AirPods Max Begin Shipping to Customers Ahead of December 15 Launch

Apple last week announced the AirPods Max, the first Apple-branded over-ear headphones. Now, AirPods Max preorders are beginning to ship to customers around the world ahead of the December 15 launch date.

airpods max b
Although several orders for the headphones are still in the "Processing" or "Preparing to Ship" stages, one MacRumors reader has shared a screenshot of an AirPods Max order marked as "Shipped" on Apple's online store.

Priced at $549, AirPods Max have a mesh headband with a stainless steel frame that connects to memory foam ear cups. The headphones offer several features including high-fidelity audio, Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, and spatial audio. Many reviewers have been impressed by the sound quality of the headphones.

AirPods Max will be available starting on December 15 in the United States and over 25 markets worldwide, according to Apple. Delivery estimates for all five AirPods Max colors have already slipped into 2021 on Apple.com, suggesting that either Apple is facing supply constraints or demand for the headphones is quite high.

Waiting for your AirPods Max? Be sure to track your shipment in the MacRumors forums.

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

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday May 27, 2025 9:10 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of May 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X ...
Whatsapp Feature

WhatsApp Teases Long-Awaited iPad App

Monday May 26, 2025 10:23 am PDT by
The popular messaging app WhatsApp has teased a long-awaited iPad app, which would be offered alongside its existing iPhone and Mac apps. The official WhatsApp account on X today reacted with an eyes emoji to a post saying that WhatsApp should release an iPad app. This could be a hint that Meta is gearing up to release WhatsApp for iPad, which has already been available for beta testing via...
WWDC 2025 Banner

WWDC is Just Two Weeks Away: Here Are the Biggest iOS 19 Rumors

Monday May 26, 2025 8:12 am PDT by
WWDC 2025 is just two weeks away as of today, with Apple's opening keynote scheduled for Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16, watchOS 12, tvOS 19, visionOS 3, and other software updates, along with new Apple Intelligence features. In some years, there are also hardware announcements at WWDC, but there are no...
iOS 26 Mock Rainbow Feature

No iOS 19: Apple Going Straight to iOS 26

Wednesday May 28, 2025 11:56 am PDT by
With the design overhaul that's coming this year, Apple plans to rename all of its operating systems, reports Bloomberg. Going forward, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and visionOS will be identified by year, rather than by version number. We're not going to be getting iOS 19, we're getting iOS 26. iOS 26 will be accompanied by iPadOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, watchOS 26, and visionOS 26...
HomePod With Screen Feature

Apple's Rumored Smart Home Hub Has Faced a Disappointing Setback

Monday May 26, 2025 7:18 am PDT by
Apple has scrapped some of the features that it had planned for its long-rumored smart home hub device, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "I'm told that Apple has pulled some bolder features from the device that could reappear in subsequent models," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter this week. However, he did not reveal any of the specific features that were pulled. Apple made...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature 2

Apple Rumored to Redesign the iPhone Every Year Through to 2027

Tuesday May 27, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly preparing to implement significant iPhone hardware redesigns each year for the next three generations. According leaks from the Chinese supply chain disclosed by Weibo user "Digital Chat Station," Apple plans to carry out a series of phased industrial design changes affecting different parts of the iPhone across three consecutive years: 2025, 2026, and 2027. The changes...
top stories 2025 05 24

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Air Details, Apple's Smart Glasses, and More

Saturday May 24, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
WWDC is coming up quickly with a number of software announcements in store, but we're also looking further ahead to hardware launches like the iPhone 17 lineup and even Apple's smart glasses project. This week also saw big news with former Apple design guru Jony Ive joining forces with OpenAI to build future AI-driven devices, while Fortnite returned to the U.S. App Store for the first time...
iCloud General Feature Redux

Apple Raises iCloud+ Prices in Three Countries

Monday May 26, 2025 1:45 pm PDT by
Apple recently raised prices for its iCloud+ plans in Brazil, Chile, and Peru, according to a support document updated last Thursday. The table below outlines the price changes in each country. Country Old Prices New Prices Brazil 50GB: R$ 4.90 200GB: R$ 14.90 2TB: R$ 49.90 6TB: R$ 149.90 12TB: R$ 299.90 50GB: R$ ...

Top Rated Comments

jz0309 Avatar
58 months ago
Congrats to those who've ordered them ... looking forward to some real life reviews
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ds6778 Avatar
58 months ago
Every time is see “AirPods Max,” I cringe. I’m sure they will sound amazing and will be great at noise cancellation. I just can’t wrap my mind around this “strategy.” Had they priced it for $399 or less, they would have dominated the Bose/Sony market IMO. I also could have overlooked the lack of a case and a way to power them off. $550? Not sure who they're targeting here. I doubt they will be $200-$275 better than Sony or Bose offerings. Even if they are “better,” it’s still a stretch given how much more they are.

On a side rant, can we get rid of the “Max” nomenclature? “Max” is just so cheesy, it’s like Apple is letting an 8 year old come up with these names. “Super mega-awesome Pro-Max XDR PROMAX Super Edition Plus!”

I guess another rant, why are these even called AirPods? The first thing I think of when I hear “AirPods” is compact, wireless, in ear headphones, not massive, heavy cans.
I wish Apple would just make their Pro lineup and than SE versions. Keep it simple.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
trhoffmann Avatar
58 months ago

You can buy 4.5 shares of AAPL for this....just sayin'.
Or sell 5 shares to buy them with AppleCare+.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smithrh Avatar
58 months ago
Definitely feels like there was some sort of two-step embargo here -

a) You can talk about the headphones, how they feel, packaging, etc

(units ship)

b) ...now you can talk about how they sound


I suspect the performance will be decent or even better. But this delay in reviews of how they sound is really frustrating.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
newyorksole Avatar
58 months ago

Maybe you don’t understand or paying attention to the audio segment, because $550 is not a ‘crazy price’. What it comes down to, is some don’t have an appreciation for spending money on headphones when they don’t care about the aspects of sound dynamics, but if you want something of quality sound and well constructed, then you look at products that are in the segment what Apple is charging in comparison to Bose, Klipsch, Sennheiser, ect. Why is no one calling those prices crazy? Now Apple is considered ‘crazy’ for releasing a pair of $550 headphones? They’re right in line with the other competitors.
It’s only crazy because it’s Apple and everyone feels like Apple owes them something for some odd reason. Everyone is saying they would “totally buy these if they were $300/$400”. Just goes to show they are highly sought after, but even with alleged great sound and superior build quality, the masses think Apple should give them away for free.

It’s just really weird honestly Lol.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Costino1 Avatar
58 months ago
I purchased the AirPods 1 & 2 and also the AirPods Pro "hearing unseen" aka bought them blindly without ever testing them. I was leery doing that and spending $200-250. I couldn't imagine doing that for the AirPods Max for $500+. For that price I need to actually put them on and demo some songs in living color. (yeah I keep using visual statements for something thats auditory lol)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)