# AirPods Max

56 Hacker News commenters recommended AirPods Max and 104 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 3 years (8 owners).

**Verdict:** Recommended for comfortable over-ear fit, strong noise cancelling, and seamless switching across Apple devices. Critics cite fragility, weight, and connection dropouts.

## Why people recommend it

- Seamless switching across Apple devices (4 comments): "H2 chip enables smart audio switching when paired with Apple account + other Apple products." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47401515)) "if you want something that works seamlessly across multiple devices, its the only option" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47404372)) "seamless switching of headphones between iPhones, MacBooks, Vision Pros etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47410905))
- Comfortable ear cups and headband (4 comments): "The killer feature for me is the deep ear cups. All the Sony headphones touch my Dumbo-sized ears and get crazy warm, the APMs don't." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47403448)) "The Airpods Max ear cups are better and the headband is wide and mesh so spreads out the weight and it breathes too." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47405883)) "I tested Apple, Sony and Bose and found the AirPods Max to be the most comfortable for long periods of time, for me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47406650))
- Strong noise cancelling (4 comments): "they do one thing really really well, which is handle a full 14 hour flight with no charge and great noise cancellation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47409368)) "They sound incredible (with Apple products), feel super premium, excel at noise cancelling" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47408946)) "Leaf blowers and cars driving past are exactly the kind of thing that ANC works well on" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47407808))
- Battery lasts between uses (3 comments): "I leave my AirPods Max sitting on my desk for weeks at a time outside of the case and the battery never drains." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47403713)) "I don’t have this problem. I often leave them in my backpack for weeks between airplane flights" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47405394)) "I rarely use mine and find that they just about always still have battery." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47404794))

## What people warn about

- Bluetooth connection dropouts and crashes (5 comments): "Sound good with my MBP, but with my phone (16 Pro Max), I've had intermittent skipping of the audio signal" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47402608)) "The noise cancellation went flakey, the auto-switching went flakey" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47410334)) "The bluetooth would break down for days, and all instructions on the internet would tell you needed to remove the device and re-add it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47410957))
- Poor value for the price (3 comments): "In the latter category there is no effort to actually compete on price or value, because it is made for people who will blindly buy anything with an Apple logo on it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47402602)) "The Apple tax makes me extremely skeptical that I would get $500+ worth of sound quality, however ANC upsets that equation quite a bit." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47405247)) "The pricing on these always seemed a bit crazy to me, like the value is way off compared to other Apple products" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47402694))
- Fragile build and repair cost (2 comments): "there are other factors that would make an average studio disinclined to invest in them, like fragility and cost of repair" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47403520)) "I think this can be attributed to their fragility and inferior sound quality relative to DT 1770 Pro." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47403079))
- Loud clicks and booms (2 comments): "sometimes, when adjusting the position of the headphone, they do a click (and a loud one), and just shut down" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47404127)) "the old Airpods Max had an issue of these giant booms when it was going low power that just wrecked my eardrums" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47402805))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Sony WH-1000XM5](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sony-wh-1000xm5.md): 23 recommend
- [Bose QuietComfort headphones](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bose-quietcomfort-headphones.md): 22 recommend
- [Sennheiser Momentum 4](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sennheiser-momentum-4.md): 7 recommend
- [Sennheiser HDB 630](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sennheiser-hdb-630.md): 6 recommend
- [Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bose-quietcomfort-ultra-headphones.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Apple+AirPods+Max&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.apple.com/airpods-max/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "AirPods Max", https://hackerapproved.com/p/airpods-max-2/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).