Tech · Apple · 2020
Apple AirPods Max
Built like nothing else in the category, priced like nothing else, and only fully useful on Apple hardware.
Overall
8.1
out of 10
Axis scores
Tech is scored on these 5 axes. The total is their plain average — nothing is weighted.
Average of 5 axes
8.1/10
- Performance
- 8.4
- Value
- 5.8
- Durability
- 8.2
- Ease of use
- 9.0
- Design
- 9.0
- Performance — How well it does the core job
- Value — What the same money buys elsewhere
- Durability — Failure and fade reports past the one-year mark
- Ease of use — Setup, daily operation, cleaning, maintenance
- Design — Build quality and how it sits in a room
Specs
- Type
- Over-ear, closed
- Codecs
- SBC, AAC
- Battery
- About 20 hrs with ANC on
- Case
- Fabric sleeve, no full case
As published by the manufacturer. We didn't measure these ourselves.
Is it for you
Buy it if
- Everything you own already has an Apple logo on it
- You want a metal-and-mesh build rather than plastic
- Automatic switching between Mac, iPad, and phone is a daily need
Skip it if
- You need a codec better than AAC
- The sleeve that ships instead of a real case bothers you
- Android is your main platform
The case for these is industrial: machined aluminium cups, a genuinely breathable mesh headband, and a weight distribution that makes 385 grams sit better than lighter plastic rivals. Nothing else in the group feels like this.
The case against is the price and the sleeve that passes for a case, which does not switch the headphones fully off. On Android they degrade to AAC-only headphones with no companion app at all, which strands most of what you paid for.
Last updated . The scoring method is on how we rank.