New AirPods Max coming subsequent 12 months reportedly will nonetheless lag behind AirPods Professional options, lack H2 chip

The present AirPods Max headphones haven’t been revised since their introduction in December 2020, whereas AirPods Professional have seen a number of updates in {hardware} and software program.

Bloomberg has beforehand reported that Apple will replace AirPods Max with USB-C and new shade choices later subsequent 12 months. We had assumed this could even be the time to carry them up to the mark with the AirPods Professional function set. However apparently, that gained’t be the case …

Within the newest version of Mark Gurman’s Energy On e-newsletter, he reviews that Apple just isn’t planning a big replace for AirPods Max. In actual fact, it’s presently set to be so minor that the technology quantity gained’t even change. Gurman does hedge that Apple’s plans might ‘probably’ change.

Nonetheless, it appears proper now the driving motivation for the {hardware} refresh shall be to merely adjust to the European Fee laws that mandate the usage of USB-C for charging equipment like headphones. Proper now, AirPods Max function Apple’s proprietary Lightning port.

And … that shall be it. Gurman compares the forthcoming replace to the USB-C AirPods Max revision that Apple launched in September, which featured the identical inner chipset because the 2nd-gen Lightning AirPods Professional.

If true, this implies AirPods Max would proceed to be powered by the H1, not H2, chip. This implies they are going to nonetheless not be capable to help superior software program options that AirPods Professional obtained this 12 months with iOS 17, together with Adaptive Audio, Conversational Consciousness, Personalised Quantity, and help for the ‘Siri’ wake phrase.

Clients hoping for different enhancements to Apple’s $550 headphones will even seemingly be left dissatisfied, with no adjustments coming to the design of the charging case, lack of U1 chip for Precision Discovering, and extra.