Apple worked on AirPods Max for 4 years, a former designer confirmed

In this regular column, every day we look at the most interesting news that revolves around the California company Apple. Here we focus exclusively on the main events and selected (interesting) speculations. So if you are interested in current events and want to be informed about the apple world, definitely spend a few minutes on the following paragraphs.

Apple worked on AirPods Max for 4 years

For a long time now, news has been circulating on the Internet that Apple is hiding another Christmas surprise for us. All the leaks then referred to yesterday's date, when we should wait for the presentation of the news itself. And finally we got it. In a press release, Apple showed off the much-anticipated AirPods Max headphones, which almost immediately managed to get the attention of all kinds of people. But let's leave the actual news and similar things aside. The former designer of the Cupertino company joined the discussion and revealed a very interesting fact to us.

According to him, work on the headphones with the bitten apple logo started already four years ago. The first mentions of such a product then come from 2018, when renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that the arrival of headphones directly from Apple is about to happen. The development length information comes from a designer named Dinesh Dave. He shared that AirPods Max on Twitter with the description that this is the last product for which he signed a non-disclosure agreement. Subsequently, he was asked by another user when this contract was signed, to which Dave responded with an answer about 4 years ago. The original tweet has been deleted from the social network. Fortunately, a user was able to capture it @rjonesy, who subsequently published it.

AirPods Max design started 4+ years ago! pic.twitter.com/W8rHTZIbVx

- Ryan Jones (@rjonesy) December 9, 2020

If we look at it under a microscope, we will find that four years ago, specifically in December 2016, we saw the introduction of the very first AirPods. It was a very desirable product with extreme demand, and it can be expected that at this point the first ideas for the realization of Apple headphones were born.

We don't find the U1 chip in the AirPods Max

Last year, on the occasion of the presentation of the iPhone 11, we were able to learn about very interesting news for the first time. We are specifically talking about the U1 ultra-wideband chip, which is used for significantly better spatial perception and facilitates, for example, communication via AirDrop between newer iPhones. Specifically, it works by measuring the time it takes for radio waves to travel the distance between two points, and it can calculate their exact distance, much better than Bluetooth LE or WiFi. But when we look at the technical specifications of the new AirPods Max, we find that they are unfortunately not equipped with this chip.

Source: Apple

However, it should also be pointed out that Apple puts the U1 chip in its products rather irregularly. While the iPhone 11 and 12, Apple Watch Series 6 and HomePod have a mini chip, the iPhone SE, Apple Watch SE and the latest iPad, iPad Air and iPad Pro do not.

A simple trick to get AirPods Max faster

Practically immediately after the introduction of AirPods Max, Apple was criticized for its relatively high purchase price. It costs 16490 crowns, so it is almost certain that an undemanding headphone user will simply not reach for this item. Although people complain about the mentioned price, it is clear that the headphones are already selling quite well. This was reflected in the constantly lengthening delivery time. Now the Online Store states that some AirPods Max models will be delivered in 12 to 14 weeks.

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At the same time, however, a rather interesting trick appeared to shorten this time. This specifically applies to the headphones in space gray design, for which you have to wait the aforementioned 12 to 14 weeks - i.e. in the variant without engraving. As soon as you reach for the free engraving option, the Online Store will change the delivery date to "already" February 2-8, i.e. approximately 9 weeks. The same is true for the silver version.

You can buy AirPods Max here