AirPods Max (USB-C) Repair

AirPods Max were originally announced via press release on December 8th, 2020, and released the following week on December 15th. They are premium wireless headphones that use Bluetooth 5.0 and Apple’s custom H1 chip to deliver high-fidelity audio.

In September 2024, Apple refreshed the AirPods Max, updating the Lightning port to USB-C and offering five new colors: Blue, Purple, Midnight, Starlight, and Orange. The previous colors are now unavailable.

In our teardown on January 11, 2021, AirPods Max scored a 6/10 on our repairability scale (10 is easiest to repair). The headphones are moderately repairable, with some key components incredibly easy to access and replace, while others are considerably more difficult and require special tools.

AirPods Max can be identified by their signature aluminum oval ear cups, magnetic cushions, and mesh headband.

Audio:

• 40 mm dynamic drivers
• Pro ANC
• Adaptive EQ
• Bluetooth 5.0
• AAC audio codec

Sensors:

• Optical sensor (each ear cup)
• Position sensor (each ear cup)
• Case-detect sensor (each ear cup)
• Accelerometer (each ear cup)
• Gyroscope (left ear cup)

Microphones:

• 8x ANC microphones
• 1x dedicated voice pickup microphone

Chip: Apple H1 (each ear cup)

Battery: Up to 20 hours of listening time with ANC on

Dimensions: 6.64 x 3.28 x 7.37 in (168.6 x 83.4 x 187.3 mm)

Weight: 13.6 oz (386.2 g)

• Apple: AirPods Max tech specs
• Wikipedia: AirPods Max