The AirPods Max aren’t getting a sequel anytime soon.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman recently reported there’s no chance of an AirPods Max 2 release anytime soon.

That’s because Apple’s premium over-ear headphones, launched in late 2020, still sell steadily enough to avoid the axe. But not quite at the volume required to justify spending big on a second-gen overhaul.

Apple has refreshed its other AirPods lines more frequently, with the AirPods Pro 2 picking up USB-C and software updates just last year.

 

Don’t expect a refresh anytime soon, or possibly ever

By contrast, the AirPods Max have had no significant hardware changes in almost four years.

Apple is reportedly content leaving them in the lineup but without meaningful upgrades to sound, battery, or features.

Apple’s flagship headphones continued to win praise for audio quality. However, they face mounting criticism for being yesterday’s news, given that the only tweaks to the original model have been a colour refresh and a USB-C port late last year.

Rivals such as Sony and Bose have rolled out multiple new models over the nearly four years the AirPods Max have remained unchanged.

It appears that Apple’s strategy is to funnel resources into mass-volume products, such as AirPods Pro, while allowing its more niche products to age gracefully on the shelf.