Apple's first over-the-ear active noise-canceling headphones, the AirPods Max, are here And you may be thinking: should I buy them or not?

Early AirPods Max reviews are mostly favorable, and our own review will be online soon, but don't rush to add these headphones to your cart just yet

The price of the AirPods Max is perhaps the most important thing to consider Yes, these headphones cost $200 to $300 more than their closest noise-canceling rivals like the Bose 700 and Sony WH-1000XM4

With a gorgeous metal design, the same Spatial Audio and Adaptive EQ features as the AirPods Pro, and memory foam ear cup cushions, you get quite a bit for the price

That's right In fact, active noise cancellation has proven to be one of the AirPods Max's best features, with many reviewers praising its quality and effectiveness as equal to or better than the best in the industry The headphones use six outward-facing microphones to detect ambient noise and two inward-facing microphones to measure the sound being heard

Additionally, each ear cup contains a proprietary H1 chip with 10 audio cores Apple's Computational Audio adapts the audio to the fit and seal of the ear cushions while blocking outside noise

AirPods Max also features a transparency mode that allows some external noise in to make it easier to hear the sounds around you A dedicated button at the top of the left ear cup allows the user to toggle full ANC functionality, transparency mode, and both functions off and can also be selected to conserve battery power

Yes, no The AirPods Max are specifically designed to pair with iOS devices like the iPhone 12 and the new iPad, and some features will only work if the headphones are in the Apple ecosystem

Still, the AirPods Max remain Bluetooth headphones and can be connected to Android devices and Windows laptops to play music Connecting is just a bit more complicated and requires holding down the noise control button (the same button that toggles between AND and transparent modes) to make the AirPods Max detectable, then looking for it in the device's Bluetooth settings menu

Sadly, you cannot listen to the AirPods Pro over a cable; quite shockingly for $549 headphones, the AirPods Max itself has no 35mm jack and the only cable (Lightning-to-USB-C cable ) is for charging only

This may not bother you if you just want to pair the AirPods Max with a recent iPhone, which famously lacks a headphone jack, but connecting it to a laptop or listening to music with the AirPods Max on the in-flight entertainment system which means you won't be able to connect it to your laptop or listen to music on your in-flight entertainment system Unless, however, you purchase the Lightning-35mm cable separately However, this cable costs $35, which would be as expensive as the price of the headphones made for this cable

No, there is no option to remedy that this time around; unlike the IPX4-compliant AirPods Pro, the AirPods Max are not sweat-proof, so be careful when wearing them out in the rain or while working out

It is worth noting that the included Smart Case also offers limited protection from the elements, as it leaves the headband of the AirPods Max and the top of each ear cup exposed

Apple rates the AirPods Max at 20 hours of listening time, and reviewers support this figure This is lower than some competitors, but to be fair, it is 20 hours with all the bells and whistles turned on, including noise cancellation and spacial audio It also recharges quickly, allowing 15 hours of listening on a 5-minute charge

One quirky thing about the AirPods Max battery is that it never runs out of power The headphones do not have a power button and remain powered on to speed up the Bluetooth pairing process The headphones do not have a power button and remain powered on to speed up the Bluetooth pairing process To enable the battery-saving low-power mode, you can put it in a Smart Case, but if you want to recreate this effect without a case, Emergent Technology on YouTube uses a common refrigerator magnet to put the AirPods Max into low-power mode I found a way to do this