Apple's AirPods Max first appeared in 2020 with a metal casing and exemplary noise-canceling capabilities Since then, the AirPods Max has been eclipsed by several great alternatives, hampered by its heavy weight and depressingly miserable carrying slipcase

Thankfully, Apple has finally decided to refresh the aging AirPods Max

Mark Gurman is again sharing details about the upcoming event and news about the new AirPods models in his Power-on newsletter He mentions two new versions of the AirPods 4 as well as what is coming for the AirPods Max 2, and this time there is little to get excited about

There is the expected “better noise cancellation and improved sound quality” and an upgrade to USB-C from the previous Lighting connector However, there is not much more to it than that, and it seems to be primarily an iterative update rather than a major update that would shake up the AirPods Max formula

This is unfortunate for many reasons: whereas other headphones released since the AirPods Max's initial launch have brought long-awaited feature changes and new looks to the premium wireless headphones, Apple's light touch doesn't seem to do much to encourage the $549 purchase It doesn't seem to be doing much

One thing that really needs an update is the aforementioned carrying slipcase At the moment, it is more of a way to just put the headphones in sleep mode rather than protecting them when placed in a bag or suitcase Instead, I wish Apple had come up with a decent hard case that would really protect the expensive AirPods

New colors would have been nice, and have been rumored to be coming in the past; the AirPods Max are already one of the most colorful products in Apple's entire lineup, so the addition of a shade might make choosing new headphones even more fun Although we imagine its new color will be black to match the recently released MacBook Pro M3 Pro

Apple will be trying to make sure that the AirPods Max 2 are the best wireless headphones money can buy