Last Minute Report Claims New Headphones Are Coming

Last Minute Report Claims New Headphones Are Coming

As Apple prepares for its biggest special event of the year, news breaks on Monday, September 9 at 10 a.m. PT that an unexpected product will be announced: the second-generation Apple AirPods Max.

Just a few days ago, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said that Apple AirPods Max wouldn’t be shown off at the iPhone 16 series unveiling keynote. Now, in a post on X, he claims that new over-ear headphones will be unveiled.

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If true, this would be the first update to the headphones that were released almost four years ago, so some say a new version is long overdue.

Gurman said: “I expect Apple to launch new AirPods Max headphones tomorrow with better noise cancellation, adaptive audio, and USB-C. They will launch with the low-end AirPods 4. This is consistent with my reporting for months, but at odds with the lack of low inventory in stores.”

While Gurman says it’s consistent with his reporting, many of his recent comments have veered away from saying the AirPods Max 2 were coming. Perhaps his intel has improved recently. Either way, it’s exciting, with the prospect of newer, better over-ears on the way.

As Gurman says, if inventory is high (and recent price cuts suggest there’s still plenty of stock) a new release seems less likely.

But the timing makes sense: Nearly four years is a long time for Apple to let a major product go without updating it. Moving to USB-C is a no-brainer. AirPods Pro already have it, and the new AirPods 4 will surely launch with it.

That would leave the AirPods Max as the only headphones with a Lightning connector left out in the cold.

And better noise cancellation is welcome, but given the time that’s passed since the last pair of headphones hit the market, that’s not so surprising.

In short, the inventory story suggests Gurman is wrong, but I hope he is right. We can certainly expect new colors for the new second-gen AirPods Max when they arrive.

Given the recent colors Apple has chosen for other products, I suspect the subdued, understated color palette will continue. We’ll find out soon enough.

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