David Carnoy/CNET
After looking at the innards of Apple’s new over-the-ear headphones, the AirPods Max, tech site iFixit concluded that the intricate engineering made the lofty $550 price seem almost reasonable. iFixit cracked open the headphones and in summation said, that after looking at competitors, “internally, the AirPods Max’s obsessive craftsmanship makes those other extremely capable devices look like toys by comparison.”
In our review, we noted that the AirPods Max were big and expensive, but surprisingly comfortable with impressive sound. iFixit’s assessment came not after listening to the headphones in action. The site disassembled the device to get a look inside and judge how easy it might be to repair.
The AirPods Max earned a 6 out of 10 on this front — the headphones are tricky to take apart but serviceable once you get inside. By comparison, the earbud versions of the AirPods had repeatedly earned a zero out of ten on this scale. This bigger model is definitely a step in the right direction, if still not easy if you want to do a DIY repair.
Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
