Apple is bringing higher-fidelity audio to its AirPods Max headphones in April, the corporate introduced immediately. When the $549 headphones switched to a USB-C connector final yr, they misplaced assist for wired audio playback — however Apple is about to rectify that with full lossless assist, which even the prior Lightning mannequin technically lacked.
“With the included USB-C cable, customers can benefit from the highest-quality audio throughout music, motion pictures, and video games, whereas music creators can expertise important enhancements to songwriting, beat making, manufacturing, and mixing,” the corporate wrote in a press launch on Monday. “With this replace, AirPods Max will unlock 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio, preserving the integrity of unique recordings and permitting listeners to expertise music the way in which the artist created it within the studio.” Lossless assist “extends to Customized Spatial Audio,” Apple famous.
Except for richer sound, the brand new replace allows extremely low latency on the AirPods Max, which makes them higher suited to music manufacturing, gaming, and dwell streaming functions, in accordance with the corporate.
The firmware replace will roll out alongside iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4 someday in April. You should use a USB-C to USB-C twine for lossless audio, however Apple can also be now promoting a $39 USB-C to three.5mm audio cable that shares the identical braided design as its different current cables.
The earlier version of the AirPods Max with a Lightning connector don’t provide true “lossless” playback due to a sign conversion that happens every time a wired audio supply is used. It’s nonetheless higher high quality than you’d get listening over Bluetooth, nonetheless.
