Apple has launched a new pair of over-the-ear headphones called the AirPods Max. It features active noise cancellation (ANC), 40nm Neodymium drivers, Apple's in-house H1 chip, and provides up to 20 hours of battery life. It is available for pre-order now and will start shipping on December 14 for US$549.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/AirPods-Max-over-the-ear-headphones-with-active-noise-cancellation-launched-for-US-549.508545.0.html
Half a grand for a pair of generic cheap-a** drivers and a ton of cheap sounding DSP processing? LOLOLOL
I have no doubt these are substantially overpriced.
However cheap drivers don't really need to sound very bad, consider Koss headphones.
And dsp can be done well at the right hands like they did with their airpod pros.
Usually I pick up my full-sized planars if I am to listen through HPs and tend to be picky about headphones, I almost never use the ANC wireless kind. Still there is a chance that these may not sound as bad and cheap as they look.
Although I believe the point with the hefty price tag is to boost the sales of cheaper airpods because now they will look like a bargain relatively. Good job Apple, as always.