AirPods Max will soon support lossless audio via USB-C

AirPods Max users will soon be able to listen to lossless and ultra-low latency audio, Apple has announced. The support for lossless audio will come as part of the latest iOS 18.4 update scheduled for next month. This will allow users to play 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio via Apple Music or any other streaming app that supports it, but only when connected via the USB-C cable. Unfortunately for older AirPods Max owners, this feature set will only be available on the USB-C version of AirPods Max. 

In its official announcement, Apple states that AirPods Max with USB-C will allow users to “enjoy the highest-quality audio across music, movies, and games, while music creators can experience significant enhancements to songwriting, beat making, production, and mixing.” Lossless audio will also work with Personalized Spatial Audio and there are over 100 million songs in the Apple Music library that have support for it.

Furthermore, with the iOS 18.4 update, AirPods Max with USB-C will also get ultra-low latency audio that will be “on par with the native built-in speakers on Mac, iPad, and iPhone.” This will help gamers and streamers use the headphones for a more immersive experience when in wired mode.

As mentioned earlier, this feature set will only be available on the AirPods Max when connected via the USB-C cable. Apple has also started selling the USB-C to 3.5mm cable through its store and Apple Authorized Resellers today. Lossless and ultra-low latency audio will be part of a firmware update for the AirPods Max next month, but there is no exact date available at this point.