No, the pigs aren’t flying, hell isn’t frozen, and you (probably) haven’t won the Powerball jackpot, but there are other things that are unexpected. More than four years after debuting on Airpods Max, Apple will update them with long-term features. The company will bring lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio to Optear Headpones when it launches iOS 18.4, iPados 18.4 and Macos Secooia 15.4 in April.
This is the only major update Apple has provided to the AirPods Max so far, except for the model that will start offering USB-C charging ports in September. Here’s the kicking: The update only works on the USB-C version of the AirPods Max, not the original version with the Lightning port. This is due to technical limitations of the Lightning model, such as digital to Analog converter performance.
More importantly, lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio will not be available in wireless mode. To take advantage of these features, you need to connect the headset to the audio source via a USB-C cable. Fortunately, Apple started selling USB-C to 3.5mm cable today. That will make you $39. There is also the option to connect your iOS or iPados device to a speaker with a 3.5mm audio port or a car stereo port.
However, as long as you have a USB-C model, you can end up listening to 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio with the AirPods Max. Lossless audio will also be compatible with personalized spatial audio, Apple says. Apple Music subscribers can listen to over 100 million songs in lossless audio.
With the firmware update, the company notes that “Airpods Max will be the only headset that enables musicians to create and mix personalized spatial audio through head tracking.” It adds that the ultra-low latency audio feature will not allow the same response delay as speakers built into Mac, iPad and iPhone devices. This suggests that this feature may be a boon for gamers and live streamers.
Updated on March 24 at 12:08 pm ET: Additional notes, lossless and ultra-low latency audio is only available in the USB-C version of the AirPods Max and is only available in wired mode.
