Max Lyrical Apple AirPods Max

AirPods Max are an incredible piece of engineering, if just out of reach for many

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From ₹59,900 apple.com

SPECIFICATIONS

Features Active noise cancelling, transparency mode, adaptive EQ, spatial audio Microphones 8 (ANC), 3 (voice pickup) Connectivity USB-C, Bluetooth 5 Battery Up to 20 hours with ANC or spatial audio enabled Dimensions 168.6x83.4x187.3mm Weight 384.8g / 134.5g (Smart Case)

Apple’s new over-ear cans raised eyebrows, voices and hackles when they were announced thanks to a steep price. With some remarkable design and audio engineering, the AirPods Max are worthy of a higher price. But this much more?

AirPods Max are an interesting mix of big design and minimalism. There are plain blocks of colours next to complex mesh. There’s a softcoated headband next to shining stainless steel. There are almost no visible joins that make the ergonomics visible. We like the general look of them a lot.

Somehow, Apple has made headphones that are much heavier than some rivals, yet that we find more comfortable. The innovative hinge system clamps the headphones to you securely without putting on the pressure, and it works perfectly.

On top of the right earcup are the sole controls on the unit: a button for switching between transparency mode or full noise cancelling; and a volume dial that doubles as a play/pause control. The dial design is borrowed from the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown and though it took some getting used to, we like it a lot. It’s easy to reach up and tweak a little, and both of these buttons fall very naturally under your fingers.