Lossless audio and wired listening finally come to the AirPods Max

Apple AirPods Max 2024 in blue finish on bookshelf

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

Here's some long-awaited good news for AirPods Max users. Following a software update in April, you will finally be able to listen to the current (USB-C) AirPods Max headphones in wired mode.

Not only that but wired audio playback will also support 24-bit/48kHz lossless audio transmission.

Apple updated its £499 / $549 AirPods Max wireless over-ears last September with a USB-C charging port and a fresh assortment of colour finishes, with no other design or hardware upgrades to speak of.

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But we discovered it had quietly dropped the wired listening feature that was available in the original Lightning connector-equipped model – a rather disappointing move.

Thankfully, Apple is finally rectifying this (a good six months after the new Max's launch, mind) and at no cost. The included USB-C to USB-C cable can be used to listen to audio from your USB-C iPhone or MacBook, while the firmware update for the headphones is free.

If you want more flexibility, Apple is now selling a USB-C-to-3.5mm audio cable for £39 / $39 / AU$65 that allows you to plug the AirPods Max into a wide variety of sources for 'lossless' wired listening.

(Apple also sells a Lighting-to-3.5mm audio cable that facilitates wired listening on the original AirPods Max, a feature which was available at its launch in 2020, although the limited analogue-to-digital conversion in the cable meant that playback wasn't completely lossless (i.e. free of compression).

Apple says: "With this update, AirPods Max will unlock 24-bit/48kHz lossless audio, preserving the integrity of original recordings and allowing listeners to experience music the way the artist created it in the studio."

It goes without saying that 24-bit/48kHz is considerably higher quality than the standard Bluetooth AAC codec used when listening wirelessly, but it also coincides with Apple Music's 'lossless' audio tier.

So if you have an Apple Music subscription, you can fully enjoy its 100-million-strong 'Lossless' streams using the wired connection on the AirPods Max. Just make sure that your Apple Music's audio quality settings are set to 'lossless' (24-bit/48kHz ALAC).

Note that this update still won't enable AirPods Max playback of Apple Music's 'Hi-Res Lossless' streams, which Apple defines as above 24-bit/48kHz, up to 192kHz.

In addition, this upcoming update will bring ultra-low latency to the AirPods Max, which "significantly lowers lag time" when gaming, live streaming and creating music.

Apple also claims that the AirPods Max "will become the only headphones that enable musicians to both create and mix in Personalised Spatial Audio with headtracking" – when using USB-C and Logic Pro for Mac software.

When will this update come through for AirPods Max? The headphones will update alongside the firmware updates for iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 and macOS Sequoia 15.4 sometime in April.

We'll be sure to update our AirPods Max sample and test this feature in detail to confirm that it works as soon as it's available.

MORE:

Read our original AirPods Max review

Did Apple drop wired listening on the new AirPods Max? (Until now...)

Best wireless headphones: reviewed and rated by our in-house experts

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Kashfia is the Hi-Fi and Audio Editor of What Hi-Fi? and first joined the brand 13 years ago. During her time in the consumer tech industry, she has reviewed hundreds of products (including speakers, amplifiers, turntables and headphones), been to countless trade shows across the world and fallen in love with hi-fi kit much bigger than her. In her spare time, Kash can be found tending to an ever-growing houseplant collection and shooing her cat Jolene away from spinning records.