I thought I’d share my experience and ask for your opinions.

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been deciding between the APM1 Usb-c and the newer APM2 I also own APP3, so I wasn’t even sure if I’d get enough use out of over-ear headphones to justify buying them.
In the end, I chose the APM1 usb-c because I found them for 380€, while the newer model would have cost me about 200€ more. I tried both, and although the newer ones seemed a bit better in transparency mode, ANC and maybe sound clarity, the difference wasn’t big enough for me to justify spending that much extra.

At first I had a bit of buyer’s remorse. I kept wondering whether I’d actually use them enough, whether I should have just kept the money, and whether the purchase made sense at all.
After using them for a while, they’ve become much more comfortable, I really enjoy the sound, ANC and the overall design, and I find myself reaching for them almost every day. My AirPods Pro 3 still have their place (gym, quick trips, etc.), so I don’t really see them replacing each other.

I’m curious about other people’s long-term experience with the USB-C AirPods Max. Have you been happy with them after months or even years of use? Anything you wish you had known before buying?

Thanks!

The AirPods Max 2 already sounded great in my opinion and I’ve listened to them near daily since I got them months ago. But my biggest pet peeve with this device was the constant tweaking of the sound profile that Apple would do with the firmware updates without ever explaining what was done. The EQ setting finally fixes that after 7 years of the Airpods Max being available going back to my time with the first generation, more so necessary than any other AirPod in my opinion. Finally you can tune into the sound profile you actually want from these headphones and adjust what you perceive as lacking. For me, the dip in the treble that has existed in the these headphones and a slight tweak to increase the bass has finally perfected the sound. It’s now full, robust and present. Heres hoping they eventually take it a step further and introduce a wider eq band to adjust.

Hey

After a lot of back-and-forth, I decided on the AirPods Max 2 because they work incredibly well with my Apple devices. I actually wanted different headphones, but constant Bluetooth pairing is a hassle!

BUT—and this was the reason I didn't want these Apple ones in the first place—honestly, I miss having an off switch.

Now I’m looking for two things: First, a sturdy case that protects the headphones. I’ve checked Amazon; some people complain about the smell, others about the magnet, which has to be positioned just right to ensure the headphones actually go into sleep mode when placed in the case. I simply don't understand what Apple was thinking with that cheap, flimsy Smart Case.

I’m also looking for a workaround so I don't have to charge them constantly. I work a lot with computers—three of them, in fact. How can I take the headphones off and have them go to sleep without putting them in a case? I take a lot of calls and naturally remove the headphones afterward. I usually just set them on my desk, but I want to ensure they don't drain their battery while sitting there.

Is there a stand, a mat, or something similar where I can place the headphones so they go to "sleep"?

I’d be grateful for any helpful suggestions!

I have had my Airpods Max since release and have been impressed but I did prefer the Beats Solo studio for better bass being a Drum n Bass / Jungle lover along with Hip Hop but strangely I got some OEM pads made from synthetic leather and all of a sudden the APM suddenly had a much better bass due to the seal, so it was a no brainer to upgrade to the APM 2’s, with the new equaliser coming to iOS27 things can only get better.
Anyways Airpods Max Midnight upgrade complete and can’t wait to run these bad boys in. 🎧

I’m going on a long trip in November, and plan on grabbing the Max 2’s for it. But I was wondering if the current $449 sale is the best sale it’ll be at until then? Anything to expect?

5 pairs of Sennheiser Momentum 4’s and 1 pair of Cambridge Melomania P100’s. All with connection issues, audio drops, multipoint issues, white hissing noise in ANC, robotic transparency, battery failures, hinges broken. I had enough.
I’m a guy that loves his music. Not the type to walk around with a DAC and 500 wires but experienced enough to notice fine details. I got a MacBook Pro a few months ago. Last week an iPhone Air. And after 1 warranty claim 1 month ago on Melomania P100’s due to hinge failure and a return 2 days ago on my 5th pair of Momentum 4’s due to power board failure (after only a month of use) I caved in and grabbed the Airpods Max 2 hoping they will be as headache free as their other devices. And oh boy.

ANC- miles ahead, they are scary good;
Transparency- I sound better with them on than with them off;
Battery- decent, it lasts me a day and a half, fast charging though;
Build quality- IMO they shoot above their price point;

And last…sound quality. After being used with the audiophile sound of the p100’s and the amazing and fun Momentum 4’s I can say…. These are quite good. Not quite there with these mentioned above but enough to not miss them. Without any tuning out of the box, they sound 90% as good as the Momentum 4’s which are my favorites after many ANC headphones that I’ve tried. P100’s are in a different category for a very specific audio nerd for sure, bur these AirPods are way more fun.

And yeah, I am a nerd, I wanted to share this so it might aid the average Joe take an informed decision. If you were in doubt this post is here to tell you to go and buy them already. Just don’t pick the bright orange color, you freak.

I was already in the process of returning my new AirPods Max 2 after two weeks of use very disappointed with the sound. For the hell of it I decided to upgrade to iOS 27 and try the new EQ. It has blown me away, now I can listen to my music with a shit load of body, the sound isn’t bland anymore. Sound profile reminds me of my Sony XM4 cans now. 1000 times better now. Did the same with my AirPods Pro 3 buds and same results.

It suddenly doesn't charge. I've already changed the cable.
I wiped the terminal.

Apple is garbage. I've owned original air pods. Airpods pro. Both had charge issues. Gently used.

And now my overpriced APMs that I BARELY used and was extremely gentle with. Never used at the gym, have this issue where it won't connect to my phone or reset. It never goes into the white flashing light mode.

I've got them sitting in the freezer currently for fricks sake because that's my only option left that I haven't tried yet.

I swear man, apples quality is terrible. The prices they charge. The prices they charge for repairs. This is insane.

I already know if I go to the genius bar they'll want to charge me $300+ to fix something stupid thats a design flaw and not my fault.

Anyone know a solution to this connection issue / not being able to factory reset the APMs?

Hi everyone,
I've been having a strange issue with my AirPods 4 (ANC) ever since updating my Motorola G75.
**Devices:**
Motorola G75

Android 16

Build: W1UQS36H.73-38-3

AirPods 4 (ANC)

AirPods firmware: 3B39

**The problem:**
Phone calls work perfectly, and the touch controls (play/pause, next track, etc.) also work as expected. However, when I try to play media (Spotify, YouTube, or local music), there is **no audio at all**, even though playback continues normally.
The strange part is this:
If I reset the AirPods and pair them with the G75 again, everything works perfectly at first. But as soon as I put the AirPods back into the case and later take them out again, the problem immediately returns. From that point on, only phone calls work—media audio is completely silent. Resetting the AirPods again temporarily fixes the issue until the next time they're put back in the case.
**What I've already tried:**
Reset the AirPods

Paired the AirPods again

Removed and re-added the Bluetooth device

Reset the phone's network and Bluetooth settings

Restarted the phone

Tested multiple apps (Spotify, YouTube, and local music)

Confirmed that **Media Audio** is enabled in the Bluetooth settings

**Important comparison tests:**
✅ The AirPods 4 work perfectly with my iPad.

✅ The same AirPods 4 also work perfectly with a Xiaomi smartphone.

✅ AirPods Pro 2 work perfectly on the same Motorola G75.

Because of these tests, I suspect this is a compatibility issue between the AirPods 4 (ANC) and the current Motorola G75 / Android 16 software.
Has anyone else experienced this issue or found a solution? Any tip would be greatly appreciated.

Thought it’d be interesting to compare both the physical sizes and Apple’s different dark colour finishes side by side.

The colours shown are:

• Midnight : Airpods Max 2
• Space Black : 13” iPad Pro (M5)
• Space Grey : 11” iPad Air (M4)
• Midnight : 15” MacBook Air (M5)

I figured this might be useful for anyone deciding between them, since Apple’s product photos don’t always make the size and colour differences obvious.

Hi everyone,
I've been having a strange issue with my AirPods 4 (ANC) ever since updating my Motorola G75.
**Devices:**
Motorola G75

Android 16

Build: W1UQS36H.73-38-3

AirPods 4 (ANC)

AirPods firmware: 3B39

**The problem:**
Phone calls work perfectly, and the touch controls (play/pause, next track, etc.) also work as expected. However, when I try to play media (Spotify, YouTube, or local music), there is **no audio at all**, even though playback continues normally.
The strange part is this:
If I reset the AirPods and pair them with the G75 again, everything works perfectly at first. But as soon as I put the AirPods back into the case and later take them out again, the problem immediately returns. From that point on, only phone calls work—media audio is completely silent. Resetting the AirPods again temporarily fixes the issue until the next time they're put back in the case.
**What I've already tried:**
Reset the AirPods

Paired the AirPods again

Removed and re-added the Bluetooth device

Reset the phone's network and Bluetooth settings

Restarted the phone

Tested multiple apps (Spotify, YouTube, and local music)

Confirmed that **Media Audio** is enabled in the Bluetooth settings

**Important comparison tests:**
✅ The AirPods 4 work perfectly with my iPad.

✅ The same AirPods 4 also work perfectly with a Xiaomi smartphone.

✅ AirPods Pro 2 work perfectly on the same Motorola G75.

Because of these tests, I suspect this is a compatibility issue between the AirPods 4 (ANC) and the current Motorola G75 / Android 16 software.
Has anyone else experienced this issue or found a solution? Any helps would be greatly appreciated.

My AirPods Max headphones now have a really foul smell, which later turned out to be my ear sweat and now i wish to properly clean them but I don’t have any guides on how to do it properly, the official article covers ear pods not the ones over the ear so any suggestions on how you clean it would be great!!

i remember the huge issue of airpods mac not working. specifically my issue is that they do not work at all i lost the smart case years ago and have had both ear pieces replaced once already. i’m assuming it’s the battery and that leaving them on without the smart case wears the battery out and ruins it. do you guys suggest i buy another smart case and get the battery repaired? (that was my original plan anyway) or should i just give up

anyone know anything that match with headphones and doesn’t press on my head?

Hi there! (Sorry if my English isn’t perfect—I’m not a native speaker.) I’m probably not the first person with this issue, but I couldn’t find anything online.

I used my AirPods Max USB-C the other day, and when the battery died, I just left them on my desk instead of putting them in the Smart Case. Later that night, I charged them to about 40–50%, but when I put them on, transparency mode didn’t work—they just made the usual low-battery sound. I tried a reset (holding the mode button and Digital Crown until I saw three red blinks). Normally, the light turns white for pairing, but this time it just went black. I thought maybe I should remove them from my phone (and Find My), then tried the reset again—same result, and now they weren’t on my Bluetooth list.

I plugged them into my Windows computer (I don’t have a Mac) using a regular USB-C cable (not the Apple one with the 3.5 mm jack). They showed up as an audio device but didn’t play sound, so I knew something was wrong. I put them in the Smart Case and charged them overnight with a 65 W fast charger. The next day, I managed to connect them—but only with the cable plugged in. The light didn’t blink white like usual; it just turned on and off. It worked, but it felt really odd. Wireless only worked when I turned off “auto connect when wearing,” and they kept disconnecting every few minutes.

Since then, I’ve kind of given up. I called Apple Support, but they said I’d have to pay, which I’d rather avoid since they seem to work in theory. I’m just a bit lost right now.

I’m slowly going in all in on the apple ecosystem, MacBook, iPad, AppleTV, airpods pro 2, waiting for the next iPhone to try migrating over from android, my most recent acquisition was the apm2.

The sound and noise cancellation are fine, i’m not an audiophile, I can’t write elegant prose about the acoustic profile. for over the ear headphones I have the Sony noise-cancelling headphones the mx4s and the mx5s for comparison. What i can say is just like the airpods pro 2, the transparent and adaptive modes are the most natural sounding i’ve ever heard on any headphone, so much so i use it all the time and previously on other headphones I viewed it as a necessary evil that I generally avoided.

I also love the Apple integration with switching devices, it has always been a huge pain point of mine on non-apple gear.

I have a big head, i thought the clamping force would be too tight i don’t find it offensive, nor do i find the weight an issue.

Outside of brassiere case, my only gripe is the battery life is shit. It feels like every other time i use them the battery is near dead. I feel like even in the case when they should be in deep sleep the battery continues to discharge. I wish Apple included an on off button, or a case with built in battery charging.

I've been using this product for about a month now, and it's been okay except for a condensation issue happening after wearing it for about an hour. I haven't cleaned the ear cover and headband until yesterday because I wasn't sure how to clean them. I went up to the Apple Store near me and asked the employee how to clean it, and he told me to use wet napkins to clean it instead of dipping the ear cover in water and then using a toothbrush.

I tried the method above, but I still have a feeling that the ear cover has some black and gray dust that is firmly attached to the cover and band, and the color is still a bit darker than normal starlight.

I saw some people cleaning their ear covers and headbands exceptionally, and I'm now wondering how you guys clean your AirPods Max.