Apple AirPods Max over-ear headphones launched in India at Rs 59,900, shipping starts 15 December

After months of rumours and speculation, Apple has finally launched its first-ever over-ear headphones. Called the AirPods Max, the headphones feature high-fidelity audio, adaptive EQ, active noise cancellation, and spatial audio. The Apple AirPods Max is powered by the new H1 chipset. The headphones have been announced in five different colours – space grey, silver, sky blue, green, and pink. “With AirPods Max, we are bringing that magical AirPods experience to a stunning over-ear design with high-fidelity audio,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

Apple AirPods Max: Pricing, orders, shipping details

The Apple AirPods Max are priced at Rs 59,900. The headphones are available to order on the Apple India website and at Apple authorised resellers. AirPods Max will begin shipping on Tuesday, 15 December in India and 25 other global markets. [caption id=“attachment_9092331” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”]  Apple AirPods Max[/caption]

Apple AirPods Max: Compatibility

The Apple AirPods Max require Apple devices running iOS 14.3 or later, iPadOS 14.3 or later, macOS Big Sur 11.1 or later, watchOS 7.2 or later, or tvOS 14.3 or later.

Apple AirPods Max: Connectivity and set-up

The AirPods Max use one-tap setup that use automatic pairing with all the devices signed in to a user’s iCloud account, including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. The AirPods Max automatically detect when they are on a user’s head using the optical and position sensors. Once in place, AirPods Max play audio and can pause once removed or when the user simply lifts one ear cup.

Apple AirPods Max: Features and specifications

The AirPods Max have a stainless steel build and extendable headband arms. Both ear cups use a mechanism that balances and distributes ear cup pressure. The ear cups use memory foam and can independently pivot and rotate to fit different people’s heads. The AirPods Max features a Digital Crown, inspired by Apple Watch, which will let a user control volume, play or pause audio, skip tracks, answer or end phone calls, and activate Siri. AirPods Max feature a 40-mm dynamic driver. The headphone also feature a dual neodymium ring magnet motor, which is supposed to allow the AirPods Max to “maintain total harmonic distortion of less than 1 percent across the entire audible range, even at maximum volume”. The AirPods Max are powered by an H1 chip in each ear cup and use computational audio. An H1 chip has 10 audio cores and is capable of 9 billion operations per second. Apple claims that AirPods Max can offer up to 20 hours of high-fidelity audio, talk time, or movie playback with Active Noise Cancellation and spatial audio enabled. Additionally, AirPods Max come with a Smart Case that puts AirPods Max in an ultralow power state that helps to preserve battery charge when not in use.