Polk Audio today debuted its latest flagship sound bar systems, the MagniFi Max AX and AX SR. The compact systems both include an 11-speaker-array sound bar with dedicated center channels and up-firing height speakers, as well as a 10-inch wireless subwoofer. The SR system adds two additional wireless surround speakers.
The new sound bars support both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X along with Polk's patented Stereo Dimensional Array (SDA) technology for immersive sound, and AirPlay 2 is a welcome inclusion for Apple fans. Google Chromecast, Spotify Connect, and Works with Alexa services are also supported thanks to both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
One-touch modes optimize the systems for movies, TV, or music, while Night Mode turns down the bass to reduce potentially disruptive bass sounds and Polk's VoiceAdjust technology ensures that voices are intelligible above the rest of the audio. Connections include 3-in/1-out 4K HDMI ports with eARC, as well as an optical input. A subtle OLED display on the front panel shows your adjustments but dims when not in use.
The MagniFi Max AX ($799) and MagniFi Max AX SR ($899) systems are available to order starting today and will begin shipping next month.
Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Monday November 10, 2025 1:55 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple will conceal the front-facing camera under the screen of its 2027 iPhone, a Chinese leaker said today, corroborating reports that Apple's 20th anniversary iPhone will have no visible cutouts in the display.
Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station said Apple's development of under-screen camera technology was progressing as planned for adoption in 2027, one year after it will...
Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store.
The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump.
...
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue.
Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
Monday November 10, 2025 11:41 am PST by Juli Clover
The thin, light iPhone Air sold so poorly that Apple has decided to delay the launch of the next-generation iPhone Air that was scheduled to come out alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, reports The Information.
Apple initially planned to release a new iPhone Air in fall 2026, but now that's not going to happen.
Since the iPhone Air launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales...
Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences.
The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more.
Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features.
Liquid Glass Toggle
iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass.
In the Settings app, under Display...
Apple is working on a series of new satellite connectivity features for the iPhone, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
In this week's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman revealed that the new features in development include:
Apple Maps via satellite: Navigation in Apple Maps without cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity.
Photos in Messages via satellite: Support for sending photos in the Messages...
Friday November 7, 2025 1:19 pm PST by Juli Clover
HTX Studio this week shared the results from a six-month battery test that compared how fast charging and slow charging can affect battery life over time.
Using six iPhone 12 models, the channel set up a system to drain the batteries from five percent and charge them to 100 percent over and over again. Three were fast charged, and three were slow charged.
Another set of iPhones underwent...
I wish these things would compete on robustness and reliability rather than persnickety audio claims that no-one cares about. eg my LG Soundbar + satellite speakers sounds great and is mostly robust, but once a month or so it refuses to wake up when the rest of the system wakes up, so I get audio through the TV until I power cycle the soundbar.
IMHO this is unacceptable in consumer electronics, but no review tracks stuff like this; they'd rather tell you about the 96KHz response curve or something equally irrelevant to normal use cases.
I wonder how this sounds compared to a Sonos Arc with sub and Play Ones setup. I like the idea of having multiple HDMI inputs in the sound bar, it makes it more like an AV receiver, but without the bulk.
Edit: my suggestion is redundant as you don’t want a soundbar I assume.
I got the Sony HT-7000 and SA-SW5 sub a few months ago and the recently released SA-RS5 wireless upfiring rears a couple of weeks ago. Very hefty price overall, but sounds incredible, is well specced if you’re hooking up consoles etc and it gets updates. VRR pass through support is hopefully incoming, but I’m a few years off having a VRR tv anyway.
I go 10 years plus between hi fi setups typically, old one was from 2008, so I don’t mind the hefty price. Bought it to coincide with move to a detached house so there’s no real limit on how loud I can have it, unlike my last place ?
Im not competely closed off to sound bar solutions, I just think that if I am going to spend a considerable amount I could just geta reciever with 7+ HDMI inputs etc. I know the wife would prefer somethnig smaller tho (queue the jokes:p )
I've never understood how I would benefit from wireless surrounds. They still have to be plugged in for power, and copper audio wires from a receiver can be virtually any length (since you can cut them yourself) and are so much easier to run under carpets or along walls. With the bluetooth surrounds, that power cable is going to be a pain to compromise between where the speaker should be placed vs where the outlet is, right?
The difference is that a modern US house (I have no idea about your house) has I don't know, maybe 8 electrical sockets in a TV/family room, including both sockets near the front of the room (power TV, sound bar, bass) and at the back of the room (power satellites). This means that for most people a system with something like soundbar + bass + two satellites is fairly easy to plug in and manage. (Eg I put my two satellites on book cases that are mounted against the back wall).
I don't know exactly what the current CA code is, but it seems to be something like a power point every linear 6 feet of wall. Which might sound ridiculous (and looks like overkill when you see a bare room) but it turns out to be SO nice when you actually live in the house and rarely have to either run long cables or use aggressive power splitters.
I'd really like to know how this compares to a Sonos system. This whole system costs as much as 1 piece of the Sonos system.
I've still yet to buy the Sonos sub because I just can't bring myself to pay another $700+ for just the sub, when the Sonos Arc and Sonos One(s) already put me over $1200. But the system lacks any depth without the sub.
