AirPods Max Missing Rumored Features: $350 'Sport' Model, Swappable Bands, Touch Controls

Apple's newly-announced AirPods Max over-ear headphones reportedly omitted a number of features to launch after months of delays, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

airpods max earcup left

Earlier in the year, a report from Bloomberg said that ‌AirPods Max‌, thought at the time to be called "AirPods Studio," had suffered several development challenges leading to multiple delays and scaling back of functionality. The product failed to appear at any of the most recent three Apple events despite a plethora of rumors about the product.

In September, the design of ‌AirPods Max‌ leaked in a video, indicating that the launch was likely to be soon. The headphones were meant to go into production in mid-2020, but production was pushed back due to development issues, such as problems with the headband, which was found to be too tight during testing.

It was believed that ‌AirPods Max‌ would offer unique customizability with interchangeable headbands and earcups, repeating the concept behind Apple Watch bands. Amid these delays and frustrations, Bloomberg correctly predicted that Apple would drop the concept of a replaceable headband to accelerate production.

In addition, it was believed that ‌AirPods Max‌ would have touch pads for controls on the sides of the headphones. This appears to have been replaced by the Digital Crown from the Apple Watch in the final product.

airpods max digital crown

After the announcement of ‌AirPods Max‌ earlier today, ‌Mark Gurman‌ mused on the fact that Apple had dropped a large number of features to get the product released at long last.

Other rumors about Apple's over-ear headphones also failed to come to fruition. Mixed-record leaker Jon Prosser repeatedly said that ‌AirPods Max‌ would come in a "sport-like variant" for $350 and a "luxury variant" for $599. While Prosser's $599 was not far off the final $549 price tag, the cheaper $350 "sport variant" has yet to emerge.

9to5Mac also incorrectly claimed that ‌AirPods Max‌ would have a "neck detection" feature and adaptive audio channels for switching between the right and left side, allowing users to use the headphones either way around.

Last week, MacRumors correctly predicted that Apple would announce a new product today using an AppleCare-related internal memo. With ‌AirPods Max‌ finally announced, it is possible that Apple may look to revisit some of these rumored features for a second iteration of the product, or shelve them entirely.

Related Roundup: AirPods Max
Buyer's Guide: AirPods Max (Neutral)
Related Forum: AirPods

Top Rated Comments

matrix07 Avatar
37 months ago
I actually prefer physical button to touch control.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bazooka-joe Avatar
37 months ago
Maybe in the interest of profit, Apple have rushed to market to capitalise and may introduce a second generation of Max and possibly Pro next year with additional functionality. I am certainly going to wait. Too much money for not enough product.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
37 months ago
They're way too expensive! Come on Apple.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
37 months ago
So basically Gurman got a rumor wrong and is spinning it as missing features.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lemon Olive Avatar
37 months ago
Gurman will say anything to avoid being wrong.

No one in their right mind could possibly think that the Digital Crown was anything but a major design preference and not something thrown in to replace touch controls.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dz5b609 Avatar
37 months ago
Wait, you really telling me it doesn't have ****ing ear/neck detection?!? The feature that literally any other headphone even the 50 dollar Chinese ones have...

WTAF
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Mock Header With Dynamic Island

Skipping the iPhone 15 Pro? Here's What's Rumored for iPhone 16 Pro

Friday September 22, 2023 9:29 am PDT by
Are you skipping the iPhone 15 Pro and waiting another year to upgrade? If so, we already have some iPhone 16 Pro rumors for you. Below, we recap new features rumored for the iPhone 16 Pro models so far:Larger displays: The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped with larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, respectively, according to Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain...
Apple WWDC23 macOS Sonoma hero

macOS Sonoma Launching This Week With These New Features

Sunday September 24, 2023 12:45 pm PDT by
Apple previously announced that macOS Sonoma will be released this Tuesday, September 26. The free software update includes many new features and changes for the Mac, including the five that we have highlighted below. In addition to these five features, we have shared the full release notes for macOS Sonoma below for a complete overview of everything new. Desktop Widgets macOS Sonoma...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 double tap gesture 230912

watchOS 10.1 to Enable Apple Watch's New 'Double Tap' Gesture

Thursday September 21, 2023 12:52 pm PDT by
The new Double Tap gesture for the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 will be enabled starting with watchOS 10.1, according to Marques Brownlee, host of the popular tech-focused YouTube channel MKBHD. The first beta of watchOS 10.1 will likely be available by next week, and Apple announced that the software update will be released next month. Brownlee shared his impressions...