Here's Why the 'New' AirPods Max Are So Disappointing

While the AirPods Max were updated this week for the first time in nearly four years, the changes were disappointingly minor.

There are only two changes with the updated AirPods Max: a USB-C charging port instead of Lightning, and new color options, including Blue, Orange, Purple, Midnight, and Starlight. The headphones did not receive Apple's H2 chip that debuted in the AirPods Pro 2 a few years ago, meaning that they will continue to miss out on Adaptive Audio features, and there are no improvements to active noise cancellation either.

This means the AirPods Max continue to have the H1 chip that Apple introduced all the way back in 2019, and the $549 headphones did not receive a price cut to reflect this.

The updated AirPods Max can be pre-ordered now and launch on Friday, September 20.