Apple's AirPods Max are finally getting lossless audio support
Apple's AirPods Max are getting a lot better soon.
In an announcement Friday, Apple said its over-ear headphones are getting support for both lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio via a software update in April.
This is a pleasant surprise at a time when a lot of owners probably gave up on ever getting lossless audio on the AirPods Max. Apple originally launched its over-ear headphones in 2020, following up with a mildly updated model in 2024. However, despite the company having offered lossless audio in Apple Music since 2021, the AirPods Max did not get support for the feature -- until now.
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Lossless audio, in a nutshell, means better sound, though it does come at the expense of more bandwidth. This is likely the reason why the feature won't be available when using the AirPods Max wirelessly. The AirPods Max will support lossless audio up to 24-bit, 48 kHz quality.
As for ultra-low latency audio, it's a feature that musicians will be able to utilise to record and mix music while using the AirPods Max.
To take advantage of lossless audio, AirPods Max owners will have to use the USB-C cable to connect to an iPhone, an iPad, or a Mac. The feature will be available as part of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4 when the updates become available in April.
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
