This might extend to the other versions of AirPods. I don’t know because I dislike earbuds with the energy of infinite trenta cold brews.

AirPods Max have really good sound. Build quality’s fine. They’re mostly comfortable to wear but they’re heavier than all other headphones I’ve used. Stock carrying case is a little weird but it’s not the thing to focus on if you’re gonna front this kinda cash for headphones.

Only real reason to buy AirPods Max is if you use multiple Apple devices, wear headphones a lot, and want to easily switch the headphones between devices. Apple does this magic where it’s super easy to change the device feeding the headphones. By default, it will switch automatically if the headphones are in close proximity to a different device and audio starts playing on that device. (I turned that off because I’m an adult and don’t need Tim🍎 to decide for me.) You can also just open Control Center (or the Mac equivalent) and select AirPods Max. None of the awkward pairing/unpairing that’s usually required with standard Bluetooth.

If this in-depth review has persuaded you to buy AirPods Max, get the green ones. They definitely sound the best.