Deal | Apple Airpods Max drop to record-low price on Amazon
If you've had your eye on the Airpods Max for a while but were put off by the $549 price-tag, now is the time to pull the trigger. The purple colourway is currently discounted to $399 on Amazon, with the Midnight, Orange and Starlight versions also down to $449.
The deal is all the more tempting given that no new version is expected to be launched any time soon. The only rumour around them, as per MacRumors, is that a lighter version would enter production in 2027, which is a long way off.
The Airpods Max have been around since the end of 2020, and with rivals Bose and Sony updating their flagship models more recently, you'd be forgiven for thinking of them as a bit dated. Indeed, the only update they've received was being relaunched with USB-C in 2024, much to the disappointment of those expecting to see them with the new H2 chip, a refreshed design and a better case. However, Apple appears to be standing by the design and the H1 chip's capabilities, as evidenced by their recent software update, which introduced support for 24-bit 48 kHz lossless audio over USB-C, and previously, spatial audio.
Moreover, as we've learnt from reviews of newer competitors like Sony's WH-100XM6 and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones where the comparison is inevitably made, the Airpods Max may be edged out slightly in one aspect like ANC performance, but they're still a strong contender to the newcomers and offer an overall 'flagship-headphone' experience for those in the Apple ecosystem, not to mention a design that still stands out in true Apple fashion.
In addition to lossless audio and spatial audio with head-tracking, you also get the adaptive EQ feature that optimises the sound based on the fit and seal of the earcups. You still get the stellar transparency mode that the Airpods lineup is known for (though, sadly, no Adaptive Audio, which selectively balances cancellation and pass-through on the Airpods Pro 2, or the new hearing-aid feature). Battery life is 20 hours with ANC and spatial audio enabled.
The current deal is not part of Amazon's Prime Day sale, and is open to everyone, not just Prime members. That said, it is unprecedented and thus likely to be available only for a limited time.
Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.
