It’s wild what a new Apple product launch can stir up.

This brand is either loved or hated — there’s no in-between. It never leaves anyone indifferent, it’s crazy! Look at when they released the AirPods (the originals) — everyone was mocking them:

Earphones that look like cotton buds!

And these reactions repeat themselves every single time. Yet walk down the street and you’ll be surprised by how many people have those cotton buds in their ears.

We’re going to talk about AirPods in this article — yes, again 🤣 — and I’m going to share my non-objective opinion 🤪.

The target audience 🤙

Commuters? Absolutely not — given the carrying case, which is clearly not suited for travel. The headphones don’t fold, so they take up just as much space stored as on your head!

Athletes? No way — running with something this heavy on your head isn’t even worth considering!

Outside on public transport? This type of person falls into the commuter category for me, and clearly no. On public transport, you need something you won’t have to think about every five minutes ⌚️ — something you can throw into your bag 👜, or even drop while rushing to catch the metro 🚃.

In an open-plan office? Now we’re getting somewhere. If you work in an office with a lot of people around you, you’re probably looking for a noise-cancelling headphone. In that case, the AirPods Max seem completely suited. Just don’t leave them lying around 😅 or someone will borrow them.

At home? Yes, but for audiophiles 🎧 who swear by wired and open-back headphones. On the other hand, for those who want to watch a film quietly without bothering the neighbours, they’ll be delighted.

Working from home? Absolutely — I recognise myself quite a bit in this category! Being able to wear the headphones all day long without taking them off for a video call! Having great headphones to listen to music helps you stay focused 🥰.

The price 💸

The price is a false problem, but a lot of people care about it. Honestly, me included — when I was waiting for these headphones and I saw the price, I almost passed.

When I compare the price of a good-looking wireless headphone that you actually want to wear, there aren’t many options. The Momentums are decent, but they’re plastic and already at €400. At Bang & Olufsen you’re looking at €800 for a product that isn’t even perfect according to the specialist press!

So I traded in my Miio M11 and my Meze headphones, because wired isn’t for me — same goes for vinyl, by the way.

And you know what? Miio plus Meze comes to roughly the price of the AirPods!

But where is the carrying case? 📦

The first word that comes to mind: ridiculous 🤨. It’s not even practical! A simple pouch would have done the job and we wouldn’t have talked about it any longer — but this?

What happened, Apple — do you want to talk about it 🗣?

For those who don’t know the difference between Design and Ergonomics, this famous case cooked up by Apple is a perfect example of something beautiful (Design) that is completely impractical (ergonomic).

We end up with something beautiful that serves absolutely no purpose, none whatsoever… How can you not fear taking these headphones anywhere without risking damage? And that brings me right back to who this headphone is aimed at…

One thing that bothers me: when you take the headphones out of the case, the ear cups knock against each other 🥵. I hope they won’t mark over time… so when I take them out I feel like I’m pulling out my pétanque balls.

The sound 🎧

I’ve had the QC 35 and the XM3 — I’ll admit I preferred the Sony at the time over the Bose, because it felt much more alive. I’m not a bass-head though. I mainly listen to rock, though I can get into some good old NTM, so you need clean bass that doesn’t give me a headache. And that’s genuinely a strong point here — the bass isn’t too overwhelming and I find it really well-defined.

At the time I was testing audiophile headphones — I tried the Dali which I returned immediately. I think that’s the product that went straight back.

So, what about these AirPods Max? The sound is genuinely impressive — clearly above the Sony for me. Where the Sony overdoes it, the AirPods manage to walk the line in both the bass and treble. Nice work 👏.

We’re looking at the best noise-cancelling headphones 🎧 I’ve ever tested. For a more open sound, you’d need to go with a non-noise-cancelling headset.

Beautiful balance — listen to Ben Harper or Metallica and the headphones handle it brilliantly 👍.

Pixies fans, I encourage you to listen to Hey 👋 — the sound of Kim’s bass is intoxicating 🥂.

Hard to talk about the rendering without actually listening, right? For a comparison: if you have a HomePod at home, it’s simple — this is the same thing in terms of sound output, but in headphone form.

One last point: when there’s no audio playing, the noise cancellation generates a white noise that I find more noticeable than on the AirPods Pro. It’s not necessarily annoying, because with classical music you can hear all the little sounds coming up from the stage.

Can you hear me? 🎙

Transparency mode is surely the main reason I bought these headphones. I don’t know if you manage to use the same mode on Sony, but I find it impossible to have a normal conversation without taking the headphones off. With the AirPods Max, it’s royally smooth — you can even keep them on for video calls!

Can others hear me clearly? Hard to do better than the AirPods Pro on that front. That’s another feature that drew me toward buying these over the competition. Obviously the AirPods Max don’t compete with gaming headsets with a dedicated boom mic.

Comfort 🧸

The headphones weigh over 300g, but honestly I don’t feel them in the situations where I use them — see the section on who this headphone is aimed at.

On the other hand, it’s winter or close to it 🥶 and they do get warm. So be careful ⛔️ if you’re using them indoors in summer without air conditioning — it’s going to get hot 🥵.

To put it in context though: yes, they get warm, but compared to headphones with leather ear pads they actually hold up pretty well.

The comfort is exceptional for such a heavy product! What I mean is: not quite as good as the QC 35, which remains the benchmark — but the AirPods Max are genuinely impressive for that. No pressure on the top of the head after several hours of use 💀. For those familiar with the Meze, the comfort and head pressure are similar.

If I had to find one comfort issue, I’d say they squeeze a little tight at the temples after a while. That said, I’d strongly advise against eating or chewing gum while wearing them — guaranteed pain.

The whole assembly makes a little noise when you move your head — notably the ear pads, which have a tendency to let out a slight creak during movement. The metal frame on the other hand doesn’t budge — not a sound.

My verdict 🙊

I haven’t talked about ergonomics — even though the button placement at the top 👆 isn’t necessarily the best location, since you can easily hit a button when adjusting the headphones.

On the other hand, switching to transparency mode with a single press is very practical. I work on my computer all day long — switching from a video call to transparency mode is a real pleasure, whereas it’s torture with the competition.

Apple didn’t fall into the all-touch trap, and the idea of a dial to control volume is a model of ergonomics — and how smooth it is!

A little detail that’s wonderful: when you turn the dial, a discreet click is sent to the inside of the ear cups. Subtle, but the kind of detail I love about Apple.

That’s the full tour — I know my opinion isn’t worth much and that the audio world hangs on every word from PPG (pépé ji 🤙).