Apple could be holding off on updating the AirPods Max's hardware until it refreshes the original model with new color options, key reports suggest.
In a recent edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman discussed the future of Apple's AirPods Max over-ear headphones. "While it seems unlikely that a major upgrade is coming soon," Gurman said, "the company may eventually refresh the existing hardware with some new colors."
He first suggested that Apple was working on new color options for the AirPods Max in May 2021, before reaffirming that the refresh with new color options was still in the works as of May 2022.
The AirPods Max launched over two years ago, but the device now seems to be showing its age, with the second-generation AirPods Pro adding a range of technological innovations that the AirPods Max lack, such as Adaptive Transparency, IPX4-rated sweat and water resistance, skin-detect sensors, and the U1 chip for Precision Finding with Find My. It seems likely that the next-generation AirPods Max will gain many of these features in their next incarnation, but Gurman's latest report seems to suggest that Apple may eke out the current generation for a while longer and rekindle interest with new color options.
Most recently, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the second-generation AirPods Max will launch in the second half of 2024 or the first half of 2025. In October last year, Gurman said that the next version will feature USB-C and launch "by 2024." With the next-generation AirPods Max still being quite some time away, Gurman's continued suggestion of new color options may be even more likely.
