- Apple dropped its new $550 over-the-ear AirPods Max headphones on Tuesday to much fanfare.
- But if you want to use them with a device that doesn’t have Bluetooth, you’ll need to buy a separate $35 cable.
- The 1.2-meter-long cable would allow you to use the AirPods Max on an airplane and with an “iPhone, iPad, Mac, or other device.”
- The AirPods Max don’t come with a 3.5 mm audio port, a jack that Apple nixed in its smartphones starting with the iPhone 7 in 2016 — it is outfitted only with a lightning port.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Apple debuted its heavily anticipated $549 over-ear AirPods Max headphones on Tuesday.
The company’s first over-ear headphones are outfitted with a slew of features and come equipped with Bluetooth to sync with Bluetooth-compatible devices. But if you want to use the AirPods Max with a device that doesn’t have Bluetooth, you’ll have to buy a separate $35 cable.
Apple says as much in its product description of the bidirectional 1.2-meter-long cable, which you can use to connect your “AirPods Max or Beats Solo Pro headphones to 3.5 mm audio sources.” The cord, which comes in white and black, would allow you to use the headphones on an airplane and with your “iPhone, iPad, Mac, or other device.”
But it’s not that simple.
With newer iPhones, Apple nixed the 3.5 mm audio port, starting with the iPhone 7 models released in 2016. It was replaced with a lightning port, and customers had to buy a $10 adapter if they wished to use headphones that were compatible with the 3.5 mm jack.
So if you wanted to connect the AirPods Max to, say, an iPhone X without Bluetooth, you'd need two adapters: the 3.5 mm audio cable and another to fit the cable to your smartphone.
The AirPods Max price tag raised eyebrows from many who said the product was too expensive, but as Business Insider's Antonio Villas-Boas reports, it could be a reasonable price point for some, as far as luxury headphones go. The AirPods Max come in five colors and are the first over-the-ear headphones that Apple has produced outside of its Beats brand.
The AirPods Max comes with a carrying case that puts the headphones in an "ultralow power state" that preserves their battery life. Many online began making fun of the case, saying it resembles a purse or a bra due to its bulbous design.
The AirPods Max are available to purchase starting on December 15, but according to Apple's website, customers may have to wait up to 14 weeks to receive them, or until March.