with the purchase of Beats by Apple, the company made sure to add its accumulated musical experience which at that time had one of the most recognized brands in the sector. Apple’s release of headband headphones beyond Beats’ own was a matter of time: what at that time was a rumor based on conjecture, was amplified especially after the appearance of the AirPods Pro or the HomePod: Apple had learned a lot from music and it was the logical next step.
Designed in the heart of Cupertino
We could talk at length about the design of the AirPods Max, but in my opinion, it is something that defines the brand: it learns from its products, from the ideas that worked, and from those that didn’t. In the case of the Max, they once again achieve an iconic design that moves away from the traditional hi-tech constructions full of lights or controls from other brands, and that is seen from the first unboxing. Apple’s proposal is a design based on the same material with which it manufactures its computers, aluminum, it radically moves away from plastic or the like and simplifies the headband to the minimum. Let’s start with it.
The structure that makes up the headband is made of stainless steel, it feels completely robust and resistant, without any feeling of fragility but built to be comfortable. For this, it does not have the typical padded foam, but with a soft material similar to silicone that covers the entire structure. This coating is rigid, but it hardly comes into contact with our head, since that part is made by the mesh that fills its interior part. It is a braided material, very breathable, that adapts perfectly to the contour of our head since it has a good degree of malleability.