Apple's AirPods Max are a new pair of wireless headphones that feature an over-ear design along with noise-canceling capabilities. The AirPods Max also come with a pretty significant price tag, considering they cost $549. If potential customers don’t want to pay as much, there's always the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 for $379. However, when buying a pair of noise-canceling headphones, price shouldn’t be the only deciding factor.
AirPods Max are the newest edition to the AirPods lineup, which also includes the standards AirPods and the more advanced AirPods Pro. These previous AirPods offerings are earbuds, rather than headphones that fit over the ear. Bose launched the Bose NC Headphones 700 in 2019 and, like Apple, Bose also offers earbud models, such as the Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds. With either the headphones or earbuds, customers can enjoy the freedom of listening wirelessly, as well as the benefits associated with noise-canceling technologies, including reducing background noise.
The new AirPods Max feature nine microphones in total. Six of them -- three in each ear cup -- are trained outward to detect environmental noise and aid in active noise cancelation. In addition, a microphone inside each ear cup tracks what sounds actually reach the user’s ear. The Bose NC Headphones 700 have eight with six microphones for active noise cancelation. These microphones are located both inside and outside the ear cup. The AirPods Max also include spatial audio with a gyroscope in the left ear cup tracking the user’s head movement, allowing for a more immersive experience.
How AirPods Max Compare To NC 700
The AirPods Max come in five colors -- Silver, Space Gray, Sky Blue, Pink and Green -- while the Bose NC Headphones are limited to Black, Luxe Silver, Soapstone and Midnight. In addition, unlike the AirPods Max which includes a smart case to preserve battery, Bose's NC 700 headphones just come with a standard carry case. Another difference is the AirPods Max feature a digital crown to control volume, playback, and call answering while the NC 700 use touch controls for volume, playing, and answering calls.
Both the AirPods Max and the Bose NC 700 offer a mode that lets in surrounding noise and both allow users to switch between modes with a press of a button. Each feature ear cup cushioning for added comfort and utilize Bluetooth to connect with Siri, although Bose's headphones also support Amazon Alexa. When it comes to battery life, both options are relatively the same, considering they both claim up to 20 hours of playback. Overall, the Bose NX 700 headphones are a great option for the price and come with many of the same features, but Apple's headphones do offer more, as long as the buyer is also willing to spend more on a pair of AirPods Max.
Source: Apple