Lossless audio update for AirPods Max is bugged, now listed as coming soon on Apple website

AirPods Max users would have finally been able to listen to lossless, ultra-low-latency audio if the latest firmware update worked as it should. Unfortunately, an unknown bug is causing issues with the update process, which does not seem to have a fix yet. The feature was announced just over a week ago and was supposed to be packed with the iOS 18.4 update. While iPhone models have successfully been updated with new features, this one AirPods Max feature seems to have been marked as ‘coming soon’.

The iOS 18.4 update was available on March 31, and while users were able to bring their phones up to the latest version, AirPods Max users faced some issues while trying to get the new functionality on their headphones. Due to a software bug, AirPods Max with USB-C owners could not update to the latest firmware that was supposed to enable lossless and ultra-low-latency audio, as reported by MacRumors. 

According to the official announcement, those with USB-C AirPods Max headphones would be able 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.” The latency was also said to be reduced, bringing it on par with the built-in speakers on Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

Furthermore, this feature update with build number 7E99 has now been marked as ‘coming soon’ on Apple’s support page. “When used with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac running iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, macOS Sequoia 15.4 or later, AirPods Max with USB-C and firmware update 7E99 enable lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio for the ultimate listening experience and even greater performance for music production, content creation, and gaming. Coming soon,” the support page reads. 

As of now, there is no information on when the issue will be fixed or why the update did not succeed in the first place.