Early adopters of the $549 AirPods Max headphones, available in space gray, silver, sky blue, green, and pink, are spoiled for choice But for those who have buyer's remorse about the color they finally got, they can now change their look depending on the price

Apple has begun selling AirPods Max ear cushions at the Apple Store for $69 a pair The cups themselves attach to the AirPods Max with magnets, so replacing them is easy No screwdriver is required, one of the advantages iFixIt found during its disassembly

Whether Apple sees the AirPods Max ear cushions as a replacement for those who tear or wear them daily (hopefully that's not an imminent problem, as they've been in stores for less than two months) or as a lucrative accessory sideline, like the Apple Watch strap It is not clear whether they see it as a sideline for accessories

If not for customization, it could certainly be treated as such Since the ear cushions are the same color as the AirPod Max itself, one could combine silver ear cushions with a green headband Or you can buy two sets of ear cushions and use different colored cups on each side (other than the $138 bill, of course)

At the time of this writing, we are tied to the color of the headband that comes with the AirPods Max, but that is not necessarily In iFixIt's disassembly work, the company discovered that the AirPods Max headband can be easily removed by pushing a SIM card removal tool or unfolded paper clip into the small holes under each ear cup This, coupled with 9to5Mac's discovery that iOS 144 devices can detect "headband type," suggests that this is not the last AirPods Max accessory Apple is planning

While we were very impressed with the headphones in our AirPods Max review, there is no denying that there are cheaper alternatives that fit most needs However, if you're looking for killer features like spatial audio and an attractive design that can be customized, these headphones are worth a look