Apple ’s 2024 launch slate has been pretty stacked across the board . From flagship iPads rock a genesis - first screen background processor forward of Macs and diversifying the AirPods TWS batting order even further to reimagining the Mac Mini , Apple did n’t impart fan disappointed .

The only weak link , so to speak , was the top - of - the - line Max headphones . Instead of a meaningfulhardware refreshfor the otherwise highly awaited replacement , what fans get was a colour revamp and a USB - C porthole . Unfortunately , it looks like a true refresh is still a morsel further into the future .

“ The phone are n’t a hot enough marketer to absolve pouring money into ontogeny , but they ’re also not a big enough flop to wipe out them instantaneously , ” say the Bloomberg report .

Apple does n’t share product - sassy breakdowns of sales physical body publicly , so it ’s hard to judge how the headphones fare liken to its sibling products and rivals . But it ’s hard not to imagine why the over - ear headphones have n’t experienced the same form of runaway achiever as the AirPods TWS earbuds .

Despite all the praise they ’ve receive for their star sound output and interference - cancellation chops , an demand price deserving $ 549 was never going to be an well-situated sell .

The situation gets particularly aching when one look at the contender from Sony and Bose , which offer standout audio recording experiences without the same sort of hit on the billfold as the Apple earphone .

Then there ’s also the question of characteristic parity and ecosystem limitation , whereSony ’s WH-1000XM5races ahead of the AirPods Max despite a broken asking price .

The market place uptake of the Apple headphones , at least according to psychoanalyst , has n’t been blockbuster . TFI Securities psychoanalyst Ming - Chi Kuo write in an investor note ( viaApple Insider ) that the AirPods Max will only time under a million units in sale in their launch twelvemonth .

Another news report fromDigiTimes , which summons sources in the supply chain , mentioned that the AirPods Max are deem “ too recess ” to goad a sale fete for Apple . The 2024 update certainly does n’t fathom like a change that would impact the sales physical body in any meaningful fashion , at least not without a sticker surprisal for likely buyers .

Bloomberg ’s report name that Apple intends to keep the AirPods Max in their current state for at least the “ foreseeable futurity . ” There is no word of honor regarding a launching timeline for a heir , but given Apple ’s production refresh flight , it wo n’t be surprising to see the caller wait another year or two before it introduces an updated rendering .

Moreover , regard the price precedent Apple has already coiffure , the company would need to couple it with a fitting solidification of upgrades , a undertaking that could take some clock time ( and technology work ) to execute .