On the AirPods Max, which were released three years ago (2020) and have not been updated in any way since:
Apple also looks to breathe new life into the AirPods Max headphones. The cans don’t sell well enough for the company to invest in entirely new hardware or software features, but Apple is planning a model that trades in the Lightning charger for USB-C and potentially adds new colors.
Mark Gurman
This is a rumour, so we can’t treat it as actually happening, but it sounds plausible, so let’s play through the logic as if this is what will come to be:
- AirPods Max released in 2020. Consensus is: great noise-canceling, very good sound, terrible case/charging setup, overpriced.
- Apple does nothing with the line for the next three years.
- The perception is the headphones do not sell that well.
- Apple is going to “breathe new life” into them.
- But they don’t sell well enough to make actual improvements, so they’ll only get some different colours (maybe) and a switch to USB-C, which is being mandated by EU law, anyway.
Unless “breathe new life” doesn’t mean “generate new sales” this plan makes no sense. If Apple doesn’t address the shortcomings of the AirPods Max, no one is going to rush out and start buying them again. Yes, you’ll get a tiny sliver of sales for some different colours, but given Apple’s recent history with colour (fear, paranoia) we might not even know the colours have been updated. I think what bugs me is that the world’s richest, fattest company can’t be bothered to properly update some of their products when some, like Sony and countless others, regularly improve and iterate.
But hey, they are the world’s richest company for a reason, and I’m just a schlub on the internet, so don’t mind me!
