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Well, I wasn’t expecting this – were you?
Earlier this week, Apple announced via a press release that lossless audio and “ultra-low latency” would be coming to AirPods Max via a firmware update in April.
You probably have many questions. I have a few. My podcast co-host, Rob, has even more (which I’m sure will be covered in the next episode of Eight or Sixteen).
Today, I’m going to tell you what this news means, why it’s potentially a great thing, and why I’m also worried that it’s not actually great news at all.
Never a dull day in Apple Content Land at the moment, eh?
AirPods Max to get lossless: the headlines
Next month, Apple will be issuing a firmware update for AirPods Max that enables lossless audio to be transmitted via cable to its still-expensive and forever-controversial headphones.
The update will presumably take place automatically and without any faff on the owner’s part, just like every AirPods firmware update. Which is to say that you’ll basically wake up one day and have a pair of AirPods Max with new features. Nice.
There are a couple of caveats here. Firstly, as far as we can tell, this update will only benefit owners of the latest iteration of AirPods Max (you know, the ones that came out in 2024 with new colours and a USB-C port). So, if you own the previous, first-generation AirPods Max with the old-fashioned Lightning port, you’re out of luck.
Secondly, you’ll need a compatible cable to access the low-latency lossless audio the update promises. Predictably, the only one available at this early stage is Apple’s own, and it costs £39/$39. The silver lining here is the fact that it’s braided and presumably has a rather trick DAC inside to make all of this possible. A few observers have pointed out that it’s also bindirectional, which is apparently very clever.
But it’s still forty quid.
The lossless functionality will enable AirPods Max to play back audio at 24-bit, 48kHz quality. For the uninitiated, this means that it’ll sound as close to the artist’s – or, let’s be honest, mastering engineer’s – original vision as possible.
Time for another caveat. Even Apple admits that “the difference between AAC and lossless audio is virtually indistinguishable” in its official help documentation.
This begs the question: how much of an upgrade is lossless audio for the AirPods Max?
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Why this is potentially great news
I think the bigger news here is that we’ll finally be able to connect AirPods Max USB-C Edition to an audio source via a cable. Why this option didn’t arrive when the updated cans were launched last year is anyone’s guess, but there’s no use in crying over spilt milk. It’s here now.
As noted above, lossless audio is a bit of a non-event when AAC compression is so good and when you’re using a pair of highly-EQ’d consumer headphones as the listening device.
More important is the promise of ultra-low latency.
I wouldn’t recommend using a pair of AirPods Max to mix your music or master the audio track of your next YouTube masterpiece, but for a lot of people, the convenience of using their daily Bluetooth headphones as occasional wired headphones for creative purposes will be very welcome indeed. When Apple began advertising Logic Pro on the iPad, the official imagery featured people using AirPods Max to make music. Wirelessly. That was silly. Now, it isn’t – because you can actually plug the damn things in.
What’s more, if you fancy trying your hand at mixing music in spatial audio, the AirPods Max are going to be the only headphones that’ll let you do that when the update goes live next month. Although I’d imagine that’s a pretty small pool of people, it’s really good news for them.
Unfortunately, it’s not all roses (is it ever with AirPods Max?).
Why this could be bad news
When the tepid AirPods Max update arrived in 2024, there were rumours that a much more significant update could be on the way. The USB-C version was a stopgap, apparently – a piece of EU red tape duly checked off by Apple.
I liked the sound of that. Perhaps, in 2025 or 2026, we’d finally get AirPods Max 2, complete with a proper case, a power button, a lighter design, and the much-rumoured support for lossless audio.
Ah.
We now have the latter – or, at least, we will next month. And given how long it took Apple to swap Lightning for USB-C on their over-ear headphones, I wouldn’t hold out much hope for a new version now that lossless audio support has been confirmed.
Think about it – why would Apple update the AirPods Max again now? In their minds, these cans now have an EU-compatible connection, some refreshed colours, and the ability to play back high-quality audio with very little latency.
It takes Apple ages to update stuff. With hindsight, expecting a new pair of AirPods Max after the mildest of SKU updates was rather optimistic.
I think this is it, folks – this is the AirPods Max we’re now stuck with for quite some time. It might even be the last version.
More Apple News:
Final thoughts (for now)
I’m getting rather bored of hoping for more from Apple’s over-ear headphones. AirPods Max remain crippled, frustrating, and too expensive, but they do at least offer most of the stuff we’ve moaned about for a while now.
Apart from a decent case. And a power button. And a canopy that doesn’t begin to sag after a couple of years.
But we’re over that stuff now, aren’t we? Come on – we’ve got lossless audio and ultra-low latency to look forward to!
Drop your thoughts about this news in the comments section below!
1 Comment
This is an interesting update. There is no need to buy an additional cable unless you want to use a headphone jack.
This could make for a very nice set up with a Mac mini. The issue with power button and charging case is negated with the USB C cable plugged in.