#Airpods max pro movie#

It’d be nice if it worked with MacBooks too - you shouldn’t pay an audio experience penalty for watching a movie on a MacBook rather than an iPad.

The AirPods (Pro or Max) know when your head is moving, but the source device needs to be location-aware too, and for now, that means iPhones and iPads only. It’s less like wearing headphones and more like wearing an augmented reality audio headset.īut: spatial audio only works (for now at least) when the video source is an iPhone or iPad. Effects and dialog sound like they’re coming from fixed spots around you, not just with direction but with depth. Spatial audio is rich and immersive and crystal clear.

It really does sound like you’re in a room equipped with theater-quality surround sound speakers. Get into a movie or show with compatible audio (Disney+’s The Mandalorian is good - it’s a fun show, period, and has great sound design) and you will forget you’re wearing headphones. Watching an action movie, it’s downright visceral.

#Airpods max pro pro#

It’s uncanny and very clever when wearing AirPods Pro earbuds with AirPods Max, it’s absolutely immersive, like something from an attraction at Disney World. According to Apple, spatial audio kicks in when you listen to movies or other video encoded with 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, or Dolby Atmos. Watching a movie with spatial audio is an experience. That’s exactly how I want headphones (and speakers) to be. You set the noise mode (Noise Cancellation, Transparency, or none), you set the volume, and that’s it. I also love that there are no fiddly EQ settings. They make music sound rich and make movies sound very real. I’m not an audio expert, but I do know what I like, and I love the way these headphones sound. This is the part of the review where I’m tempted to preface everything with “ Look, I’m not an audiophile…”, but screw that. When it comes to audio quality, AirPods Max might not not sound like a $550 set of headphones, too. I let my son try them out, and when he clicked the button to toggle the noise control mode, he said “Oh, that’s a nice button. They connect magnetically, and just jump into place. The foam ear pads are removable, and they’re just a delight to pop off and pop back on. In some ways, AirPods Max feel quite a bit like a premium Aeron-style modern desk chair - the mesh canopy atop the headband, the telescoping steel stems, the general sturdiness. It’s like when Apple started making laptops out of unibody aluminum - the plastic ones we had long accepted as the norm suddenly seemed cheapjack in comparison. They are very sturdy, and very nice to the touch. Aluminum ear cups, and a stainless steel headband. Every other pair of over-the-ear headphones I’ve ever used feels a bit cheap in comparison, because my over-the-ear headphones have all been constructed mostly of plastic. Their lack of water resistance aside, the weight keeps them from being the sort of headphones you’d want to use while exercising any more vigorously than a brisk walk.Īs mechanical devices, the AirPods Max are remarkable. The heaviness of the AirPods Max doesn’t make them uncomfortable, per se, but it definitely feels like they’re intended for stationary use. You feel a bit bobble-headed with them on.

Look down at your feet and look back up and you’re instantly reminded, Oh yeah, I’ve got heavy cans on my ears. They move a bit when you shake your head side-to-side, and they move a lot when you nod your head up and down. But when you move around, the AirPods Max have inertia. When you remain motionless, you can forget they’re there. The AirPods Max headband does seem to distribute the weight as comfortably as it can, but the weight is all in the ear cups, and heavy ear cups are, well, heavy. You can definitely feel the difference in weight. Other noise-canceling wireless headphones are even lighter. My Bose QuietComfort 35 II wireless headphones weigh 235 grams. Here’s what I can tell you after a day and a half.ĪirPods Max are quite heavy: 385 grams. At $550, they are indisputably expensive, and at 385 grams, they are undeniably heavy.Īpple sent me a pair to review (Space Gray, natch) yesterday, and I’m really not sure what to make of them. What a fascinating product Apple’s new AirPods Max are. Heavy Is the Head That Wears the AirPods Max Thursday, 10 December 2020