Apple says lossless audio, ultra?low latency audio coming to AirPods Max
Apple on Monday said that a new software update next month will bring lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio to AirPods Max.
With the included USB-C cable, users can enjoy the highest-quality audio across music, movies, and games, while music creators can experience significant enhancements to songwriting, beat making, production, and mixing, said the company in a statement.
With this update, AirPods Max will unlock 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio, preserving the integrity of original recordings and allowing listeners to experience music the way the artist created it in the studio.
Lossless audio also extends to Personalised Spatial Audio to deliver a more sonically accurate, uncompressed, and immersive experience, and users can enjoy more than 100 million songs in lossless audio with Apple Music.
According to the company, lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio enable music creators to fully utilise AirPods Max throughout their entire professional workflow on Logic Pro and other music creation apps.
“Using the USB-C cable, AirPods Max will become the only headphones that enable musicians to both create and mix in Personalised Spatial Audio with head tracking. By delivering lossless, high-resolution digital audio with low latency, artists can seamlessly record and mix with AirPods Max without compromising fidelity,” said Apple.
Gamers and livestreamers can also benefit from ultra-low latency audio, which significantly lowers lag time, and is on par with the native built-in speakers on Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
With no response delay, gameplay and livestreaming become reliably smooth and even more immersive for users.
Lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio will be available in April as a free firmware update with iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4 for AirPods Max with USB-C.
AirPods Max are currently available in five colours — midnight, starlight, blue, purple, and orange.
