These Bella Hadid–Approved Headphones Are on Sale
Editor’s note: We’ve updated this story to reflect that Amazon is offering exclusive deals on the Apple AirPods Max during October Prime Day.
I spend most of my free time taking screenshots of beauty products and random home goods that my TikTok algorithm lovingly curates for me. I usually don’t actually buy anything, but I was recently influenced to purchase one viral item that has absolutely lived up to the hype: the Apple AirPods Max.
If you too have been eyeing the official headphones of “hot girl walks” and TikTok rants, let this be your sign to take the plunge right now, while they’re on sale for Prime Big Deal Day (a.k.a. the second Prime Day of the year, meant to kick off the holiday shopping season). All colorways — green, silver, pink, sky blue, and space gray — are up to 15 percent off, which means you can snag a pair for under $500!
(And for every other deal, head on over to our list of the best Amazon Prime Day deals.)
How do the AirPods Max compare to the AirPods Pro?
Compared to the AirPods Pro or even standard headphones, we can all agree they just look cooler. These are meant to be seen and heard, not to be hidden somewhere in the depths of your bag. But I didn’t buy them just because they were pretty — even though it did help.
Beyond aesthetics, let’s get into the pros and cons:
The noise-canceling aspect was nonnegotiable. When working from home, you never know what chaotic sound is going to burst your concentration bubble, and these could handle even NYC street noise. And the overall sound, even in transparency mode, is crystal clear.
That said, I do wish the max volume was louder. I get that Apple doesn’t want me to damage my ears listening to Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” at full volume, but sometimes you just have to.
The AirPods Max also remedy one of the biggest issues I had with the Pros: the controls. Besides only having one button to change the song or sound modes, there was also no way to control the volume from the Pros themselves. Now on the right-ear cushion of the AirPods Max, you get a sound-control button and another separate button to easily switch between noise cancellation and transparency.
As someone who frequently forgets to charge things (I only have one power adapter, thanks to Apple), I was also impressed by the battery life. They charged pretty quickly and haven’t died on me yet, even though I only charge them once a day for about 30 minutes.
Overall, this is one somewhat impulse buy I don’t regret. Trust me, if I did, I’d be thoroughly reading through Apple’s return policy, so …
Are they worth the price?
Even with Amazon, Best Buy, and Target offering a slight markdown on them, they are not cheap. However, if you too have been eyeing them for a while, now’s the time to finally grab them and not pay full price. (Consider them an investment where once you subtract all the times you wear them on a daily basis; the cost per wear is well worth it.)